Life has been okay after the 30-day challenge. To be honest, the first six days were slow. I have never been this slow in the last eighteen months.

But then things picked up. The last week was productive and more importantly, satisfactory. Touch wood.

I got overwhelmed by all the projects I was handling. Getting myself back to normal from an excited state took some time.

Nevertheless, I am here. Again.

I couldn’t write last Sunday figuring out the perfect topic. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistake this week. So I’ll just go all in and do a Brain Dump.

…and oops, I forgot.

Happy New Year ♥️

I hope you get everything you wish and work for. Much love.

So here we go, our first issue of 2024

Aesthetics are important, but not as much as Effectiveness

I was reading James Clear’s newsletter and found this gem:

You have probably read this a thousand times in different variations. But it’s a concept worth getting back to time and again.

Here is a story from my life:

In my early Cricket days, I spent hours making my shots look stylish. Then I saw players with not-so-good-looking-technique score centuries. This was in my teenage years and it frustrated me.

It took me a few years to understand all that matters is how many runs you score at the end of the day vs. how good you look while scoring them.

I shifted my focus to ‘how can I get a run on this ball?’ and things changed.

In the last four years, I have always tried to choose effectiveness over aesthetics in all aspects of life. It worked out pretty well.

Food Science

I value my emotions immensely, but I have been more logical and objective in most decision-making. I can’t follow things without properly understanding what’s happening in the backend.

In other words, I am more of a First Principles thinker. I need to understand subjects on an elemental level to implement them or I should have ample trust in the person who suggests what to do.

Anyway, my point is, I have tried hard for many many months to eat healthily and I am nowhere near where I want to be. Adding to this, I have had chronic problems with stress eating, impulsive orders, and poor gut health.

So I started reading about nutrition and how your mind works when you think about food. I am listening to podcasts, reading blogs, and talking to my dietician friends about eating disorders, neuroscience related to food, and my habits.

Mrunmayee advised me not to have coffee on an empty stomach. I had no idea I shouldn’t do this—I have been having coffee on an empty stomach for two years. Now I have coffee 10 minutes after breakfast, and my gut feels at least 10x more comfortable.

Another hack I have been following (only been four days so don’t take my word for it if you want to try) is to pre-plan my meals at least three hours before I have food.

The big idea is to allow my logical self to decide for me. My meal comes after 3-4 hours of grinding work and I usually see food as a reward. If I have to choose when I am hungry, the obvious impulse would be to pick the most satisfying junk.

Just telling myself, “I will have so-and-so-food for dinner, which is four hours from now”, is helping me stick to my decision.

I followed this for 12 meals so far. Failed only once.

Drawing

I have been sketching lately—just simple, easy sketches.

Totally in love with this newfound activity. I am being mindful of the offscreen time and including activities in my routine that have nothing to do with my work.

This is my new favourite:

I have a lot more to share, but it’s 7:30. I have a two-hour webinar to give at 8 pm. So let me park this issue here; I will see you next Sunday.

I am glad I didn’t skip the newsletter today.

Again, if you love reading the content, please please pleaseeeeeeeee share the newsletter with your friends. The content will forever stay free for you, and all I can ask from you is to help me reach more people.

Have a great week ahead.

Love,
Vikra