on habits

First you define your habits, then your habits define you (John Dryden)

One of the most exciting parts of a sabbatical is the spontaneity. Spontaneous travel and being open to taking on any new opportunity that comes your way is a new freedom that has been really helpful to explore. But, at the same time, I’m learning to also really appreciate my routine. I now like to think of my routine not as a boring and repetitive list of tasks (like Sisyphus rolling his boulder up a hill), but instead as dynamically leveraging the knowledge I gain about myself to get the most out of my day.

Project Sisyphus is just a really simple and hopefully continuously improving list of what I’ve learned so far about what gives me the most energy, fun, and deep focus during the day. It helps more explicitly track progress in one of the goals I mention in What am I chasing now?

To understand how I can do my best work

Morning Routine

• Wake up at 8AM (ish)

• Take a cold shower

• Quick breakfast: cold milk & oats + banana

• 20 minute run in the morning

• Read the news (or whatever information I find most interesting, philosophy journals, books, etc.)

Writing

• Read great writing before writing: Your brain puts out what you put into it, so don’t worry about being original, invest time in, first just building a habit of reading, then taking the time to look for writing that really resonates with you.

• Embracing the craft: Early on this will feel like Sisyphus, you work hard you roll that boulder up the hill and then nothing happens, you just have to roll it up again. If you don’t learn to enjoy rolling up that boulder, this probably isn’t the thing for you.

Work

• Best time to work

  • Mornings and evenings

• Try to read for at least an hour a day

• Don’t sit for too long

  • Keep changing locations every 2-3 hours

• Do something energizing mid-day

  • Video games

  • Dance class

  • Lunch is risky can go way over

• Have days dedicated to working and days for meetings (testing: 10/07/2023)

Scheduling

• Later in the day is better 7:30 PM

  • Time between 6 and 7:30 is great for work given breaks and my schedule

• Instead of making plans same day, it pays off to even take a day to plan the week

  • Opportunities get booked

  • You end up going to a lot less random things, fewer more high quality and personalized places can be worth 10x more (quality is much more important than quality)

Exploration

• Make space for serendipity (10/07/2023)

  • Proximity determines serendipity. Where you get coffee, work out, what communities you join, even where your office is located all matters. Choose carefully. It might even be helpful to opt for more flexible housing so you can try proximity to different things

• Do the research, go through directories, and reach out 1 on 1 (10/07/2023)

  • Making space for serendipity is great, but it doesn’t replace just going through contacts, community directories one by one and see who might be great to meet. Searching is good, but doing the manual work can surface things of interest that you did not even know you are interested in.

• Don’t worry about precision, prioritize bold new directions even if the details are missing (10/07/2023)

  • It can be easy to go into a theoretical spiral about whether a direction is the right way to go. Get high motivation around a general direction, then meeting people and being in places of high opportunity will bring the right thing to you

    • Ex: I was interested in civic tech because I was interested in solving social problems and seeing change where I lived, but I did not know what form participating in this space would take. Spent way too much time theorizing about this and got nowhere. Only when I took on projects and started talking to people, did the details and opportunities sharpen. Knowing what you are looking for and not looking for is important, then just see what the universe brings your way.

Evening

• Make to do list before going to bed

• Bed by 11pm

Relaxing

What does it mean to really take it easy? How do you truly relax and shed your fear and anxiety? A key component of working hard is being able to truly recover and rest.

• Keep a clear schedule: Clear off all scheduled activities and to-do lists. The feeling of having a completely free day is something else. If you really want to recover, you really have to put no pressure on the day to get anything done.

• Go outside: A new rule for relaxation day, you gotta move your body before you move your mind. Even if it’s a 10 minute walk outside, just get outside first.

• Be slow: the opposite of rushing is slowing down after all. When eating cereal, taking a nap, or taking a walk, don’t let time be a factor you worry about.

• Make one meal of the day yourself: Cooking can be a meditative exercise. Of course feel free to meditate, but be slow keep the food on low heat and really pay attention to the food when you eat it.

• Don’t multitask: I’ve noticed what a strong pull I feel towards multi-tasking, watching YouTube while eating, or listening to music while doing things. I think a part of it is a need to make every moment feel productive and just a short attention span. I can’t concentrate on anything for too long before I need to switch contexts to something else, then I can switch back.

• Do what you love: Dance, calling a friend, talking a walk, exploring a new neighborhood. A bit on the nose, but do what you love since you love it.