The Column
I’ve spent the past few Columns going hyper-specific on stuff. This one will be more diffuse in focus. Aka perhaps more interesting.
Principles
I am currently reading “Principles” by Ray Dalio. It’s not introduced the concept of principles to me, but has me thinking about them. In particular I’m revisiting my General Operating Principles. That list is worth a gander1 if you’re at all interested, but the TL;DR of the top-level principles is the Top 5, below.
Words
It’s funny to me me how some words mean different and seemingly totally random things.
Examples
Gauntlet
- A glove thing
- A series of challenges
Spring
- A metal coil
- A small stream of water
- Set free from capture
Match
- A little fire starting thing
- A particular instance of competition
- Descriptor of two things that are alike
Lint
- Little bits of fabric that fall off
- An automation that ensures text-based content adheres to stylistic standards
Gander
- Look at
- Male goose
Tall
I’ve not spoken with someone taller than me in the past 5+ years. The last time I remember talking with someone taller than me was in 2018. Fun fact.
Recent Rabbit Hole
After writing a ton about my PDW and Obsidian Bullet Journal recently. I decided to pry open the main PDW library and start tinkering. I spent 12+ hours chipping away at complexities, only to arrive at something that was ~5% less complicated. It all worked again, and worked better; but I was left unsatisfied.
So I started over.
Only this time rather than trying to chip away what didn’t feel necessary, I took a zero-based budgeting approach and started with nothing then added in what absolutely had to be there. It is still in work, but seemingly coming out dramatically simpler. Cardinality is always one of the most important architectural decisions. I made a cardinality change, and everything2 is much simpler.
My key design philosophy this time around was to make the entire system as simple to explain as possible. What is the fewest number of parts and rules I could use, while still retaining the essence of the project? This is producing very promising-looking results3.
I might do another post on this at some point, might not. I know this topic is essentially me writing for me4.
Finishing Ingredients
A thing I have aged into, really getting pumped when we finish ingredients we have on hand. When we get to perfectly empty the container of (cheese, chicken, etc) for a recipe… oh boy that’s a sure sign things are going according to plan. I just ate the last of the rice, chili, bacon, cheese, and sour cream all at once. Simple joys of life.
Infinite Firm + Illness
In Column 459 I introduced my intention to transition from 75 Hard™️ to Infinite Firm. That was about a month ago. During that month every single member of my family has been sick with COVID, plus a couple of bonus mystery illnesses. So how’s it going?
| Infinite Firm Daily Goals | Days Successfully Met |
|---|---|
| No alcohol on work nights | 24 of 24 work nights |
| Drink a gallon of water, at least 1/2 plain | ~30 of 33 days |
| Spend 30+ minutes outside every day | ~30 of 33 days |
| Work Out | 21 of 28 healthy days |
| Intermittent Fasting | ~10 of 33 days |
| Read a book or mediate for 10 minutes | ~10 of 33 days |
Those are arranged from most to least successful. The intermittent fasting thing surprised me somewhat. I’ve woken up hungry a lot. And the reading thing is simply because I’m dedicating all my “me” time to the PDW re-vamp. Overall I’m pretty pleased with my adherence.
Top 5: Top-Level General Operating Principles
The list I’ve made & linked to just there is hierarchical. This is the top-most level of that hierarchy.
5. Use systems to manage your life
4. Keep it simple and focused
3. Bias toward action
2. Embrace the pain
1. Pay attention to what’s important
0. Don’t go it alone
Quote:
I haven't quite figured out how to make quotes look good yet.
- me, just now
Navigation: Previous Post