Sometimes things get tough at work or in life, sometimes it creates a domino effect into other aspects. A badly done project at work leads to a bad mood, unintentionally brought it home and it leads to an argument with our partner; then it kept us from sleeping at night and the lack of sleep leads to a bad performance at work. It turns into a loop.
Keep something small everyday, a 5-line journal, read for 15 minutes during lunch; something that reminds us of “accomplishment”. It helps when things get muddy.
Ever since my daughter born in December 2020, the exercise volume axes in half in 2021; then I transit to product marketing in November 2021, the number hit rock bottom in 2022 and 2023 as I tried to balance between raising a toddler, rebuilding a team, and personal habit. There were multiple breakdowns these two years.
Life becomes more controllable after she turned 3 and work become more stable after year 1. Here’s the temporary schedule that worked: read bed time story at 9pm, leave for the gym at 10-ish, and begin workout at 10:30, end around 11:30pm.
At 33, the metabolism slowed greatly compare to the 20s, 2 years of missing exercise made the it difficult to recover. The body is keen toward bloated after sugary or greasy meal. On average, I gained 1.5kg to 2kg of fat in the past 2 years; removing it is the next short term goal.
2. Family first
The transition to product marketing introduced bureaucracy in a new height. After endless leveraging, setting up barriers, picking sides, the one thing that remains is myself and my family. At the end of the day, family is purpose for financial income and a good sleep is related to keeping my core belief.
3. The world is BIG
I visited Thailand, Japan, and United States this year in personal travel and business trip. The opportunity to take a step out is a great reminder on the size and possibility in this world. If this boat flips, it probably won’t drown me.
The adrenaline of experiencing the unexpected felt great. We tried two day micro trips for the weekend and saving 5% of month income for the big one.
4. Financial number gaining traction
As the investment surpasses NT$ 2m and the global stock market continue to raise, I finally felt the effect of compound interest this year. The overall market growth and dividend re-investment accounts for 30% of the current portfolio value. This is not the best return, but it’s not about shooting the moon in the short term, it’s about a good sleep everyday.
A choice between NT$35,600 Apple refurbished M3 Macbook Air and NT$31,900 new M2 Macbook Air. Which one to keep and which one to return?
The price difference is NT$3700. There are few ways to justify the difference: – 2 display output vs 1 – SoC performance – Dynamic caching
ChatGPT says a MacBook typically gets 7-8 years of OS update. The question that ultimate strikes “Will I pay NT$3,700 for 2 years of major OS update?”.
The airplane stuck on the tree while we’re at the park today. I tried knocking it down with branches. I tried climbing and shaking it. I have told people to shut up, but I did not call for help. My wife did, and we got our plane back.
Some problems aren’t solvable with personal ability. There’s no wrong in admitting defeat and call for help if it reaches the objective.
