the false promise of new habits

Whenever I create a new set of habits, I get overwhelmed with a sense of motivation and optimism.

Unfortunately, this feeling is largely bullshit, and ultimately unhelpful.

It feels helpful at first - who doesn't like feeling motivated and optimistic? But the problem occurs after a few days, when life kicks in and things get in the way.

Maybe you miss a couple habits. You fall off the wagon a little. All of a sudden you feel less optimistic, and therefore less motivated. It feels hard. It feels like things will never get better.

See, the trick to good lifestyle design is to pick a habit stack that you can largely sustain even when you feel UNMOTIVATED and PESSIMISTIC.

Those moments when you feel on top of the world are the exception, not the rule. Habits that can only be sustained during periods of emotional exuberance are habits that will not be maintained.

Think about the days when you feel like absolute garbage - what positive habits do you think you could maintain even on those days? Start there.

Twilight Breakthroughs

Sometimes I can sit at the computer for hours and still produce zero good ideas. But I lay in bed for 30 goddamn seconds and all the juice starts flowing.

What's that about?

There's gotta be some psychology behind that. I seem to get the best ideas either in bed, in the shower, or when I'm on a walk. The computer is good for executing and refining them, but definitely not for breakthroughs.

I wish I could better take advantage of this fact. But I also don't wanna turn my bed into a workstation.

Or do I? Maybe I'm a bed person and that's all there is to it. Common wisdom dictates that you should keep your work and sleep areas separate, but is that really working for people? And what if some of my work feels more like play? Does that change what's allowed in bed?

If I'm allowed to physically fool around in bed (wink wink), why can't I mentally fool around too?

the long way is the short way

Humans are inherently present-biased, and it's one of our primary weaknesses.

I strive to be future-biased, but it doesn't come easy. See, it's always easier right NOW to do the thing that feels easy NOW. Even though you'll probably regret it later.

One of the ways I'm combatting this bias is by learning new skills that have a steep learning curve, and sticking with them.

I'm currently learning Blender and Unreal Engine, which are 3D modeling programs that can be used for animation and game building. As a video editor, I think these would be incredibly useful skills to develop and hone over the next ten years, and they'll not only allow me to elevate my own passion projects, but they'll also make me a whole lot more valuable in a marketplace that's increasingly competitive.

But did you notice what I said? This is something that I plan on mastering over the next TEN YEARS. That's a long time… right? WRONG.

There's an old maxim that seems appropriate here: “Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year, but underestimate what they can do in ten.”

My whole point here is simple - your present actions compound over time to determine your future. So start moving in the right direction, and just be steady and consistent. Slow is okay. But keep going.

recent archaeology

Have you ever randomly searched someone you used to know and found a string of abandoned webpages they used to use?

It's like a digital archaeological dig.

Old Instagram accounts for a band they were in for five minutes, a YouTube channel where they posted six yoga videos eight years ago, or a blog with four random posts with no discernible theme.

Wouldn't it be funny if that's what this was?

new school year

It occurred to me today that it's a new school year this month.

Being that I'm almost 30 years old, my mind has been completely rewired to think of January as the beginning of the new year. But when I was in school, January always felt like the midpoint. The only new thing being that the year had changed and you were gonna keep accidentally writing last year's date on all your homework for the next six weeks.

September was when everything changed. New teacher, new classmates, new haircut, sometimes even a new school - it was a big deal.

So despite being a 28-year-old school-hating fiend, I sort of miss the hard reset that September afforded me. It was refreshing. Fun. A little tittilating, and always scary.

So that's how I'm designing this September for myself. I'm making new year's resolutions starting now. Not waiting until January. It's too cold then anyway and everyone's got seasonal affective disorder. Best to strike while the iron's hot and we've got some sunshine in our blood and the summer lofi’s still playing in the background.

hello world

This is my first blog post. It is essentially just a test. If you are visiting this website for whatever reason, please do not read this post. Feel free to read any others. This specific blog post is purely confidential and I don’t want any of you to read it.

Please stop.