Finished reading: Although I’m far from having a crisis, I’m well into midlife. So, Midlife by Kieran Setiya was a powerful book.

I could relate, when Setiya describes what he expects to feel after he finishes writing the book:

If experience is anything to go by, the hole will be filled soon enough. There will be another project: a class to teach, a book to read, an article to write. I will move on. But the movement is like running on a treadmill. Life is a succession of projects, each one left behind, their numbers slowly adding up. What the future holds is only more of the achievements, and the failures, that make up my past. It will differ only in quantity from the life I have already lived, a mere accumulation of deeds.

I won’t spoil the outcome. Suffice it to say that this book has lots of good advice, written clearly and with humour.

Setiya also has a good session on Waking Up.

📚

Investing in the MacSparky Productivity Field Guide ✅

There is absolutely no shortage of productivity methods and content out there, especially in the “influencer” racket. I’m quite sure that there is no one true way to be productive. In fact, I think there’s some merit to switching up my approach on occasion, just to reinvigorate my interest.

To that end, I’ve really appreciated the MacSparky Productivity Field Guide. I find the roles based approach suits me really well, as I try to juggle multiple parts of my life, while the intentionality it creates helps with prioritizing and staying engaged. This isn’t about any particular tasks app or zettelkasten setup. Rather, the emphasis is on the why and making tough choices about where to focus attention.

There aren’t many “quick wins” here. In following along, I had to think carefully, document my intentions, and track all of my commitments over a few weeks. All well worth doing and now paying off. As with so many things, upfront investments payoff in the long run.

🔗 The strange and turbulent global world of ant geopolitics

What is surprising is how poorly we still understand global ant societies: there is a science-fiction epic going on under our feet, an alien geopolitics being negotiated by the 20 quadrillion ants living on Earth today. It might seem like a familiar story, but the more time I spend with it, the less familiar it seems, and the more I want to resist relying on human analogies. Its characters are strange; its scales hard to conceive. Can we tell the story of global ant societies without simply retelling our own story?

Fascinating

📚 These Wheel of Time books are long! I only got 1/3 of the way through The Shadow Rising before the library loan ended

Finished reading: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is rather strange. Some really lovely, poetic passages about the tranquility and beauty of Mars, coupled with buffoonish characters from Earth. I totally get this could be intentional, though it is jarring 📚

🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️ Fitness in 2023

I kept busy in 2023 with triathlon training. As a reference point for next year, here’s a comparison of 2023 with 2022.

My running was surprisingly consistent. Although the totals are almost identical, I do think that my structured workouts were much better in 2023. Each run had a purpose and all were part of a bigger plan.

Cumulative running totals for 2023 (1,663 km) and 2022 (1,603 km)

There was a trade off for cycling between indoors and outdoors. In 2023, I couldn’t quite get aligned with most of the outdoor group rides. So, there was a lot more indoor riding on Zwift. I’d like to switch this around in 2024.

Cumulative outdoor cycling totals for 2023 (628 km) and 2022 (1,301 km) Cumulative indoor cycling totals for 2023 (3,017 km) and 2022 (1,702 km)

I’m surprised by my relatively low swimming distances in 2023. This is my strongest of the three. So, I tend to take it for granted. I should bump this up in 2024.

Cumulative swimming totals for 2023 (85 km) and 2022 (104 km)