Hi,

Welcome to the Procrastilearning Newsletter, a guilt-free meaningful break before returning to work.

• 💡 3 ideas worth procrastilearning over

• 🗣️ 2 quotes to help you refocus

• 🪄 1 tip to keep you on track

3 things worth procrastilearning over

1. Disney's business model started as an illustration

The cartoonist Walt Disney felt he could get a handle on all his ideas by putting them together into a visual format. Unsurprising for a cartoonist, but it was also true for his business models, which developed over the years as more assets were added. Here is the 1957 version:

The illustration is quite charming but also a stark omen for what was to come, as Disney became a bigger and bigger company that became involved in seemingly every consumer good. The merchandise licensing section now encompasses food and toiletries, for example, not just toys.

I remember being weirded out when my 1-year-old son started identifying Mickey Mouse even though we’d never discussed the character with him before. It was just a natural result of us all living in a social matrix of marketing.

But, mega-corporate dystopia notwithstanding, the takeaway is that it’s worth figuring out a problem you’re stuck on with a doodle.

2. Autonomous trucks have started appearing

Forget self-driving cars - that’s old hat. Now self-driving trucks will be crusing all over the United Arab Emirates.

Ten years ago, we all assumed self-driving cars would be everywhere by now. But their highly publicised accidents seem to have dampened public appetite for them. I suspect self-driving trucks will be a common sight before the cars because public opinion about them is less important - people who drive trucks tend to be employees of companies, and companies are more fussed about efficiency costs than opinions… or unnecessary hires.

3. People don’t like AI-created books

Using AI to make a personalised children's book for your kids is a great idea. I posted about it last year, as it’s a bit of a trend, and recently a YouTube video popped up of somebody explaining their process:

But YouTube being YouTube, many comments beneath this new video were highly critical and even upsetting. Lauren Valdez, the woman who made the AI book, explains in a blog post what it was like to deal with all the anger:

2 quotes to keep in mind

1 simple tip to sleep better

Don’t keep your phone near your bed

Using a phone or tablet just before sleep can make it hard to fall asleep. It can also interrupt your sleeping patterns for the rest of the night. The phenomenon of staying up to stare at your phone even has a name: "sleep procrastination".

You might be reading this and thinking: “But I use my phone as an alarm clock!” Well, you know the solution: buy a real alarm clock and use that instead. The cheapest will do.

If you need further convincing, here's Matthew Walker, neuroscientist and author of the best-selling book Why We Sleep:

That's all for today. Many thanks for reading. Here’s a photo of two camels staring at each other.

Adam

Adam Zulawski
Procrastilearning on Beehiiv / More stuff
Currently reading: Loving What Is by Byron Katie

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