Notes and Questions (wip)

Garrett Gresham

Garrett Gresham

— 2 min read

How much money do I need to pursue my interests indefinitely?

Is pursuing one's interests the right way to spend a life? My life? Anyone's life?

"Have a good day, most days." This seems like generally my aim in life. But it also seems selfish? Would this result in a life well spent?

What do I want to do every day? Is it seek pleasure through games, videos, and hobbies? Is that what fulfills me or is it something else that I can't yet describe?

Are hobbies pleasure seeking?

I realized I have an (at least superficial) desire to be famous or revered or remembered for being impactful and a leader and a great man.

Pacts. "I will [action] for [duration]." Love them, but I think I have lots of implicit or unspoken pacts. It is almost impossible to not break them all the time because they are numerous and not explicit.

Unwritten pacts I have:

  • Meditate for at least 15-20 minutes every day forever
  • Listen to a hypnosis recording every day forever
  • Read 30+ minutes of non-fiction daily forever
  • Exercise at least 3 times a week forever
  • Eat less than "too much" junk food each week forever
  • Eat "enough" vegetables each week
  • Take AG1 every day forever
  • Take some vitamins every day forever
  • Work on the language app for at least 10 hours a week until it is done
  • Work on the book club app daily until it is a MVP
  • Make progress on the house every week until it is done
  • Shave my face and head every other day forever
  • Keep up with the mail and other "urgent" items weekly forever
  • Scoop the litter boxes daily "forever"
  • Feed the cats breakfast daily "forever"
  • Stretch 3-4 times a week forever
  • Roll my quads 3 times a week for "a few weeks"
  • Use the hip band 3-4 times a week for "a few weeks"
  • Vacuum once every 2 weeks forever
  • Go to Whole Foods once a week forever

Maybe I have trouble switching focus. For instance, I start the morning reading, but then I want to stay in that mode all day, not switch to hard work. Or I am working on the house and my brain wants to stay focused on that, not totally change gears and work on programming for a few hours. Or I listen to hypnosis and then don't want to meditate. Or I am in "engagement" (games, videos) mode and don't want to switch out of it.

The idea of linear time vs experimental time is powerful.

  • Uncertainty as flight/flight/freeze vs engage/explore/experiment. Not knowing the destination triggers anxiety vs curiosity.
  • Defined steps with defined outcomes vs experimental loops with unknown outcomes
  • Predefined success outcomes vs emergent success resulting from experiments

Tiny Experiments and Four Thousand Weeks seem to be in the same space. Complementary books.

I keep on coming back to "what is leisure"? The Greeks philosophers said leisure was the highest pursuit, and if we believe them, we need to know what is leisure and what is a waste of time. Are video games leisure? Is pondering philosophy leisure? Should I leisure whenever possible and put it above making money or cleaning house?

Four Thousand Weeks suggested an experiment where I make notes during the day. Thoughts, feelings, energy levels, etc. I think it was for one day. Basically you check in with yourself often and you get an idea of the thoughts you have and how often you have them. Need to reconfirm with the book.