Bullets #11 | January feels better than 2023

Welcome to Bullets #11! You can read the previous one here: bullets/10.

As we kick off the new year, I’m pleasantly surprised by the positive energy and progress in my life. Does this mean 2024 starts exceptionally well, or was 2023 just setting the bar low? Let’s dive into the highlights!

Back in Action⌗

• Outpaced my entire 2023 running distance in January alone, hitting around 50km, all indoors¹.
• Pedaled through a few bike rides, aiming for a 200km total by month’s end.
• I am extremely grateful for good health! Feels good!

Books⌗

• I’m sure I’ve chosen the wrong series (The Wheel of Time). I’m currently on the 4th book!
• My app says that the audiobook series is 323 hours long, which means I still have around 250h to go 🙃
• I find great satisfaction in immersing myself in longer forms of content, as opposed to solely focusing on shorter ones. While I still appreciate shorter content, I no longer overlook the value of longer works as I did in 2023.

I’m watching⌗

• Experiencing Ted Lasso anew alongside my wife – shared moments are twice as nice. 💙
• Finished Season 1 of Slow Horses and gearing up for the next. Superb acting, intriguing plot, and spot-on humor!
• True Detective Season 4 is a return to form – dark, gripping, and reminiscent of favorites like The Killing.

I’m listening⌗

• When Bobiko recommends some old-school dance/house/party (MANIECZKI!) music, I immerse myself in it and listen for several days. It’s a wonderful sensation to revisit the 00s for a little while!

Woodworking Woes and Wins⌗

• I had my first major disappointment in my woodworking journey. I had invested several hours into a project, only to realize that I wouldn’t be able to complete it due to a lack of space, tools, and skills.
• Initially, I felt like giving up and getting rid of all the tools I had purchased.
• Fortunately, it was too cold to go to the garage, so I had some time to calm down and let the disappointment fade away.
• I already have some designs for my next projects and I can’t wait to begin working on them!

Coding⌗

• I’ve spent a considerable amount of time creating a website for our small business (my wife and me) that we are about to launch.
• The concept is similar to e-commerce, and I have been weighing the options of using existing solutions or starting from scratch.
• For those who know me, the answer is already clear - I am opting to build it from scratch.
• Although I am both excited and terrified, I am confident that it is the right decision. I will gain valuable knowledge and have the freedom to design it exactly as I envision.
• I find myself chuckling as I work on implementing the shopping cart feature; it may seem mundane, but I am thoroughly enjoying the process! 😂

Other⌗

• I’ve started using Timery to track my time spent on different activities. I’ll share the results in the next bullets. It looks promising so far!
• Sophie wrote a post about the way she shares her recommended links on her blog. It’s a great idea increasing the value of the shared content (we as people love recommendations from other people we know²)! It could be a great way to start blogging for those who are struggling to find topics to write about³. Human curation FTW!

All in all, I’m happy with the current state of things. I’ve been feeling more positive in recent weeks. It could be due to increased activity or simply because the kids are back in school and I have more time for myself.

Take some good vibes from this post and have a great week!