Weekly review: weeks 31 and 32, 2023

August 12, 2023

These two weeks in a GIF

Productivity

Shifting the order of the sections of the weekly review, mainly to explain the GIF. I made a mistake setting two kinds of goals that should not be goals:

Things that are not up to me to start working on them yet.
Things that are not up to me to finish them.

Add to that unexpected (and important) inputs, and you have a derailed plan by mid-Monday morning. I'm not going to share the details (other than I'm growing increasingly frustrated by Node 18, but I think there would be learnings for another post), but I can share some a very quick learning: don't do what I did.

It's easy to get carried away with big, hairy, audacious goals (BHAG), but, while it's a great way to stimulate progress on the long term, it's also an incredible way to set yourself up for failure when you're trying to do it for your week. I'm going to be more careful with this in the future.

A small note on metrics: I'm experimenting with using Rize(full disclaimer, this is a referral link) as my main driver for all my productivity/work metrics. I'm a long-time RescueTime fan, but I find that the way that Rize handles idle computer time feels more aligned with what I look for naturally in a tool like this.

Key metrics for Week 31:

Work hours: 51 hr 37 min (⇣12.71%).
Focus time: 19 hr 46 min (⇣4%).
Meetings: 19 hr 16 min (⇡10%).

I spent most of this time video conferencing (31%), coding (24%), and async messaging and communication (13%).

Key metrics for Week 32:

Work hours: 47 hr 19 min (⇣8.33%).
Focus time: 22 hr 49 min (⇡10%).
Meetings: 13 hr 7 min (⇣10%).

I spent most of this time coding (31%), video conferencing (27%), and async messaging and communication (18%).

Health

Key metrics for Week 31:

Worked out 5 days (same as the week before):
- 2x strength training sessions (=).
- 2x indoor stationary bike (31.6 km total, ⇡56.43%).
- 2x outdoor runs (23.4km, ⇣15.22%).
Sleep: 5h 42min daily average (⇡10.32%).
Alcohol: 2 drinks. (⇡300%).
Meditation: meditated 6 times this week. 70 minutes total (⇡75%).

Key metrics for Week 32:

Worked out 6 days (⇡20%):
- 2x strength training sessions (=).
- 2x indoor stationary bike (20.8 km total, ⇣34.17%).
- 3x outdoor runs (16km, ⇣31.62%).
Sleep: 6h 7min daily average (⇡7.3%).
Alcohol: 2 drinks. (=).
Meditation: meditated 0 times this week. (⇣100%).

Media

Books:

Continuing Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett (62% done).
Finished Range, by David Epstein.
Continuing What I talk about when I talk about running, by Haruki Murakami (72% done).
Started Die With Zero, by Bill Perkins (32% done).

Series:

Foundation: season 2, episodes 4 and 5.
The Witcher: season 3, episodes 6 - 8.

YouTube videos:

These are videos I througohly enjoyed and/or learned something from.

Questions

What went well this week?

I'm experimenting with waking up a bit later (7am vs 6am) to try to see if more bed time helps my overall wellbeing, focus, and energy throughout the day.

I'm also avoiding coffee after lunch, to see if that helps with falling asleep faster and with overall better sleep quality. So far, I haven't seen much of an impact in terms of deep sleep, but I'm definitely falling asleep earlier, so I'm keen to see this through for a few more weeks.

Even with all the chaos and unexpected things these last two weeks, it's worth celebrating the increase of focus time. This, alongside with (hopefully) the results of better sleep, can be a great way to improve my overall productivity while dedicating overall less hours to work.

What could be improved?

Don't be a dum-dum, Mike, and don't set yourself up for failure with that goal setting.

What are the goals for next week?

North star: Get everything ready to go on vacation (last week of work before summer vacation has this kind of end-of-class vibes 🌴).
Ship ⌘+K improvements.
Finalize landing page for Carpeta (you can see the progress here).

If you have any feedback, thoughts, or questions, feel free to contact me on Twitter.