Afterpage

A seven-day email course for one book

You read the book. Now give it a week.

Most good books get read and then left on the shelf. Name yours, and for the next seven days Afterpage sends one email each morning: a short summary first, then six small things to try, one a day.

Free for your first book. No card. One click to stop.

A real example, for Deep Work
AfterpageDay 3 of 7 · Action
From Afterpage <hello@getafterpage.com>
Subject Put one block on the calendar

Put one block on the calendar

Today’s action · 10 to 20 minutes

Within the next two days, put one 90-minute block on your calendar and name it “Deep: ” followed by the thing.

How

Pick the hour you're sharpest, not the hour that happens to be free. If a meeting sits there, move the meeting. Treat the block like a flight: small things don't reschedule it.

Why this one

Newport's point is that depth needs scheduling because shallow work always arrives first. Yesterday's list showed where the hours went. Today you take one back.

If today is a bad day

Open your calendar and add a 30-minute block. Shorter beats missing.

What a week looks like

Seven emails. About fifteen minutes each.

This is the week for Deep Work by Cal Newport. Every book gets its own, built from that book’s ideas, not a template with the title swapped in.

  1. 1The summaryThe argument in a paragraph, the three ideas the week will use, and one honest note on where the book overreaches.
  2. 2Look at the real hoursWrite down where yesterday actually went, to the half hour. No app, no judgment.
  3. 3Put one block on the calendarNinety minutes, named, within two days. Move a meeting if you have to.
  4. 4Write the finish lineOne sentence on a card: when this block is over, this exists.
  5. 5Take away one distractionPhone in another room for the block. Only that.
  6. 6End the day on purposeThree lines about tomorrow, then say it out loud: done for today.
  7. 7Run it again, then look backA second block, and a recap of the week with one thing worth keeping.

How this works, plainly

Why I made this. Free to start.

I’m David. I buy a lot of books and almost never have time to read them, and the few I finish tend to fade within a week.

Afterpage is what I wanted for myself: pick a book and get a week of small daily actions from it, instead of one more thing on the shelf.

The first book is free. Later there may be affiliate links on book titles, the odd sponsor, and a paid membership for more books. Each will be labelled, and none will change what a summary says.

The emails are short. Each has a two-minute version for a bad day and a link that stops everything in one click. Replies go to my inbox.

Questions

Asked and answered

What is Afterpage?

Afterpage is a free seven-day email course for one nonfiction, business, or self-help book. You give it a book. Over the next seven days it sends one email a morning: a short summary on day 1, then one small, concrete action on each of days 2 to 7, with a recap on day 7.

Who's behind it?

I'm David Lee. I buy a lot of books and never have time to read them, so I made the thing I wanted for myself: a week of small daily actions for each book. Replies to any email go to my inbox.

What does it cost?

Nothing for your first book. Later we plan to add clearly labelled affiliate links to books, the occasional labelled sponsor, and a paid membership for more books. None of that will change what the summaries say.

Which books work?

Nonfiction with advice you can practice: habits, focus, money, negotiation, decision-making, psychology, management, creativity. Fiction doesn't work. Pick one from the list. If yours isn't there yet, request it and we'll email you once when it's ready.

Do I have to have finished the book?

No. Day 1 covers the argument and the three ideas the week uses, so the plan works if you finished it last night, stalled at chapter four, or only own it.

How long does each action take?

Ten to twenty minutes. Every email also has a two-minute version for bad days.

Why do I have to confirm?

Day 1 arrives as soon as you sign up. It ends with a button to confirm. We only send days 2 to 7 once you've pressed it, so nobody gets emails they didn't ask for.

What happens to my email address?

We use it to send your seven emails and nothing else. We don't sell it or share it. Every email has a one-click link to stop, and we keep only the address and your book so you can't be signed up twice by accident.