The Education of Axel Heyst

[AxelHeyst]

Finding meaningful, low overhead, leading metrics is the puzzle IMO.

It occurred to me that I do have some kind of heuristic for WIPlimiting, although I hadn't thought of it in those terms: when I start to chronically skip workouts or feel like I need to rush to get in even a 30min workout, something in my system is off. A day or two here or there where I'm so stoked on projects that I forget to work out or even blow it off consciously is no big deal - a good sign, even.

[RoamingFrancis]

Dear Axel,

Wondering if you listened to the most recent Cal Newport episode. I have become a devoted listener of the podcast and was wondering if you still listen. The most recent one was a reflection on the pursuit of greatness.

Best,
RF

[AxelHeyst]

Yeah, I thought it was a great episode for putting in one package a lot of valuable ideas/concepts around 'work' (anti-work anti-"doing a good job ever" leftists, performative psuedo-work, the shift from craft perspective to entrepreneur perspective, how twitter can turn the mind of a high achiever to sawdust, etc).

Also a good episode for anyone who thinks that Cal Newport is on the hustle-bro/get after it end of the spectrum to listen to to understand that they're precisely wrong.

[AxelHeyst]

Jacob's quote over in the semiERE thread is great context for what I've been up to the last week or so:

A lot of it comes down to: https://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

Task-switching is not a problem when on "manager schedule". If the job or interest allows one to quickly switch gears, then 1hr/day of working for money and then switching to something else for the rest of the day is not a problem.

Conversely, if one the maker's schedule and engaged in something that is hugely creative (e.g. requires "inspiration" or "flow"), then even a 15minute interruption much less a 1hr interruption costs much more than the 15 minutes it takes on the clock. Depending on how much mental tooling the project requires this can work on all scales. For example, it's pretty much impossible to do research grade innovation on project A for one week... and then switch to project B for the next week... and then back again. (Graham talks about half-days, which may be fine for a programmer. For a researcher, I think half-years is closer to the minimum if the goal is novel innovation or discovery.)

To use a computer analogy, there's limited disk space for the mental tool box. Insofar one runs a bunch of smaller apps or tools that can be simultaneously installed, it's not a problem to switch because one can just keep them all installed. OTOH, if one runs large apps that take up 98% of the storage, then switching tasks requires uninstalling the "software" for the current task and (re)installing the software for the next task. At 98% even a "small" 5% task would be disruptive. This installing and uninstalling takes time even on a computer. For a brain it's rather slower and costs mental energy by itself.

These [big ones] are the "apps" that are lost or rather not available when one is doing semiERE or semiFI.

As such semi-ERE/FI is much more appealing to those who prefer to be on "manager schedule", whereas it's rather crimping for anyone on the "maker schedule".

Last week I found myself in task-switching hell. I was designing my days into one-to-two hour slices, and allowing myself to task-switch whenever an email came in. By the end of the week I was mentally bedraggled and disconnected from wtf I was even doing with my life.

I implemented a system of designating one project/client/theme per day, with up to an hour at the very end of the day for any admin/comms/quick tasks that can't wait I need to take care of. I also read Slow Productivity finally. A few thoughts:

• It's definitely helped settle my brain down.
• It's clearly more efficient. I'm getting way more done at the scale of a week/month because more efficient/effective use of brain.
• It's more enjoyable to go deeper on one thing. There's also more satisfaction because there's a nice meaty chunk of work I got done that day, rather than a dozen nibbles.
• For what I have on my plate it's obviated the need to do daily time-block planning. I just wake up, do morning stuff with E, then drop into my thing, work out or ride midday, afternoon stuff, then evening stuff.
• It's made it easier to keep perspective on what I am and am not doing, the larger goals I'm aimed at, etc.
• It's also made it clear that, long-term, I want to go much further and farther towards maker-schedule and more extreme model of Slow Productivity/the Deep Life. This current one-project-a-day rhythm might be as good as it gets based on what I have accepted on my plate for now, but a big portion of what I'm doing right now is a) accumulating-to-FI and b) building passive business income flows and c) building skills/rep/portfolio towards future higher ability to pick-and-choose projects of pure stoke and purpose. In the not distant future I intend to make the 'chunks' even bigger - one project per week... one project per month... because it seems clear to me that a tempo that works for me is bigger/deeper chunks. My current actions are moving me in that direction so I am sitting with a certain kind of dynamic contentment - I'm not where I want to be exactly, but I'm moving in that direction at an acceptable pace, so I can relax and enjoy the movement.

[AxelHeyst]

@J+G - EREWL1-7 is solving the freedom-from problem. WL8-10 is solving the freedom-to problem. It's that simple.

In terms of Plato's Cave, WL8 corresponds to having made it to cave exit. WL9-10 is building a new society/community on the surface.

WL5->6 was a huge transition. WL7->8/9 will similarly be a huge transition because the human is no longer asked to solve problems given to the human by the world (like how to find the best WOG given the environmnet). Rather, than finding the solution to a given question, the WL8 human needs to be able to ask the question... starting with "who am I really?"

In terms of how one knows whether one has maximized one's potential, one doesn't. For example, the purpose of some humans is probably just to serve as a bad example and a warning of what not to. The key here is that at WL8 it's all on them, whereas WL1-7 have remnants of societal programming and conformity that guides people.

Another way of saying it is that WL8 or actualization requires construct-awareness. IOW, one has to know the source of one's beliefs or values. Turns out the majority of people don't. Instead they repeat values they've heard from others---like the people they surround themselves with or what they just heard on tiktok. One could say that the typical human is empty inside, but it would be more accurate to say that the typical human is a social/societal mirror believing/behaving/saying what they believe the world wants.

Along with awareness of their programming, a construct-aware person would also be aware of all their trauma and how it causes them to (re)act.

If WL7 is the starting line, then WL8 is the first step beyond it.

The theme of my past few weeks has been corralling and contracting my brain after much divergence (solve/coagula inhale/exhale). Dear @scott2, your question about WIPlimiting was prescient - I need a better WIPlimiting system! This has become apparent, although it still is not clear to me what/where the sweet spot is.

But also I don't feel like I'm in a place where "long-term self-sustaining systems" are where it's at. It feels like my brain is at a triple-point between <=WL7, WL8, and >-WL9, and the systems suited for <7 aren't the same as those most appropriate for 8 which aren't those most appropriate for 9.

• <7: My business activities have the very plausible potential to push me past the FI/'freedom-from needing to earn income again' point this year-ish. For at least the next few months getting through this inflection point will require a lot of effort. It's fun and engaging work, particularly as income is DIRECTLY linked to my efforts and creativity, unlike with a salary where I'd have the option to phone it in and cruise. If I cruise now, no FI. If AND ONLY IF! I focus and get creative and a little lucky, I can solve money forever within 3-12months. That's pretty cool.
• 8: I've been spending a lot of time thinking about Who Am I? What Do I Want? What is my potential/capacity? (WL8ish stuff). (Latest reading is The Courage to Be Disliked, about Adlerian Psychology, which is fantastic. Will no doubt write more about this later).
• 9>: And I feel very called/driven/stoke-directed towards the "building a new community on the surface" work of what we call WL9+.
  The last point is a big part of the motivation pulling me "up" through business/FI/WL7 stuff. Why hurry, why not smell the roses and flaneur a bit? Because I've got shit to do on the other side and I know how these roses smell already, and my perception of reality keeps giving me flashes of WL8/9 stuff that I don't fully understand and I like what I see and my curiosity is driving me nuts in a good way.

The more my center of gravity shifts the bigger a desired change in my life-state occurs. This has been happening for 5 years now.

And so right now I'm thinking through how to be efficient and effective and do what's necessary without rush or haste but with intensity and drive (inherently enjoyable states of being for me). I find myself less and less patient with muda and actions that aren't relevant to what I'm doing.

ETA: I have a sense that I'm not currently stanced to 'begin' the work I'm meant for, but I'm very close. This particular sense I don't think is procrastination self-sabotage (I'm quite familiar with that sense, which is more like fear). I think (I *think*) it's me recognizing that me running into something half-baked trailing semi-fulfilled obligations and dependencies is self-sabotage, not making sure that I've actually got my shit together first. Clear-eyed self-evaluation is an important skill in endeavors of risk and consequence, and recklessness towards one's own capabilities is no virtue. Neither is timidity, which is at least as dangerous. The zone between the two is narrow.

[AxelHeyst]

Went bikejoring in the white mountains with theanimal and two other guys. 104mi loop, two nights in reservable huts. Awesome trip.




My rig, a 2011 Salsa Mukluk. It has studded tires, which aren't really necessary out here on packed snow trails but they're nice in town when/where you have to deal with slick ice on roads/sidewalks.






Simo, the dog I bikejored with. theanimal learning about how tires work in the background.



Temps ranged from about 5F/-15C to 32F/0C, which was right at the limit of my experience/gear/skills/acclimatization nexus. I learned a lot and feel more confident about going into the backcountry in cooler temps next time after some adjustments to gear and behavior.

[theanimal]

Protip: If you don't know what you don't know, make sure to bring duct tape.

It was a great trip. @AH is well on his way to becoming a bonafide Alaskan. Dear reader, this could be you too. Come join our northern ERE city.

[AxelHeyst]

He isn't joking about that, if it wasn't for the duct tape he had wrapped around his nalgene that he used to shore up the sidewalls on his rotten tires which were abrading holes in his tubes, he'd have had to resort to packing his tires with snow or something.

[NewBlood]

That looks awesome, beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[Stasher]

If things get better for Canucks to visit across the border in the future, I would and will take you up on the offer to explore your little ERE conclave.
Looks like a great trip and so great having the huts for the nights, is their a volunteer local club that keeps them stocked with firewood for heat?

[theanimal]

Is their a volunteer local club that keeps them stocked with firewood for heat?

The cabins are in the White Mountains National Recreation area, which is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (federal agency). They groom the trails and maintain the cabins. There are basic bunks, a woodstove, table with benches and a kitchen counter with a coleman propane stove. it is on the users to cut and source firewood, provide their own propane and anything else needed. The way of the north is to leave firewood for the next person and replace what you use. In practice, this often results in those with snowmachines or those staying out multiple nights at the same spot cutting lots of wood and leaving/stacking some for the next users.

[Stasher]

Thanks for the insight theanimal , as a local trail builder and past trail org board director as well as Alpine Club of Canada member I love all of this. Community is everything and also trail karma makes all the difference. Here is a fantastic completely non-profit operated hut to hut trail network system very close to me that even has some bike accessible portions you both might be intrigued by.

https://sunshinecoasttrail.com

[AxelHeyst]

March Update
I've decided to go all in on my business venture.

The primary reasons are:

• Success in this venture opens doors to other ventures I want to engage in (both because it is adjacent to at least some of the other ventures I'm interested in, and because it will act as a signal of competency, capacity, and commitment to potential gatekeepers/collaborators).
• Success in this venture requires the acquisition of skills and experience I need to execute the other ventures I'm interested in (it will move me towards being the kind of person I need to become in order to do the things I want to do).
• Success in this venture will produce any seed funding my other ventures might require. Not all of my other ideas require money in excess of personal COL to begin, but some do.

I'm still working out what precisely I mean by "all in" in terms of 'for how long?' and 'what is the milestone/marker of completion?' Hitting my FI number is not the end point because I'm keen on building up some seed capital for future ventures.

In the meantime while I mull those questions, going 'all in' does mean saying "no" to a bunch of other things for now. I've been working on my "no" list. I'm not done with it but so far I'm sitting with:

• No new book/serious writing project at the moment.
• No freelance viz work
• No new MMGs
• No daily writing blocks - I'm going to do writing ad-hoc, when I feel like it in downtime from my main thing, and/or on weekends. I'm thinking of aiming for 2hrs/wk.
• No major building/DIY projects (will finish this loft, build my recumbent desk, and some other small stuff around MH, but probably mostly on weekends and not on a strict schedules. Mostly as chill relaxing time away from main focus when I need a break/to think about something else to digest a problem I'm working on).
• No international trips.
• No going to the lower 48 till my plans in August kick off.

Yes list, as as reminder to self for things not to drop:

• Newsletter
• Try to turn the newsletter into podcast episodes - drop if I can't make this not suck.
• Spring road trip with E
• Daily exercise (calisthenics, riding)
• EREfest 25
• ...

Money Stuff
After people've been here a while they tend to stop posting their money stuff because it's boring for them. As a result the only information about money stuff you see in journals tends to be from people newer in their ERE journey. I thought I'd start posting my monthly moneystuff to give a sense for what I still track and think about.

I typically look at my money stuff twice a month. I used to amortize annual expenses but I stopped doing that. So each month I don't see the cost of my motorcycle registration, for example, that just shows up in its entirety in February or whenever. Ditto the whole cost of the motorcycle. That isn't standard accounting practice, but I've settled on it as what works for me.

In my tracking spreadsheet for March there are 19 entries: 3 record income, 16 record expenses.

I spent $723 in March, which is $8k annualized
YTD COL: $10,894 (I bought a fatbike last month and had some vehicle reg/ins costs)
TTM COL: $17,551 (I bought a motorcycle last year and decided not to amortize the cost in my accounting. I hope to sell it by the end of this year.).

Expense Breakdown:

• Food $192
• Shelter $417 (mostly splitting utilities, internet, and property tax/HOI/etc with E).
• Transportation: $51 (a bike tube and some stuff for my fatbike trip)
• Health $10 (a yoga class with E)
• Education $38 (books)
• Random $14 (website hosting)

YTD SR: 74%
Stash at Monthly COL: 23.6
Stash in Years of YTD COL: 18x
Stash in Years of TTM COL: 11x

Reading:
The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, about Adlerian psychology. Good lord, this book is great. It also made a lot of the stuff Ego talks about make more sense to me. Highly recommended.

[Scott 2]

Limited WIP, crowbar applied to one big goal - looks effective.

Is there a point where you say, "I'm well read" and pause the books? More and more, what I read fails to offer a meaningful outcome. While I focus almost entirely on non-fiction, based upon the impact, it's primarily entertainment. Even though learning _feels_ productive, I'm not changing. Often I can infer what the author is going to say, or even the authors they are rephrasing to make their points.

One of my medium term expectations, is to relegate reading almost entirely. Treating it no differently than I might streaming a movie on Netflix. So I'm curious about what keeps you motivated, especially given allocation of a significant spend.

[jacob]

Is there a point where you say, "I'm well read" and pause the books?

Yes, there's an S-curve for sure. Reading the first 500 books is worth much more than reading the next 2000. It's possible to extend it. The most effective way in my experience is to focus on the classics in whatever field you're pursuing due to survivor bias.

[black_son_of_gray]

More and more, what I read fails to offer a meaningful outcome. While I focus almost entirely on non-fiction, based upon the impact, it's primarily entertainment. Even though learning _feels_ productive, I'm not changing. [...]

One of my medium term expectations, is to relegate reading almost entirely. Treating it no differently than I might streaming a movie on Netflix.

I have a recurrent musing that pops up sometimes when reading comments like this, which goes something like: "Is certain information addictive to certain people?" Let me immediately walk that back a little bit. 1) This is purely speculation; 2) I'm not implying any particular person is addicted to anything; 3) The consequences of such an 'addiction' may be considerably different/milder than other forms of addiction; 4) This likely applies to only a relatively few people--I would guess that a typical person is nowhere near the upper part of the S-curve @jacob mentions. But on this forum...maybe it's relevant to a lot of people?

My understanding from the neuroscience research literature is that certain kinds of information can certainly be rewarding to a brain (mice, primates, etc.), and because reward pathways, chemicals, and behaviors are involved...it stands to reason that addiction might be possible. Maybe it's all tangled up with other things we know--I'm thinking e.g. of all the principles social media employs to keep people infinitely scrolling--that accompany the information, like novelty, social validation, etc.

In any case, the signs and symptoms are eerily similar (I'll slightly rephrase them for relevance):

• Continuation of seeking new information even when it doesn't change anything.
• May or may not cost money, certainly costs precious life time that cannot be regained.
• Ensuring a stable supply of new information (stack of books, subscriptions)
• Needing to plow through much more information to gain similar insights / tolerance
• Other aspects of life (social? hobbies?) impacted (Maybe?)
• A compulsion to seek out new information.
• Can't stop looking for and consuming new information.

The 'can't stop' aspect is what most intrigues me about @Scott 2's post above. I would be really interested in hearing how the attempt to "relegate reading almost entirely" works out.

I sometimes wonder to myself, "why do I want to know more about this? And is it likely to matter in my life?" I realize this question might be unanswerable and the answers will be different on a case-by-case basic and different across people. But I do wonder.

[Jin+Guice]

What is the purpose of reading?

[AxelHeyst]

Limited WIP, crowbar applied to one big goal - looks effective.

Is there a point where you say, "I'm well read" and pause the books? More and more, what I read fails to offer a meaningful outcome. While I focus almost entirely on non-fiction, based upon the impact, it's primarily entertainment. Even though learning _feels_ productive, I'm not changing. Often I can infer what the author is going to say, or even the authors they are rephrasing to make their points.

One of my medium term expectations, is to relegate reading almost entirely. Treating it no differently than I might streaming a movie on Netflix. So I'm curious about what keeps you motivated, especially given allocation of a significant spend.

As far as I can figure, when I get into the diminishing returns portion of the S-curve I either switch domain or jump up a level. By jump up a level I mean go from books written for laypeople to reading the papers those books were based on. For example in the domain of motivation go from reading Drive by Daniel Pink, to Kotler's books (The Rise of Superman, the Art of the Impossible), to going through all of the papers by Deci and Ryan et al, etc with side trips to papers on dopamine response and Csikszentmihalyi's stuff on Flow. The older I get the sooner I go for the classics/papers/original work/etc like Jacob said.

There's also horizontal travel possible across domains linked by theme: e.g. Sex at Dawn to Mating in Captivity to Passionate Marriage to [here's the discontinuous jump] 50 Shades of Grey to The Butcher to [another jump] Athol Kay to Rollo Tomassi to [jump] Open Her to Models to [jump] Love Worth Making to She Comes First. Lots of adjacent S-curves to explore.

That said, reading has been a stoke-directed activity for me ever since I learned how and I don't think about it very much. I don't recall ever having the thought "oh I should read more" or even "I ought read more of this or that topic" or "I need to make more time for reading".

I stumble across a reference or review to another book and if I get an anticipatory "oo I want to read that" hit then I get the book and read it. If it turns out I don't like it (/the stoke dies) I drop it. Life is way WAY too short to read books I don't feel like reading unless the extrinsic motivation component is strong enough (#coughinvestingcough).

Two aspects that I assume contribute to my general motivation to read a lot, besides just the background sense that reading books is magic (people use tiny squiggles to implant ideas into your brain and it works across thousands of years and cultural gulfs WTF THAT IS MAGIC BEING A HUMAN IS AMAZING):

1) Reading (and applying what I read) took me from a life I was very unhappy with to a life I am very happy with. There's a delta between who I was and who I am now, and an enormous amount of the reason I crossed that gulf has to do with what I read. Books saved me from a subjectively shit life. There are a few people who helped me cross that gulf, but 90% of the 'work'/insight was done by the books I read and actions I took as a direct result of those books.

2) I still get random strong hits of positive reward from books. A small percent of what I read sucks and I drop it, the bulk of my reading I consider baseline worthwhile, and every couple months I read a book that just fucking slaps, it either simply delights me unto no end because of how well it's put together, or it influences a significant positive step change in my Orientation/Behavior/etc. This Adler book is on that list, so is Existential Kink, Osinga's book on Boyd, ERE, At Work In The Ruins (Dougald Hine), Wild Mind, just for some recentish examples.

...

Also my brain is kinda like one of those working breeds of dogs that people sometimes get as pets. Leave it at home with nothing to do and it'll go neurotic, chew the sofa and take a dump on the coffee table. Reading is healthier than smoking or taking sedatives.

[ertyu]

I often just enjoy the pep talk (this re: reading). It's not that it's necessarily new information, I am just bringing it up to relevance again. The text is an attention anchor.

[Scott 2]

"Is certain information addictive to certain people?"
...
The 'can't stop' aspect is what most intrigues me about @Scott 2's post above. I would be really interested in hearing how the attempt to "relegate reading almost entirely" works out.

Dunno about addiction, but for me, it is prone to becoming a false idol. I've observed a couple traps:

1. I never close an interest in a topic. So now there's a dozen domains I'm trying to read in. Yet, maybe I got what I needed in the first chapter of the first book. Or maybe that phase of life has already passed.

2. I'll repeat topics I already know, phrased slightly differently in a new book. Like a toddler watching the same movie on repeat. I've easily read three dozen books on personal finance. Probably more. It's not that complicated.

3. I'll pursue non-actionable levels of complexity or depth. I might escalate my reading level to the latest papers on whether blue light disrupts sleep. Then decide to play an exciting racing video game twenty minutes before bed. Yeah, getting so worked up I'm involuntarily twitching disrupts sleep. Didn't need a scientist for that one.

4. I'll consume material intended for identities I admire or even idealistically aspire to, but am not willing to make the sacrifices for. Examples include can include nomadic van life, full DIY living in the desert, all in tech bro, etc. This persists even after direct experimentation (ie bike wrenching!) shows I simply don't want to.

With most information nearly free these days, the sacrifice is in time and energy. What's my opportunity cost? Maybe I have space in my life for another hour of doing the things instead.


My new metric has been - will this book change an action, belief or connection? If I don't have high confidence, I decline the read. Often, I'm finding my optimism remains too high. I'm just about finished with an 18 hour biography on Ram Das. Interesting? Yes. Change? Absolutely not.

My reading list is down to about 30 books now, with 10 of those being "reread", for the reason @ertyu mentioned. That's down from around 500 at the start of the year. I'm far more selective about additions and use a curated list of interests. I'm closing interests as they empty. The intent is to spin up and down areas of focus, connected to a need or outcome.


What had me curious about Axel's approach, is I know he's both well read and conscious of where his energy goes. I appreciate the detailed explanation.

I share the border collie brain. I vacillate between feeding its relentless drive and forcing it to still. The whole let yourself be bored thing.

My brain is going to churn on something, what better than a book? Underlying, is this assumption that reading, especially non-fiction, belongs on a pedestal. It's a higher cerebral activity,. But I'm coming around that often it's no different than a movie or video game. With all the associated trade offs.


What made me ask, is seeing $38 spent on new books this month. Given Axel's approach to money, that's a significant statement on perceived value.