Avalok's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

Still away with family for the Christmas break, and so will update our finances sometime next week, also will scan the rest of my reverse fishbones (which I intended to do before Christmas).

Some thoughts on the last day of the year, looking ahead:
  • Really enjoying playing the guitar; I've been trying to do daily practice since starting, but more like every other day over the Christmas period. I was surprised how quickly I picked up D, A and E chords again; it felt as though the muscle memory had lain dormant. I remember it taking a long time for me to develop the agility to switch between initial chords, but within a couple of practice sessions I was able to change comfortably. So far I think this was the right sort of thing for me to take up: it forces me to concentrate on something here and something concrete, not abstract; I have found it refreshing to play so far, rather than a chore (no doubt this will change).
  • I have read some powerful books this year: Wilber, Kegan, Braiding Sweetgrass, Antifragile. If it wasn't for how heartening I found Kegan, I would make Antifragile my read of the year. I started a re-read yesterday and it is refreshing a lot of what I had already forgotten (disadvantage of reading it relatively slowly); it's funny how much more is revealed on a second pass from the understanding gained later in the book. I plan to keep reading as widely as I have this year. I know Taleb emphasizes reading classic works (Lindy effect and all that), so I would be interested in reading some original philosophical texts; Montaigne, Machiavelli came to mind.
  • The recent WL5->6 and ERE1,ERE2 discussions have helped me considerably in my understanding of what I want/need to be doing next. I see now I was (and will still be) locked into an optimizing mindset. My focus had narrowed, particularly as work became very intense over the summer months. The combination of mental exertion this required, and that fact I enjoyed the work, caused me to discount the wider ERE practice. The idea of shifting focus, doing more and different things, is exciting: there's a lot to learn, a lot to try. I have been thinking over the Christmas break about ways to work on my cooking module, perhaps incorporating some food scavenging (inspired by @guitarplayer). I need more time to reflect on how to approach investments studying in a way I am confident will stick (though there is a lot to be said for trial and error). I need to remember the allotment will pick up quickly in the coming months, and that this will absorb a fair amount of time. I'm hoping this year I can keep it ticking over so as to focus on other areas of my life; that may be a challenge in itself.
  • Not sure if this is because I've had a small break from work, but I feel a bit disillusioned with my field currently. I mentioned previously about writing on software architecture, but it occurred to me this week that this feels a bit forced. I'm not sure of my intentions with this module and don't want to do it because solely of a career I enjoy, yet feel I should transcend at some point in the future. No doubt my thoughts will change again in coming weeks (I go through rhythms such as this) but I can't help but feel the career can be a distraction from other things more important to me; I become too busy to remember what else there is.
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I am extremely grateful I returned to my journal back in March this year and developed a habit of contributing to these forums. The clarity of reflection one gets from writing down their thoughts is only obvious after repetition. The thoughts and contributions of others here are hugely appreciated. This is a great community and I wish you all the best for 2023.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

More fishbones from the work on my WoG for the WL5->6 thread.

I noticed how even though I drew these only a couple of weeks ago, there are already effects I would change, or seem less relevant at least. It makes me think this is really something to be internalised rather than done explicitly "on paper", so the ever-changing nature of modules can be better modelled.

Walking
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candide
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by candide »

avalok wrote:
Wed Jan 04, 2023 1:23 pm
I noticed how even though I drew these only a couple of weeks ago, there are already effects I would change, or seem less relevant at least. It makes me think this is really something to be internalised rather than done explicitly "on paper", so the ever-changing nature of modules can be better modelled.
Great point. Related is the issue of magnitude -- different branches have different levels of gain, cost, or importance, and those can be very dynamic over any given time frame. The fishbone is a tool that provides a snapshot... I think a true WoG is the internalized interplay of the modules and those dynamic pieces.

Heads up if you see this one first -- I am going to move a few over to WL 5 -> 6 to try to get discussion moving there and not hijack the journal.

guitarplayer
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by guitarplayer »

avalok wrote:
Mon Nov 14, 2022 2:11 pm
I found damp in another room yesterday evening, meaning all but two rooms now have damp in them, and existing cases are worsening. I felt delated and defeated by the discovery last night: I have put a lot of effort into elegantly managing and solving the damp issues in our home; I thought it was improving in all cases; I thought we'd now only need to wait for the walls to dry out.
Sorry for pulling the discussion down from the lofty heights of WL6 ;) but what are some straightforward techniques of dealing with damp you know of? We discovered some mould on a piece of furniture in our bedroom. I suppose it does not help that we run the no heating experiment and do not spend time in that room other than sleeping, meaning that it is cold. DW and I have been discussing short term solutions, one being running the one electric heater we have for an hour everyday in that room. DW opposed when I told her that the heating would use about 75% of energy we normally use throughout the day. The second solution we have is that we will start airing that room daily and giving it a deep clean every week.

ETA: I first wrote that we have discovered 'damp' but then realised that it might actually be from condensation rather than from the walls themselves.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

Always happy to discuss more practical things :)

My main takeaway from a course about damp at CAT was the importance of air circulation. For example, we have/had damp in the corner of our front room, I removed a low lying bookshelf there and the wall began to dry out, albeit leaving a stain. The shelf was trapping cold air underneath it, causing condensation at a low level. The same thing occurred when we put a desk up against a wall in a cold room. If the mould on your furniture is in an area of poor circulation, then moving the furniture so air can flow around it better could help. Whenever we have come across mould in our house, it has been a combination of high humidity and poor air circulation. Increasing air circulation is much easier and cheaper than lowering humidity. You can lower the humidity by airing your home for a period of time (probably min. 30 minutes) so long as the humidity outside is lower (i.e. on a dry day, not after the storms we've had this week).

Regarding condensation specifically: bear in mind the condensation could eventually lead to damp. If moisture is allowed to condense on a wall and soak into the plaster, it will create the environment for further moisture to condense (see again the example of the bookshelf above).

guitarplayer
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Thanks @avalok! I am all ready to claim back my immediate environment. Then again, the kingdom of fungi has given me many joys so far so I will aim to be benign.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

I've felt considerably more energetic after the Christmas break; I needed space from work so I could come back caring less than I did for most of 2022. I had developed some poorer habits in relation to my work; taking on ever more responsibilities in order to keep projects afloat, it'd be better if I avoided that and saved more of my energy for non-work time.

Work + Time Management
Returning to the office part-time is helping: there's a much greater reason to shut the laptop lid on time, which then carries on into the days at home. There's been a fair amount of pushback from colleagues over the return, but I'm pretty happy with it so far, making as much of it as I can: using the showers, walking distances I wouldn't otherwise. I am enjoying the walks in particular. It is still dark going both ways, which means I miss a lot, but the tranquillity makes it. Commuting by bike on roads at any time of year is rarely stress-free, walking along the canal always is.

Given my struggles to manage workload last year at work, and also given that I plan to work on more modules, I thought I'd read the GTD book after seeing the recent thread. I've always held a prejudiced dislike of this method, probably because the name smells strongly of productivity-at-all-costs. It doesn't seem to be about that (maybe another naming mistake?), so I plan at least on getting what I can from the book and moving on. I've tried a lot of time management systems in the past and generally always fallen back on a glorified to-do list, never really satisfied. Perhaps I'm being naïve in thinking this will make a difference.

One thing I considered for a lot was where I am going to log this system. The current method I use fits fine in an A5 pad, but I don't want to churn through (and manage) as much paper as GTD would seemingly create. I'm also averse to using any cloud-based notetaking apps on several fronts, but mainly because many are not plaintext and I cannot be sure how easy it would be to recover my files if I wanted to migrate. In the end I decided to fall back on trusty Emacs + Org mode and backing them up to Azure blob storage. The only reason I hesitated on Org mode was because I didn't want to end up spending hours customizing Emacs (again); it can be one heck of a time sink. Let's see how long I go with this system before becoming annoyed by its drawbacks...

Modules
Still really enjoying the guitar, I have started practising songs more than individual chords, which has certainly helped. The finger pain is much reduced (it has never been as bad as I remember), though still hurts after 30 mins of song practice. A minor inconvenience for what I am getting out of it; I'm finding it to be a great way to get out of my head for a while.

Finally got round to using the food scavenging app @guitarplayer mentioned, with some success so far. There is an awful lot of junk food on there, typically unsold bakery/confectionary products, but I reckon enough veg gets posted that this could help our food bills. I've already made friendly connection with two volunteers, both of whom just seemed grateful I had turned up and said thank you. If I can source more of our food this way, I can start improving my improv cooking skills on the cheap.

Garden/Allotment
Went over to the allotment a couple of times after we returned from Christmas to clear away dead plants and spread more manure. In the main it looks good, ready to go. There are still leeks and swede to get through and I hope the spinach I planted in September will bounce back once it warms up. I noticed that most of the broad beans I sowed in October have either been killed by the cold temperatures or garrotted by the badger. Looking forward to starting sowings next month.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

Generally a good week: I got to commute with some sunlight this week, no need for the headtorch at all. I'm hoping come next week that'll mean I can make it home before dusk really begins to fade. Spent a lot of my walks thinking about longer term life decisions after DW and I had a pretty constructive conversation about this last weekend. A walk is perfect for me to process stuff like that.

Reading
Still reading GTD and have refined the configuration I have for Org mode. So far the system is working well for me: I'm better at processing those small tasks I would otherwise procrastinate on (<2 minutes) and there is a comfort in knowing I have at least logged somewhere anything I need to defer. I've kept a journal/planner since high school, but never been consistent in logging anything/everything that arises. I've continued reading the book and am about halfway through, just reached the part that discusses which "buckets" to set up. My edition is from 2001 so it's very nostalgic: PDAs get a mention.

Found and fell in love with Pedal2Petal's journal. There's much in there that I'd like to try, such as waxing canvas trousers, making wine; I've added several to my someday/maybe list.

Cold House
The UK had another cold spell this week, which is still lingering. On Wednesday we had snowfall. After seeing our energy bill from the last cold snap in December I was willing to risk turning the thermostat down a notch. I do need to be careful here because of the damp in our home. We have the thermostat set to 14C after I was advised this on a course I went on, but I've now lowered it to 12C, put an extra layer on and did even more kettlebell exercises. I actually think I feel better for this change. It is too early to say if the walls are worsening, so will continue to monitor, but I have noticed the boiler is ticking on much less.

Food Scavenging
Continued to get food through the food waste app this week, though less than last week. A couple of people I had collected from the week prior did not post, but perhaps something will come up over the weekend. We have plenty of food at home and the allotment to draw on anyway, but I'm enjoying the unknown element to it, as well as the added exercise. I'd say I'm also enjoying cooking more, again perhaps because there is a bit more creativity required when improvising.

Life is more fun when there's a bit of challenge, creativity required, a sense of the unknown, a sense of risk.

----------
The only other thing I did this week was set up a small website for writing. I wanted this to be about software systems architecture, but I think it'll probably meld into wider (though related) topics anyway. Having spun up my Emacs config again, I decided to write it using Org mode as well: you can publish Org files to HTML trivially, which is exactly what I want. The point is to be writing and refining my thoughts, not to be developing (I do enough of that at work).

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

A hard frost this morning with plenty of ice, so I walked instead of ride to collect some carrots. On my way back I found a twin pack of gem lettuce abandoned on the pavement, the hearts in fine condition. It seems strange to me that someone would do this intentionally.

It led me to think about serendipity and the opportunities that arise because of the way one does things: had I ridden my bike I would have missed the lettuce entirely.

Henry
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by Henry »

avalok wrote:
Sat Jan 21, 2023 6:09 am
had I ridden my bike I would have missed the lettuce entirely.
The Road Lettuce Traveled

candide
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by candide »

That Petal2Pedal journal is a great find, although skipping to the end, it looks like this is the example of what is said to be hard to find in the decentralizing FI thread -- someone who made the retirement plunge without being FI and then regretting the result.

I wish Petal2Pedal well -- my heart especially goes out as a new parent to someone who was that when it was all unfolding -- but his last post was the one explaining a bit of what went wrong with his blogging-as-business, and saying he would probably go back to work. Then, he lurked for a bit, and hasn't been back on in three years.

Which ties into the optimism sub-thread on optimism within the WL 5 -> 6, and Jacob's point
jacob wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 11:16 am
Optimism has a clear survivor bias. Also attribution bias.

mathiverse
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by mathiverse »

Yeah, I noticed that too. I don't think Pedal2Petal would agree he's an example of, as Ego put it, "people who retired too soon with too little stashed away and regretted their decision to get out early." Unfortunately, we can't ask Pedal2Petal. However, the fact he may have gone back to work does not imply he regretted his decision to get out early. We don't have enough information to know if he thought the decision was good or bad, in hindsight.

I do think it's an example of where semiERE without plans to FI eventually can go wrong: viewtopic.php?p=268402#p268402. Or maybe it's more generally the pitfalls of being in the workingman quadrant without the FI back up.

guitarplayer
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Glad to read Olio is working for you! Yes, lots of junk food there, and people sometimes like to add it on top of what is wished for; I most often tell them that we are vegan (which we are) and this resolves most of the cases as by now people know the word's meaning.

Yesterday we made a salsa from free ingredients: had four avocadoes given away because 'past their date', but actually needed one more week to ripen. Some time later came leeks, coriander, tomatoes, limes and lemon. Garnished with spices and vinegar (these we just had in the pantry).

Just managed to eat through an odd 20 grapefruits gotten a couple weeks back, now is turn for 5 bunches of bananas gotten three days back - they need a few days / a week to ripen though. The man who collected them from a nearby Tesco looked together with me at the box of bananas in disbelief: how come they were past their date, they are literally still almost green.

GTD is gaining traction around the forum, maybe I will also try to look at it!
Last edited by guitarplayer on Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

candide
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by candide »

mathiverse wrote:
Sat Jan 21, 2023 12:41 pm
Yeah, I noticed that too. I don't think Pedal2Petal would agree he's an example of, as Ego put it, "people who retired too soon with too little stashed away and regretted their decision to get out early." Unfortunately, we can't ask Pedal2Petal. However, the fact he may have gone back to work does not imply he regretted his decision to get out early. We don't have enough information to know if he thought the decision was good or bad, in hindsight.

I do think it's an example of where semiERE without plans to FI eventually can go wrong: viewtopic.php?p=268402#p268402. Or maybe it's more generally the pitfalls of being in the workingman quadrant without the FI back up.
I don't want to "forget the human" -- I wish P2P and his family well.

I am just saying that it is highly likely that what happened led him to not sharing here anymore, whether that was regret or just a feeling that what he had to say no longer had value to this audience.

If that is the case, I think that is our loss.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

@guitarplayer sounds like Glasgow is a gold mine. There's nowhere near as much as that here, especially fruit.

@candide @mathiverse I had completely missed the Decentralizing FI thread, which I think is one of the best I've read: thank you. P2P's issues seem like a combination of semiERE, without FI, and (crucially) a dislike of paid employment. It's discussed in that thread that semiERE vs. tradERE revolves to some extent around one's feelings on paid work (viewtopic.php?p=268373#p268373).

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

Reading
I finished my second read of Antifragile last week, still love it as much as on my first read, and was grateful that the second pass solidified the ideas better. I have now picked up The Fifth Discipline; I'm going to try and read it as a self-help book (as per the advice in the WL6 thread), but think it is going to be really useful for my professional role also. As with Antifragile, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with much of what was said in the first two chapters.

Allotment
Went to the allotment to spread more manure as the days are fast getting longer now. I need to get as much down as soon as, so it has time to decompose more, else the seedling roots will burn when planted. Our plot still looks really good, even in the depths of January. I'd like to remove the remaining tarpaulin this year to really "complete" it. Not long now until sowings start :)

The Future
At some point we will move from where we are now, and we may change our lives quite a bit when we do so. I have written before about downsizing but there's the question of geographical change also.

About early May last year I became interested in exploring expatriation options to Canada. The idea of moving country had never occurred/appealed to me before, but I was increasingly realising there may be opportunities open to me that I was ignoring. This was a lot to process, it felt overwhelming at the time, and I did not talk about this to anyone else because it has implications on loved ones.

Earlier this month DW and I discussed our remaining time in our current house, and whether we wanted to move sooner. The conversation moved onto expatriating and how we felt about it. Since May last year I have gone through cycles of waxing and waning enthusiasm: some days I would happily go tomorrow, others I am more absorbed in the fear of the unknown, but I've never really had any feeling that it is the wrong thing to do. It increasingly dominates my vision of where I want to be in the next 3-5 years.

I spent a lot of time this month investigating a work permit stream that would more easily and flexibly allow us to try life there. I've made notes on the immigration stream and tried to estimate the costs we'd incur as best as possible. It wouldn't be cheap, but when I consider the potential upside (i.e. the move works out), it seems like the right sort of thing to try.

Decluttering
Off the back of the above, I resumed donating and selling things we do not want and/or do not care to move with us in the future. Made a list of things to work through and am tackling the (physically) largest objects first. Already managed to create a good amount of extra space just outside our back door.

Finances
I have been reading and doing exercises from the Reilly-Brown textbook this month. I picked up where I left off a few months back and was pleasantly surprised how much I had retained. I'm currently studying the valuation models, but feel quite disillusioned by the amount of estimation involved: it all seems heavily exposed to GIGO. If I didn't have Taleb in my head, I'd be more likely lapping it up. My thinking is to learn this stuff regardless because it will provide me with an understanding of how analysts reach their valuations, even if I do not end up using it much myself.

Average savings rate: 57.9%
Average savings rate TTM: 64.7%
Capital: £108,800.08
SWR: 17.12%

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

Replaced the bar tape on my bike yesterday with a leather wrap. I'm awful at remembering to take before and after pictures, but I'm pretty happy with how neatly I've done it. I may need to rewrap around the right hood, as the bar is slightly exposed in one part.

Spent a fair amount of time on the bike this weekend also, collecting food. Finally got some avocados and grapes (fruit is few and far between on the app, and goes quickly). Spoke for a while with one guy who I collect from regularly. He asked if we needed somewhere to rent, we don't, but it is good to know someone who could offer a place nonetheless. He seemed interested in getting into dev work so I offered to advise on any courses he was thinking of taking. It's a happy side effect that I'm meeting people through this app.

Kicked off sowings this year with chillies. I have never been able to grow them successfully from seed; I think our house is too cold, but these were a gift so I'll be giving them another go by incubating them in Dad's airing cupboard.

Reducing the thermostat to 12C has drastically reduced our gas usage, but the walls feel as dry as they did at 14C; I suppose the dehumidifier is doing its job. 12C is uncomfortable sometimes, but not much more so that 14C could be; I keep the kettlebells close at hand. I would be happy living at this temperature regardless of energy bills. It's funny really, that the energy crisis and our living in an old (leaky) home may have led to behaviour change that drives bills down more than otherwise (assuming bills do revert at some point). If we lived in a new build (or no energy crisis had ensued), we'd certainly not have reduced our usage as much as we have here. There's something to be said for being put into difficult situations, so long as you know you can survive and/or get out of them.

guitarplayer
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by guitarplayer »

Take the occasionally uncomfortable 12C as a stoic exercise, all the more pleasant when it is comfortable!:)

Happy to see some avocados heading your way finally. It is almost a treasure hunt sort of activity, my puzzle now is to find a recipe incorporating roasted sweet chestnut flour.

Agree that crisis often drives change, also see the grand forum discussion about a wave of WL leveling up due to covid.

Will be curious to read about how your plans around migrating to Canada develop.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

@guitarplayer a treasure hunt is exactly how it can feel. Managed to secure six leeks, carrots, sprouts, parsnips and chestnut mushrooms today. I think I'll try a slow cooked casserole for our "office day" dinners tomorrow and Tuesday. If you ignore all the junk food listed this app has been fantastic for forcing me to improvise cooking more, as well as for cutting down our food bill.

Work
Work was manic this week: a small change deployed into production the week prior led to cascading issues, and subsequent fixes caused yet other problems. Unfortunately we're restricted on what improvements we can make to our deployment process, as the company is going through a large infrastructure overhaul. I must admit that I do quite enjoy the times when it gets manic, so long as I'm confident we have the ability to resolve the issue ourselves. At least then I know it is merely a matter of time and I can get my problem solving/analytical hat on.

The upside is I have been informed of a planned promotion. For various reasons it will be a new role, rather than a senior position; good news because I am considered to already be fulfilling the role, so I don't need to weigh up so much any added responsibility impacting the rest of my life. AFAICT it is a recognition of the work I am already doing. That said, I am going to float the idea of being more involved in wider software lifecycle aspects; this is where much of my interest lies. Curious to hear what the title will be: I don't really want a woolly title that will make it hard to succinctly define my work to prospective employers.

Long work days meant I was generally repulsed by the idea of picking up The Fifth Discipline or the Reilly-Brown investments textbook. I spent more time playing guitar instead. It is really nice having something through which to give my head a rest. I have moved on to some minor chords and strumming patterns now, but I'm still focusing on the first couple of songs I started to learn because I am not content with my ability to play them consistently well.

More musings on future options
I did have time (now I think of it I'm not sure how I had the energy to do this but not to read a book) to research renting out our house. It occurred to us last week that, given we will likely be able to pay off our mortgage in two years time, that we could rent the house for a period instead of selling, say if we plan go to Canada for a couple of years. The rental income would help while getting established over there, and deferring selling could reduce the overhead and stress (or at least spread it out in time). There are some big implications in doing this: tax, fixed costs, capital tied up, but I think it worth exploring. I'm making notes on the tax and costs we'd incur; it isn't simple!

If anyone has any input on doing this, I'd be really happy to hear it. I'm not married to the idea at all, but currently trying to keep my mind open to any and all options.

-----------
In the main, work detracted from what I was able to do this week; here's to hoping for a quiet 9-5 ahead, so I am more alive 5-9.

avalok
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Re: Avalok's Journal

Post by avalok »

I've felt low on motivation the past week, though not sure why. I find I'm not happy with how I am spending my time, even if I have been doing stuff I needed to do, or otherwise do value.

Reading
I finished as much of The Fifth Discipline as I felt was relevant to me currently; some parts were causing me to think about work more than I wanted at a late hour. I haven't decided what I'll read next; I considered re-reading In Over Our Heads as I was convinced my first read had only given me a vague notion of what Kegan was conveying. I also listened to Mastering the Market Cycle by Howard Marks on my walks to/from work. I was not surprised to really enjoy and agree with it, as I listen to his memos. I think I need to actually read the book however, to be able to make use of the figures therein. I haven't picked up Reilly-Brown for a couple of weeks now unfortunately: I might take up a different book to study security valuation, as the textbook is too dry for me to read at the moment.

Garden
Everything feels a bit slower so far this year, despite it being quite mild. It is the first year I haven't felt super-excited to start sowing. I hope that means my enthusiasm is more dispersed throughout the growing season. So far I have started broad beans, leeks and beetroot. I plan to get some lettuce and spinach under way soon also. I'm trying to use only our own compost, rather than buying a couple of bags for sowings pre-emptively.

Finances
One of two months where we do not pay council tax, plus the savings from the food waste app have led to a much cheaper month than normal. This in spite of an unplanned weekend in London. Very unusually, we apparently spent more eating out than on groceries this month.

Total capital: £112,564.71
Average savings rate: 58.47%
Average savings rate TTM: 68.05%
Last edited by avalok on Fri Mar 03, 2023 1:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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