It’s the age old way to start the day, but if there’s anything that’s certain to put you in a bad mood – it’s making a routine out of reading the news. Apparently what really sells is doom, gloom, gossip, fear and a loss of faith in humanity: commissioned under a larger agenda and neatly packaged into a mostly subjective article, containing few well researched facts, that you probably only clicked on as a means of procrastination anyway.
Here are my top 15 newsletters to subscribe to that will allow your inbox to feed your mind, lift your spirits, explore the city, think for yourself and effectively eradicate the Daily Mail side bar of shame from your life. In an age increasingly painted with the brush of the outrageously offended and real depth limited via scarcity of time – sign up to these legitimate gems and don’t look back.
1. The Skimm
‘Making it easier for you to live smarter’ – The Skimm is so called because it delivers a very brief summary of the headlines you actually need to know that day. The witty titles and unique style, cleverly prevent it from ever becoming dry. They also host audio episodes and files on big topics, in case you feel like delving further.
2. Niklas Goeke
Niklas is a ‘writer, book nerd and habit coach’ from Germany who also runs 4 minute books and various other projects. His newsletters are adorned with jewels from interesting book and article summaries, to little life hacks, philosophical ponderings and all things self-help and self-improvement. He’s also a writing coach with an ability to make reading facts feel like a fairy tale – you don’t reach over a million people on Quora over 60 days unless you’ve refined the art of condensing something incredibly interesting, or difficult to understand, into just a few impactful sentences.
3. Goodnewsletter
Because guess what? Good things actually go on in the world too. How are you meant to fill in that gratitude diary if you hardly ever hear about it. Click the title to be directed to the correct website because entering ‘GoodNewsLetter’ into google will lead you to ‘not right. not left. catholic’, which is not quite the website I had in mind.
The Good Newsletter delivers 5 heart warming news stories to your inbox every Tuesday morning, ensuring you find hope in your weekly headlines.
4. Dose + Goop + Balance + Thrive Global
My top 4 separate sites for the wellness fanatics. Similarly to Balance (a free, paper version of which, can be found at many tube stations around London), Dose contains articles on all the best popups and events around London, for ‘healthy hedonists’.
Thrive Global is Arianna Huffington’s venture from HuffPo, to corporate wellness. They collate the latest advice from esteemed academics and wellness professionals, as well as taking submissions from their online community, giving some reads a beautifully personal feel.
Under the same umbrella but on the other side of the spectrum is Goop, which mostly specialises in the more mystical and slightly alternative. A little like marmite, you either like it or you don’t and no one will force you to decide. I’m currently loving it.
5. Culture Whisper + Urban Junkies + Nightkey
Reviews, hot tickets, discounts and tips – all the latest and greatest that London has to offer in the way of restaurant openings, events, exhibitions and spending whilst saving.
Nightkey also features an app that allows applicants to submit a form for complimentary membership, whilst offering big savings at some of London’s finest establishments and hosting exclusive events you won’t find anywhere else.
6. Vestpod + Ellevest + Investopedia
It used to be said that in London, the street’s are paved with gold. Which would explain why it’s so bloody expensive. All 3 are excellent resources for explaining the basics when it comes to investing, as well as actually taking practical steps towards sorting out things like your pension plan, instead of relying on one day becoming a 100yo uber driver (an insight into the kinds of solutions that often cross my mind). Vestpod and Ellevest are fantastically tailored towards millennial women.
7. TUT
Stands for ‘The Universe Talks’. This one daily newsletter, with it’s so simple yet so powerful little existential messages, always puts a smile on my face.
8. Tim Ferris
If you don’t know who this is, then you probably don’t subscribe to the religion of Tech and worship the relevant gods. Tim Ferris is a master of self-help, biohacking and interviewing the cognitive elite.
9. Crypto News in 1 min + 99 bitcoins
When it comes to scraping the surface of the code-driven lands of tomorrow, for muggles such as you and I (or maybe I speak for myself), the simplest resources are always the best at summarising the ridiculously complicated fields of exponentially evolving technology.
10. Nat Eliason
All the good stuff – psychology, self-education, entrepreneurship, marketing, philosophy, finance, health… I genuinely feel good when I see this name in my inbox over the week.
11. Product Hunt Weekly
New toys to play with – the best in apps and tech to recently hit the market or download in beta.
12. Refinery 29 + Sheerluxe
To satisfy the dark part of you that still craves its dose of savage celebrity gossip, juicy horoscopes and fashion you’ll probably never buy.
13. The Onion
Along with the tweets from Frankie Boyle – some of the best in satirical humour when it comes to current affairs.
14. Funzing
Finding out what’s on in London isn’t limited to bars, restaurants and clubs, there are also so many weird and wonderful talks, courses, classes and workshops to try out.
15. Rupert Sheldrake
Another marmite. Traditionally trained as an oxbridge scientist, Dr Sheldrake isn’t afraid to question the fundamentals when it comes to the age old institution of science. Whether you like some of the topics he covers or not, I find his work an argument for critically thinking about anything and everything. Being open minded enough to at least read into things that instinctively make you want to dismiss them without further investigation, by intelligently challenging core beliefs in the current paradigm.
Happy reading, growing, saving, spending, exploring and manifesting!
@heyandiehey
