For a long time I’ve been proud of having systems and habits to help keep my inboxes at zero (or close to), no red notification bubbles on my phone apps, and minimal tabs in my browser.
For some reason in 2024, apart from the red notification bubbles intolerance, my habits slipped and so I find myself at the start of 2025 with 68 tabs open in Safari 😱 and over 70 emails in my inbox 🙈. I have friends with thousands of notifications and who regularly max out the allowed tabs, so I know my organisation preferences might seem extreme to some!
One of the reasons I’ve let this happen is that life is kind of busy and I’ve wanted to either write about, implement, or simply be entertained by some of this content but just haven’t found the time.
Recovering from foot surgery this weekend has slowed things down just a little, so I thought I’d clear the decks for a fresh start to the new year, and write about some of them so I can keep them for the future as well as getting rid of the minor anxiety I get when I see my email inboxes or open browser tab count!
Precision Movement; body saving guidance
Precision Movement Website | Precision Movement YouTube Channel
Like many people I’ve got a sedentary job where I’m at a desk in from of a computer screen for many hours a day. I try to counter this with exercise and movement.
That combination occasionally creates tweaks and injuries than can escalate if not dealt with.
Finding Coach E and Precision Movement changed my perspective on what it is to be injured and how to recover and strengthen.
So far I’ve used his courses to solve a recurring shoulder issue, help with sore knees from running, and I’ll be using the foot & ankle course to help recover from my recent surgery to make sure I’m back up and running healthily as soon as possible.
Farnam Street blog: Writing to think
I’ve subscribed to the newsletter Farnam Street by Shane Parrish for sometime now, and he has published an incredible wealth of quality content.
This article stood out to me at the time I read it, and I’m finding it applies more and more to various aspects of life especially at work.
I’ve been a huge proponent of good documentation at work for a long time and more recently have needed to try and explain my reasoning to developers that just want to get on with their tasks and don’t see the benefits.
This article really gets into to a key belief that I hold: if you can’t express your thinking in words, it’s unlikely you truly understand your topic.
How to maximise Dopamine and Motivation by Andrew Huberman
I’m not sure of where I got the link to this video but I’m glad I did.
It debunks the idea of a Dopamine “Hit” and talks about how dopamine is released as part of working towards something - the pain part of the “no pain no gain” concept.
He signs off with “the pursuit is the reward if you want to have repeated to wins and that tapping into dopamine as a motivator not just as a reward is infinite”. Worth a watch!
Public domain ebooks: Standard Ebooks
Standard Ebooks Website | Source: Kottke
From their about page:
Standard Ebooks is a volunteer-driven effort to produce a collection of high quality, carefully formatted, accessible, open source, and free public domain ebooks that meet or exceed the quality of commercially produced ebooks.
So many awesome books available in here, including some of my favourites I already have print copies of such as Winnie the Pooh (I have a first edition of this with a family connection which I’ll write about in future) and The Sun Also Rises.
Kent Hendricks Lists: Things I learned in 2023
I’m pretty sure I first heard of Kent Hendricks yearly lists from Jason Kottke, and I’m glad I did!
He’s been doing them each year for a while now, and they’re full of fascinating facts and information. He’s in the USA so it’s understandably skewed towards US stats, but as someone who loves learning new things, his list writing will continue to be something I look for each new year.
The Phistomefel Ring in Sudoku puzzles by Numberphile
Source: Kottke
I’m not a big sudoku puzzle person but I love a good pattern and applied maths.
This video shows you a specific pattern that exists in every sudoku puzzle - worked out by a guy called Phistomefel - awesome maths pattern geekery.
CTO Craft Con
Not a con job, but a conference for tech leaders.
I joined the CTO Craft slack community a fair few years ago when I was aspiring to take on a leadership role.
Now I’m a full time CTO I hardly get a moment to be involved in it, but definitely want to make it to one of their events in the coming year or two.
The Black Bibs
I love a bit of tasty cycling gear, and having stumped for Rapha tights and drooled over the prospect of £300 Assos performance gear, I came across the Black Bibs site.
Quality bib shorts for less than £70? I’m in. When my current Orros start failing (which after a few years abuse and 18 months in storage they’re definitely heading that way), then I’ll be trying these.
The Big Life Journal
As a man recently blessed with the joys of being a bonus-dad to a wonderful 5 (now 7) year old, it’s been a steep learning curve!!
The content and guides created by the team at Big Life Journal have helped me get my head around what it is to parent with care, love, and understanding.
I’ve implemented some of their guidance to great effect, and after getting a copy for her Christmas in 2024 we’re working our way through the Big Life Journal together and seeing the positive impact already.
The School Of Calisthenics
I can’t remember where I saw it, but to paraphrase, I read someone describe why they train their body now: “I’m not training to look good now, I’m training for the old version of me to be strong and active”.
I train fairly regularly with weights and running, and want to add Calisthenics to the mix this year.
Why you need a “WTF Notebook”
Joining a new team and wanting to help them move on from the mistakes they’re making? Working for a team and you’re frustrated by seeing the same issue over and over? The tips in this article will probably get you over that hurdle!
I wish I’d read this years ago when I started contracting - it would have reduced the amount of stress and awkward conversations by a great deal.
A few laws of getting rich by Morgan Housel
I read The Psychology Of Money by Morgan Housel in the middle of 2024, inspired by a few of his posts on the excellent CollabFund blog.
The laws he’s shared in the post range from subtle guidance (#6. Quick wealth is fragile wealth), to inspiringly morbid (#9. No one is going to remember you in 100 years), with most being right on the money - especially the opener:
#1. Most of what makes you happy in life has nothing to do with money, and realizing that once you have money can be a painful admission.
I’m intending to write up some notes about The Psychology of Money sometime, and in the mean time bookmark this list for the occasional reminder.