I compel you to re-[insert verb]!

Bear with me. I want to briefly talk about schooling. Specifically, high school English class. More specifically, my AP Language class.

For those unfamiliar, AP Language is a college-level class about writing and argumentation that is offered to high-school students in the American education system.

Through AP Lang, I was exposed to an important lesson that has helped me (at least I think helped me) become a more efficient, effective and happier person. This lesson came in the context of reading, and the exceptional individual to be quoted here is Vladimir Nabakov, who famously stated:

Those are some wonderful traits! I’ve always wanted to be “good”, “active”, and “creative”, but I can’t say I’ve always wanted to reread anything. Especially in the present media environment, where information is rapidly disseminated and even more quickly replaced by the next headline, meme, or study, re-reading is a time-consuming act with unclear returns. I’m willing to bet most people don’t re-read past editions of The Morning Brew.

But hang on. The act of re-doing is so common in society that we don’t even realize it. Some examples are:

• Wine-lovers who buy a case of a wine vintage so they can taste the wine as it ages
• Gym-goers who repeat a weekly weight-lifting program to drive progressive overload and growth of various muscle groups
• Business professionals who get an MBA, despite having a Bachelor’s in Business (self-jab)

The people who do these things are re-doing for a reason. There are benefits to be yielded! Wine-lovers pursue the enjoyment of complexity of aged wines. Gym-goers are pursuing their own fitness goals, whether those are to run a marathon, have 10% body fat, or deadlift 3x their bodyweight. Last but not least, MBA students want to switch the trajectories of their careers so they can be happier and more fulfilled with their jobs.

I argue re-doing can bring benefits to almost any job, hobby, or act.

Is it effortful? Absolutely!

Is it time-consuming? Yes!

Is it worth it? I think so, but you should try for yourself!

In the spirt of re-[insert verb], the next time it’s 8:11 PM and you’re confronted with the temptation of swiping through TikTok (or Reels if you still use that), say no and find something to revisit. I’m confident it will be worth your time and effort!

For the sake of accountability, here are some things that I’ve loved revisiting:

1. Re-watching movies (Good Will Hunting and La La Land are favorites!)

2. Re-watching food shows (Anthony Bourdain is a personal source of inspiration)

3. Re-watching anime (As of this writing, I’m on Bungou Stray Dogs Season 1)

Cheers!