It’s been 6 months since I’ve quit facebook. It’s also the beginning of a new year. This post is a sort of recapitulation of the past year, 2020, which everyone will of course recall as the pandemic year for the novel corona virus, COVID-19. So I’ll sum up 2020 and aim to focus on 2021.
Writing: I wrote a book in the past 6 months. It is currently at 71000 words, and I’m going through a second edit. This is a goal which I have wanted to accomplish since I was about 18 years old. So, this achievement alone was a worthwhile reason to leave behind social media.
Family/Meditation: I started the year 2020 with a trip to India with my family. We went to an amazing wedding in Tamil Nadu. I received unexpected gifts from my wife’s family for my birthday. And I was able to attend a 10 day Vipassana course, and several 1 day courses, as well as maintain a daily practice. It’s such a useful discipline and really allows me to focus my mental energy on that which I set my mind to. I can’t encourage meditation enough as a discipline. I’m extremely grateful that I found the simple and free vipassana technique so many years ago. I’m also grateful that I have had people come into my life to encourage this healthy habit. And, as a parent, I’m fortunate to see my son begin a meditation practice even at four years old, if only through modelling my behaviour.
Media: I read 21 books. My favourite books of the year were The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Letters From A Stoic, by Seneca; and I, Claudius by Robert Graves. I also listened to a lot of podcasts, and I remain grateful for the Sam Harris Podcast, Making Sense, to which I subscribe. Other podcasts I enjoy are: Philosophize This! Very Bad Wizards; The Partially Examined life; The Art of Manliness; The History of English podcast; Online Great Books; The most impactful concept/guest on the above podcasts was Will MacAskill discussing Effective Altruism, originated by Peter Singer. Another very useful link from the concept of 80, 000 hours was a link to Alex Vermeer’s website, which has a yearly review and planning pro forma. Between reading and podcasts, as well as a little lindyhop music, most of my consumption of media feels like time very well spent. I have to force myself to watch movies and TV, even during an era of peak TV/Netflix. My favourite series was The Queen’s Gambit.
Home: We bought a home at the end of 2019. We were able to paint 5 rooms and renovate the garden. We established vegetable gardens, as well as plucked olives from our trees and brined them. There are lots of areas we still need to renovate.
We live in Tasmania, Australia. Except for a brief first wave, we were largely isolated from the pandemic. Our luck and timing to move here could not have been better. We may live in one of the safest places in the world at the moment.
I’m currently exploring the Alex Vermeer year in review, thanks, again, to exploring 80000 hours from the effective altruism movement. These concepts all deal with a stoic concept, whereby we accept that Time is really a limited factor. We are all programed for apoptosis and death. So how do we spend our time, career and life? There are great hacks here, such as the concept of pomodoros, whereby we put 25 minute blocks of time (25 minutes = 1 pomodoro) into our day and towards projects we really want to put towards our time. This blog post is my use of 2 pomodoros. I’d like to write more.
Hobbies: We gardened. I grew giant sunflowers in our garden, as well as spinach, tomatoes, potatoes and pumpkins. I wrote. I parented. I emailed old friends. Travelled to India with my family. And, recently, we also spent time in Ulverstone, Tasmania, exploring local walks, bike paths and beaches.
Health: I deadlifted 185kgs (407 pounds) on New Year’s Eve, which is a PB for me. I also squatted 150Kgs (330lbs). And I performed an overhead press of 75kgs (165lbs). I was sick 3 times this year, and my sleep was fairly poor.
In the coming year, I’d like to join/explore/create an effective altruism movement and donate more money to the most effective charities. I’m also looking forward to using the pomodoro method to prioritise my time, and refocus some of my professional goals. I’d like to publish my book. I’d also like to start a podcast, because I think I’d 1) be good at it and 2) be more effective at communicating ideas. I’d like to write 1 blog per week, and read 20 books in the year. Lastly, I’ll need to socialise more. Since we’ve moved to Launceston, my social life has been fairly limited. I’m hoping to find some overlap between my current lifestyle, intellectual interests and doing these things with others.
And that’s my 2 pomodoros for today. Wishing you the dulce vita in 2021!
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