Hi friends,

Happy Saturday. One of my unofficial goals this year is to read a fiction book alongside our monthly nonfiction book. If you have any suggestions you think I'd enjoy, reply and let me know! I'll be tracking all my progress over on Goodreads.

For January, we're reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.

For February, we'll be reading Unhinged Habits by Jonathan Goodman

— Maneet

Weekly Discussion

I love chocolate.

If chocolate were a love language, it would absolutely be mine. It doesn’t matter the type or shape it comes in. If there’s chocolate involved, I’ll most certainly be there.

Which is why I’ve had to be very intentional about where I keep chocolate in the house.

You see, since I’m such a chocolate fanatic, there always tends to be some deliciously wonderful chocolatey treats in the house for me to munch on when the craving hits. This in itself isn’t a bad thing. We all need some chocolatey goodness ready at a moment’s notice, am I right? However, I’ve begun to notice that these cravings are a bit more predictable than I initially thought.

The second I see chocolate, it becomes nearly impossible for me to resist taking a nibble of it.

If I don’t see it, there is no craving.

This is the power of environment design.

I love this concept as explained by James Clear in this week’s reading of Atomic Habits. Our habits, both the good and the bad, always start with a cue. Visual cues are the most powerful. If a habit becomes associated with seeing something, we will almost certainly perform the habit every time that visual trigger enters our sight. This happens in all kinds of ways:

• When we see our phone, we pick it up and start scrolling
• When we see snacks, we pick up the box and start eating
• When we see our e-reader, we turn it on and start reading

The best way to build or break habits is not by relying on motivation or willpower.

It’s by focusing ruthlessly on the cues that trigger them.

The book suggests taking this to the extreme if you want to see meaningful results. For example, if you tend to watch too much TV, Clear suggests removing your entire TV from the living room so it’s no longer in sight. Even though this sounds like a rather big step to take, it makes a lot of sense. If we’re serious about breaking bad habits, then we need to be serious about removing the cues that trigger them.

The same can be done for habits we’re trying to build.

If reading more is a goal for 2026, then a good way to do that would be to keep your book or e-reader visible as much as possible. If it’s always sitting on the desk in front of you or next to your bedside, you’re going to be much more likely to pick it up and read than if it were tucked away in your backpack. Visual cues are extremely powerful.

This week, I’ll leave you with this question to reflect on:

Take a look around you. Is your environment thoughtfully designed? Is it optimized to support the habits you want to build? Or is there some room for improvement?

Reply and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Weekly YouTube Video

​🎬 My Bold 2026 Kindle Predictions (I'm Probably Wrong)​

I just published my annual Kindle predictions video, and once again, I’m fully prepared to be wrong. I talk through what I realistically think Amazon will do in 2026, especially around the Kindle Scribe and AI features, and then share my personal wishlist for Kindle software improvements. If you’re curious where Kindle might be headed, this one’s worth a watch.

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Three ways I can help you...

🎬 Check out my latest YouTube video. My channel is all about Book Tech and using technology to live an intentional life.

📖 Need something new to read? Check out all the books I've written and support my work along the way.

📚 Check out the Presently Reading book log. It is a complete list of every book we've read in the book club since I started it.