2024 Review

January 02, 2025

For me, New Year’s Day is always a day of reflection of both past and future. Let’s start with the past!

This has been a great year. Growth everywhere. More clarity in areas. Less in some others. But was it transformational change? That elusive perceived good my id does its level best to evade?

No, it was not.

And yet.. this was a good year! Perhaps there’s more to the idea of transformational than a flash in the pan. But more on that later. Let’s review!

No Social Media

For most of the year this was a success. Occasionally I’d reinstall Instagram during a weekend, but that was it.

Of course, I found new ways to waste time on my phone. I’ve long been a Twitter powerscroller but the advent of more video on there was a total pain in the ass. That app is now gone and the web version is limited to 30 min a day. Youtube also sucked, especially before bed. Also now deleted.

I highly recommend just deleting the apps. Even if you go back to it quickly, you’ll have lost your taste for it and you’ll do some scrolling for 5 minutes, say to yourself “what the hell am I doing?” and then just delete again for another 6 weeks.

Cut Down Content. Including Podcasts.

There was less but not less podcasts. I binge them. I’ve just recently rediscovered the joy of music while driving (through my kids) and it’s been a delight.

There is still a call of intellectual FOMO. Like I’m not in the right place sometimes and I’m not seeing the things I should see. I feel this most when scrolling Twiter which, honestly, is the strongest case against it.

No Phone Before Bed.

Total fail here. Mitigation plan in place.

I have these ideas of getting up and being productive early and too often the battle is already lost when I get in bed. Still needs to change.

6 AM

See above.

Avoid Convenience Stores

In some ways, this year was a tale of two halves. Half the year this went great, the other.. didn’t.

I need to articulate some of this better, but convenience calls have a strange call for me. I grew up stopping at them, or running up to them to get a Big Gulp for my parents. When I go to a 7-11 I feel a call to normalcy. Less uppity. And it feels good, like a form of reveling in the mud.

But neither that feeling nor the habit of stopping is good and it needs more introspection and a redoubling of a search for a different outlet.

Anti-Goal: Reading

Only 49 books? Weak. And that’s good. When I was more creative and productive there was less reading. It ebbed and flowed.

Run. Every. Day. Strength Three Days A Week

I really did run every single day. Until June.

By then my body was tired. My hips hurt a lot. I got the Covid and was down and out hard for a week or so right at the beginning of our big trip. And I decided not to keep pushing that and it was for sure the right decision. But even running every day for 5+ months was a trial.

And on the workout front more generally it was a really good year. I’ve been lifting consistently for the second half of the year and my fitness metrics have been pretty great.

Some highlights:

1000 pushups in one day in May
6:50 mile on my 44th birthday
1275 lifting total: 445 squat, 325 bench, 505 deadlift

I’m really happy with all these numbers. But it’s the end of the year and I’m still not happy with where I’m at. I think I’ve been chasing some of the wrong metrics, or (deliberately) ignoring parts of the equation that matter the most.

(Self-)Publish A Book. One Paragraph A Day

I’ve written more this year and more regularly than in quite some time. The publishing idea became something else entirely (follow my Substack) and I feel good about it. Onward.

Festina Lente

There’s been a shift in attitude and outlook this year. I’ve always felt harried and hurried in the middle of things and nostalgic after. This year I felt like I wasn’t living in the past or future near as much. I just.. was. In many ways, it’s better.

Build Two New Projects

Brains Are Plastic
ConversationJS (incomplete)

Neither were what I expected. Both have been fun.

Experiences With The Kids

Ice skating. Soccer. Woodworking. Beach. Mountain Biking. Skiing. All. The. Things.

New Ways To Serve

A few small things here, helping out at our kids schools and the like, but nothing big. In some ways, this is a mindset shift more than anything else.

In Person

I started a book club this year. We had a massive 3 bushel crab feast at our house. And plenty of campfires. In my opinion, there remains nothing better than a good conversation over a campfire.

RV Trip Part Deux

Oh man what a trip. We did another 3 weeks on the road with 4 adults, 9 kids, 2 RVs and 5500 miles. It was the best time. There will be more of these.