The Monday Read: Heat degrades productivity

Welcome to The Monday Read, RetireJapan’s weekly collection of content, musings, and links related to personal finance and life in Japan.

It’s not actually that hot in Sendai (comparatively), and the humidity has been a lot less oppressive than in recent memory, but it does drag on.

The fact that it doesn’t get much cooler at night is what really drains me.

I find it very difficult to concentrate, to sleep well, to get work done in this weather.

It’s much easier to be productive in the spring and autumn, or even in winter.

Not sure if there is anything actionable there (should I relocate for the hottest months or just plan for reduced performance?).

Even with near total freedom of schedule and focus, life is just as challenging as it was before. It’s just different challenges.

I guess this is hedonic adaptation. That is not the same as adapting to climate change, but possibly a similar process.

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This week’s books

This week I am having my mind blown by 10x is easier than 2x, by Dan Sullivan. It may well be one of those life-changing books. We’ll see if I can actually implement the ideas, but it feels significant already.

This week’s links

1. I’m a big fan of William Bernstein: Courage Required
2. From June, but still: ¥144 Is Weakest Since Last November
3. He had me at “the tuna court jester”: Becoming the Tuna King
4. From 15 years ago, 5 years to go. Scarily accurate: James Lovelock: ‘Enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan’
5. The graphs in this! One Year Returns Don’t Matter
6. I found this really thoughtful (YouTube): Why Japan’s Population Is Still Declining – Japanese interview
7. Great introduction to a bunch of portfolios with explanations of how they were put together: Investment portfolio examples: asset allocation models for beginners
8. Ramit peddling truth: Do Rich People Have Access to Better Investments?
9. This walk sounds really fun: British Sandwiches and Walking 300km of Wainright’s Coast to Coast
10. This is a great write-up: Disabilities in Japan and the Disability Certificate (Shougaisha Techou)
11. “they pay by suffering.” Ooof. Climate change is death by a thousand cuts
12. I love the idea of having a mobile multi-monitor setup: Apple Vision
13. The New NISA is great, but what does Nomura bring to the table? Nomura hires virtual influencer to coax Japan’s young investors
14. Nice graphs: Rolling the Dice on the Stock Market
15. Slightly encouraging: Emissions are no longer following the worst case scenario
16. Even more important than money? WHAT IS A FRIEND?
17. Should have just made electric cars, Toyota. China Replaces Japan As Top Auto Exporter in Jan-June 2023
18. Demographic change helping workers: Workers in Their “Nifty Fifties” Helping Japanese Companies to Achieve 10%+ ROE
19. Not quite a free house: I moved to an abandoned house in Japan’s countryside. I learned that homeownership in Japan is not the same ticket toward long-term stability as it is in the US
20. Some good info in here: Japan survey reveals A/C energy saving misconceptions, tips to cool electricity bills
21. This sounds almost attractive: Resort resources
22. This video series looks like it’s going to be interesting (YouTube): $6000 house Japan – Day 3 and 4 renovation progress!

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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