Some of my favorite episodes and series I listened to during 2021
Listed in no particular order, with a one-sentence quote or recollection from the episode
Read MoreMy favorite books read in 2021. Loosely categorized, and listed in no particular order, plus my one sentence recollection of the book.
Read MoreI learned how to listen more carefully. Oftentimes, whenever I’m “communicating” with someone, I’m thinking about how I’m going to respond; that doesn’t seem like listening to me! By the time I wrapped up Season 1, I gave myself permission to have awkward or long pauses before responding (which, by the way, I edited out!). With that permission to myself, I didn’t have to think about my response while my guest was speaking.
Read MoreMy 20 favorite books read in 2020. Loosely categorized, and listed in no particular order, plus my one sentence recollection of the book.
Read MorePart I of III on habits, hobbies, and happiness
What if I could approach each moment with this attitude? Instead of looking forward to these pre-scheduled parts of the day, could I just enjoy each moment, for all moments? The payoff could be remarkable. I don’t believe this change in mindset is going to be possible unless I continue to protect my time. I’ll continue to keep myself as distraction free from all devices during moments that do not require them. I’ll continue to prioritize my morning routine, and be deliberate about other parts of my day.
Read MoreI eventually gave up on my dreams of playing in the NBA and becoming any sort of professional athlete, despite my love of fitness and activity. At some point after formal education ended, I decided that I would play to my perceived strengths, and try to carve out a space for me based on my unique combination of relevant skills.
Read MoreAt some point in my life, someone told me to have five year plans. "What do you want your life to look like in five years," was the prompt. I can safely say that my five year plans have almost always been wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with planning for the future, even if I had been wrong. Here's what I've learned about those plans. They were usually myopically focused on my career and the job I held at the time.
Read MoreHere's what I love about my commute: I have nothing to do, and nothing to think. I'm free to let my mind wander. I can observe my surroundings. I can observe people. One thing that is apparent to me is just how many people are on their phones or have headphones in. Most of the time, I would say at least 50% of commuters are occupied by their phones. Try not using your phone for a week, or a day; I'm sure you will notice it, too.
Read MoreTo save some time and frustration for those who want to quickly get started in HackerRank to learn R, I prepared the following template based on a compilation of different sources, amending it as needed. The following template is not for people seeking to become professional programmers. Part of learning programming is working through these simple, but important, challenges.
Read MoreAll in, with warmup, five sets, and cool down, this workout might take about 25 minutes. It might not help you hit a new PR on your backsquat, but it should get your heart rate up, and make you tired. What I love about workouts like these is that you can do them anywhere without any equipment. Also, if I'm in a rush (or just don't feel like working out for 25 minutes), I can scale down the reps or sets (maybe only do one set, or I'll do half the reps and only three sets), and maybe scale up the intensity (i.e., go for time). Without writing a whole post about high intensity vs. duration, I find that I can still have a productive workout by increasing my heart rate, even if the workout isn't particularly long (i.e., greater than 30 minutes).
Read MoreNotifications steal my attention, time, and productivity. There are direct notifications like desktop alerts in Outlook (e.g. email, appointment reminders) or more subtle ones like badge icons on your mobile device (e.g. unread text messages). If you're anything like me, you like have clean inboxes - email, texts, app updates, etc. These notifications can at times distract the hell out of me. Rather than develop the discipline to ignore them, I programmed them out of my life.
Read MoreSometimes I feel like there are an infinite number of tasks that I must complete. By creating a list, I can shrink the infinite into a manageable set of things to do. They help me stay focused, and they help me prioritize. Whenever I start day dreaming about lofty goals, or fall down a rabbit hole of "what-if's," I refer back to my list.
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