The Deliberate #64: Now
Recapping 2024 (finally), updating Now, and paving the way
I’m Sam and this is The Deliberate. It’s my first post since August 2024, so that might explain the “who the hell is this guy?” feeling you might be having right now. By way of refreshing all of our memories (including mine), The Deliberate is my intermittent newsletter about the intersection of attention, personal development, organizations, and just generally trying to live well in a world where that’s not always an easy thing to do.
I don’t get unsubscribe notifications and I never check my subscriber lists, so no hard feelings if you want to bail.
Then again, if you want to subscribe, that’d be pretty great.
Ready for some yearly recap articles, yet?
It’s halfway through March so I thought it appropriate to share my 2024 year in review articles. In my defense, these were actually written back in December and January, but I never actually got around to sharing them here.
I went pretty deep with this exercise last year. After writing one kind of half-assed article about 2023, I ended up writing five about 2024.
Things started normal enough, with a simple article looking back at what I read in 2024. It ended up being a bit of a “down” year (if reading almost a book every week is considered a setback).
I then moved on to the software I used in 2024, which is becoming more and more of a copy-and-paste effort from the year before as I become old and stodgy and set in my ways.
A new addition to the end-of-year recap, I then wrote an article looking back at my year of triathlon training. It was a fractured and difficult year, with a move from Virginia to New York, that definitely messed up the rhythm of my training. I’m not sure I ever fully recovered it, even though I did finish another half Ironman.
In my penultimate article, I looked back at all the entertainment (specifically: video games, music, movies, TV, and podcasts) that filled my 2024.
And finally, the weird article. It was intended to be a look back at the hardware I used in 2024 (as a kind of supplement to the software article) but I kind of just… kept writing. The definition of “hardware” expanded until I wrote an article that was basically a complete summary of at least 95% of the stuff I own. Training gear, computers, kitchen stuff, even clothing.
I write these articles predominantly to create a record for myself. I always find it interesting to go back and read articles of yore to see what has changed and what has stayed the same for me over the years, but I also write these as a way of trying to attract more good stuff into my life. If you’re inspired to share a recommendation with me because of something you see me write, please send it my way! Seriously, I love recommendations that take the form of, “I saw you like X, Y, and Z. It makes me think you’d probably like A and B.”
Now
My Now page is woefully out of date, so let’s update it here.
Recent endeavors: co-hosting At Work with The Ready for the past year, stepping into a “growth” (i.e. sales) role at The Ready while our true sales guru is out on parental leave, leveling up my uncle game with two new nephews in the past couple months, and writing semi-consistently on LinkedIn about organization design.
Coming up: another potential move (not as extreme as Virginia to New York), refocusing my training after a couple months of kinda mailing it in, figuring out how to revitalize this newsletter, stepping up my speaking game on behalf of The Ready and The Deliberate.
On my mind: Deliberate Patterns, finding lost fitness, what the cliffhanger to Severance season 2 is going to do to my psyche.
Reading: Crime and Punishment, The Anxious Generation, Play Nice
Listening: The Rest Is History, The Father of Make Believe (Apple Music), Three Bean Salad
Watching: Severance and Drive to Survive.
Playing: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Bioshock.
Conversing on Bluesky. Posting books on The Storygraph. Talking biz on LinkedIn. Lurking Instagram. Working out on Strava.
Featured Deliberate Pattern: Pave the Way
When there’s something difficult you want to do, figure out how Present You can “pave the way” so it’s easier for Future You to do that difficult thing.
Examples
Before I go to bed, I fill my water kettle, get my coffee beans, coffee filter, coffee mug, and all other coffee making paraphernalia out of the cupboard and put them on the counter so all I have to do to get started in my half-asleep state is push the button on the kettle.
If I know I want to workout in the morning, I will pack everything I need and lay out my workout clothes the night before.
A smaller version of that one is knowing I want to go for a run as soon as my work day ends, so putting my workout clothes on as early in the day as possible (i.e. after final client call).
If you know you generally have busy mornings, prepare overnight oats or another easy breakfast the night before.
If there’s something you absolutely must not forget to take with you when leaving the house, lean it against the door.
What other examples of “paving the way” do you regularly use in your life?
Thanks for giving me space in your inbox and for being curious about what I’m up to. Until next time!