#MundaneLife
A new type of hazard on the golf course, apparently. Maybe a "birdie" dropped it?
What Has My Attention
Nothing. I’m on vacation. See you in 2021!
Ok, I guess that's not entirely true. I have been using my time off to do a bit more writing than usual:
A recap of an experiment to maintain routine during vacation.
A recap of an experiment in doing the things I know I need to do.
As always, I'm curious to read other folks' year-in-review articles so please send me ones you've enjoyed by replying to this email.
Thanks for hanging out with me in this profoundly weird year and here's to a much calmer and pandemic-less 2021!
For Your Attentional Consideration
The Munger Operating System: How to Live a Life That Really Works
Ever since we landed on the “operating system” as the foundational metaphor for how we think about organizations at The Ready I’ve been enamored with using it at the individual level, too.
This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises.
I hate the “growth at all cost” assumption of run-of-the-mill capitalism so stories like this — which seem to be a particularly Japanese phenomenon — are my favorite.
’I’m just measuring myself with myself’ — ping pong as a route to Sufi spiritual practice
“I’m just measuring myself with myself” is maybe the best encapsulation of me and what/why I do what I do.
No Jedi
It’s easy to invest unearned levels of confidence in extremely experienced folks. They’re just trying to get by, too.
My Monastic Academy Journey
A fascinating, and ongoing, story of how someone decided to become a monk.
No More Forever Projects
If I had to make a personal t-shirt I’d get “I’m just measuring myself with myself” on one side and “no more forever projects” on the other side. I’m going to be taking a hard look at the “forever projects” I currently have ongoing in 2021 and will be figuring out some ways to put some boundaries around them.
Closing Round
Watching: A new season of Letterkenny dropped on the day after Christmas so you know I’m working my way through that. Have also watched the first episode of The Stand and am excited to see how they handle it.
Listening: A second Taylor Swift album in 2020? Yes, please. It has been on repeat for the last couple weeks.
Playing: Hades! It comes highly regarded from my brothers and The Besties, so I had to give it a shot. I’ve loved the other stuff Supergiant Games has made (primarily Bastion) and so far I haven’t been disappointed.
Reading: Ever since I saw the trailer for the new Dune movie it has been floating around in the back of my head. In preparation for that flick (which is still extremely far away) I decided to re-read the book. I remember loving it the first time I read it — but apparently that’s all I remember because it has felt like I’m reading it for the first time again.
Feel free to respond to this email if you have something you think I should read or just want to say hello. Or pop on over to Twitter. God knows you can find me over there more easily than you probably should...
Until next time,
Sam