Update on 'Embracing Limits in 2024'

Last year, I set some limitations for myself and wanted to reflect on how it turned out. I am writing this to determine what worked and what didn't, so there is a reasonable chance you do not care. Feel free to skip this Thought.

The goal was to limit myself to learning about two topics, design and business strategy, to prevent myself from constantly getting distracted and overloading myself with things I wanted to do or learn.

Below, I will break down the things that went well and where I went off track. These good and bad assessments are relative to my goals starting the year. I would argue that some things that "didn't go well" are very good, and I should consider them more in the future.

Things that worked well:

1. I picked two subjects I enjoy reading about, and ~40% of the books I read were about those subjects.
2. I was way better than in previous years at listening to what I felt when needing silence or a break^[1].
3. In the fall, I finally realized on a deep level that I couldn't do everything and began giving up things I didn't care enough about^[2].

Things that didn't work well:

1. I didn't read nearly as much about the subjects as I had hoped because I spent more time reading fiction and for book clubs than planned.
2. I spent less time reading than I would have liked. I frequently chose other things over reading that I find less gratifying but more immediately rewarding, like watching a Netflix series, even if I didn't care much about the outcome^[3].
3. I didn't spend enough time writing, which lowered my reading drive. I primarily read because I enjoy hearing and experimenting with new ideas; my motivation waned when I didn't make time.
4. Following the thread through the two subjects I picked was more challenging than expected. There was rarely an obvious "next book", so it didn't always feel coherent even though I was reading about the same subjects.
5. I spent more time coding than usual. After working with Ruby on Rails using Cursor, I started working on a few smaller projects outside what I had planned for the year^[4].

So, what did I learn from all of this?

1. I should make more time for fiction. I am interested in humans and psychology, and fiction more memorably captures these than nonfiction books.
2. Trying to limit myself to completely ephemeral hobbies didn’t work for me… In the future, I want to do more cooking to give me something physical.
3. Sinking into those coding projects was so satisfying. I have been neglecting the part of my personality that is a tinkerer/builder. I don’t know what to do with this insight yet. Recommendations are welcome.
4. Only reflecting once a year on these sorts of things is not enough…
5. I tend toward being more of a generalist so it seems like it would be more valuable to focus on horizontals (like communication and writing) instead of verticals (specific subjects) over long periods.

Last, the biggest takeaway was how destructive these goals can be when taken to extremes. When I think about my goals on any given day, they lead me to think about reading, writing, and working. What gets left behind are, in fact, the most important things: being a good husband and friend. They are less tangible but will be more important to me in the long run. I hope to spend more intentional time with Amy and close friends this year.

The overall goal for the year was to slow down, and I think I achieved that despite focusing on the two topics not working as well as I had hoped. I don't plan to have "yearly topics" again next year, but I plan to pursue new topics more as rabbit holes and see what the year brings.

I hope everyone has a great New Year!

1. This can be most seen in that I listened to 116 hours of podcasts in 2024 vs. 192 in 2023, a pretty big step down (in a great way).
2. If anyone wants to discuss more specifics here, I am down, it just felt like a little too much to include here.
3. If you can't tell yet, The Low-Friction Life was written entirely about my struggles with aligning what I say I want with what I actually do.
4. I have not had this much fun coding in a long time. If you haven't tried Cursor and Ruby on Rails, particularly paired, I highly recommend them.