August Bradley

Life Design Letter

Hello Life Designers!

This issue marks the first step in re-envisioning this newsletter. The goal is to make it more valuable, actionable, specific, and personal — personal both to your life and in reflecting on my experiences as examples for the ideas I’m sharing.

This is all getting ready to expand upon the broader frameworks that the PPV Life OS or any life management system exists within. First I'm going to get up to speed on some Notion-related aspects of life management systems, then we'll take the Life Design concepts much further. Let's go!

Announcements

Back on YouTube!

I'm excited to announce that I am back to regular YouTube videos after a year off. My first video explains some of the challenges I had to overcome during the year off, and how I reached new heights from the skills I developed in confronting those challenges.

The second video posted looks at a recent setback, and then in the third I lay out the game plan for the YouTube channel going forward. And fourth, I just posted an big analysis of where Notion is today and what the next transformative era of Notion will look like.

In response to my fourth video on the future of Notion, I received this reply from Notion's COO, Akshay Kothari: “Just saw your new video! Got me fired up :) … I'm also excited you see the same potential in our future as we do.”

Essay

Starting Big, Too Big

I have a history of starting out by biting off more than I can chew. I do it over and over, and every time I remember my college days when I first started working out. I was so motivated and pumped up, I gave it my all — lifting the heaviest weights I could and maxing out on every rep. I went all-in, and I felt amazing after that workout.

Two days later, I couldn't lift my arms. I remember being in the shower, trying to wash my hair — yes, this is when I actually had hair, but I couldn't get my hands anywhere close to my head. It was impossible — the pain, the stiffness, the soreness.

I remembered that story again over the past month as I've ramped up YouTube production. I'm in the midst of recording three new programs, redesigning this newsletter, re-branding my company, and hiring a new team.

And, in the midst of all that, my office was flooded in inches of water during torrential rains here in Los Angeles. Yet, my motivation and enthusiasm have not dampened at all. I am still so fired up, and even though I didn't get any of this as far as I wanted at this point, I'm on fire to make it happen. I'm driving with all my force, and eventually I'll regain the mobility to reach my own head and push these to the level I want them to be.

This feeling of progress is the most rewarding feeling I know. I encourage you to bite off more than you can chew, reach further than you have before, and try something bigger than you think you probably should. Go easy on yourself when it doesn't move as fast as you want — just keep walking, just keep reaching, just keep placing one brick at a time.

Build the wall gradually. The feeling of putting each brick in, feeling that progress, feeling that movement toward something that matters to you, is something I want all of you to feel.

We should all be progressing in one or two high-priority areas of our life, even while we manage the day-to-day necessities. Carve out time for one or two areas to reach further towards an aspiration you've always had.

Notion News

Notion Updates & New Features

Since we have a large group of Notion users reading, and since Notion is changing and adding features so rapidly these days, I'm introducing this new section to the Newsletter.

Whenever Notion news happens or new features are released in the Notion, I'll list the highlights in this bottom section as an ongoing segment of the newsletter. It will cover everything important since the previous issue.

Let me know if this is valuable to you, and if so we'll continue it.

Forbes cover story on Notion's future $10 Billion Productivity Startup Notion Wants To Build Your AI Everything App Read Article →

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Tabs Now Moveable

We can now drag tabs in the Notion desktop app left and right to re-order them. Finally! See it in action here →​

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Notion Calendar Launches

Notion launches a stand-alone calendar called Notion Calendar, moving its Cron calendar acquisition into the first of what seems likely to be an app ecosystem. I’ll have a deeper YouTube video on this soon! This app is completely free. More on Notion Calendar here →​

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Home

Notion has launched a default “Home” page featuring basic widgets that aggregate recent activities in your workspace and all of your tasks, even from multiple different databases. It's very simple and limited right now but shows the potential to expand into an active place for checking your most recent and urgent activities. I will be doing a YouTube video on this soon, exploring when it might be useful now and the potential for what it might expand into. More info on Home here →​

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Database Layout Changes

Notion has changed the interface at the top-right of the databases. No more word titles for “Filter” and “Sort”; instead, we now have icons with pop-up labeling. The automations lightning bolt above databases is no longer next to sort and filter, it’s now tucked into the “…” settings.

New Videos

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Are You Ready For Notion's New Era?

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I’m Back: From Break to Breakthrough

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Channel Roadmap & Notion Life OS Development

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