---
layout: post
title: "Week Two: Slower and Steadier"
tags: [first-week]
author: Brennan Brown
permalink: week-1
comment: true
---

Both of my gripes I talked about last week were successfully resolved by my realization that I can use the visual road editor to fix jarring changes within the road due to safety buffer auto-trimming. I'm sure it's in bad taste and bad practically to revise the history of the road for the sake of aesthetics, but oh well.

Since I have previous experience, the first week of this program as been a breeze, but I'm definitely prepared for that to change quickly and acutely. The fact that I'm going to be using GitHub so often means my systems are going to flow really well.


## Thoughts of the Week

* **You're doing OK**: Life isn't a competition, but have reassurance knowing that you aren't in last place if it was.
* **Typewriter Mentality**: Examine thyself carefully. Using Git again has reminded me how good of a memory it has. In order to not make a bunch of embarrassing extra commits or reversions of commits, I really need to triple-check my spelling and semantics. This seems like a drawback at first, but in reality is really useful.
* **Be mindful of time dilation**: The amount of time I feel I have when I'm working on something boring or uncomfortable is far greater than the time I feel like I have when I'm having fun. This is really beneficial as well, as it allows me to savor the moment more when I'm within the intricate and difficult.
* **Thrust Unto Darkness**: I have this idea to create a Beeminder that starts at an extreme amount of money and has a one-month deadline. I wonder if this sort of expierment would push me to do things that I always say I want to do but never get around to doing, like starting a YouTube channel or start a podcast.
* **Become Patreon Worthy**: Related to the above idea, I want to create things that are so valuable they are worth money. Once I build myself up, I need to contribute to the world, as well as balancing what the world is highly needing vs. what I'm capable of offering.
* **Simple Good**: I need to start simple, good projects on GitHub for both the sake of learning and to maintain a consecutive streak on my profile.
* **Data Agnosticism**: A data point is a data point, if I write a really good or really bad blog post, it's still only a "1". What is solution?
    - Possible solution: Track words (not really a solution, which just means more words which is still quantity, not quality), also a problem because I write in multiple places (although I shouldn't, as that violates the unification system principle).
* **Magic Buster Point System**: A system I found years ago, probably from Buster Benson, where you record your day on a simple 0-1-2 system--where 0 is a bad day, 1 is a good day, and 2 is a perfect day. I'm curious about incorporating such a system into Beeminder? I.e. Having a point-based system for smaller habits and tracking them daily.
* **Leverage Platforms**: I have a [Svbtle](https://bren.svbtle.com/) account and I should use it. They have a [good promise](https://svbtle.com/promise). It makes my writing and my ideas more platform agnostic and thus anti-fragile.
    - Also, start a newsletter on [Substack](https://brennan.substack.com/) about my progress, as well as interesting things I find throughout the week. A lot simpler than MailChimp .
    - In the future, I could possible Beemind both of these as well
* **Emojify the system for fun**: Taken from [Youkad](https://www.beeminder.com/youkad) who has really good Beeminder systems.
* **Impossibility of Meaningful Day**: How do you have a meaningful day? You can't really. It's too short of a time frame, you're too stuck in the weeds. Doing these weekly reviews has kind of shown me that the shortest amount of time where it's possible to feel like you've gotten something done is a week.
* **Spending-Money Paradox**: One thing I've had a problematic mindset with, how can I have the consequence/punishment for spending money be to spend *more* money? Can I justify it as sunk-cost fallacy? No, I cannot suspend my disbelief for such an idea, which is a shame because I really need a way to be better with my finances. Maybe I'll figure something out something.
* **Everything is a Repeat**: You can find a solution to pretty much any problem you have, however, some lessons require first-hand experience because I'm stubborn and only human.
* **Eliminate the External**: As impossible as this idea is, it's still important to be mindful about. The reason I began Beeminding again was because competency and self-worth due to getting into a web-development program.
    - I felt capable because of external sources validating me. This is not good. It might be a controversial opinion, but relying or seeking out external validation is harmful. It is fleeting and ultimately unnecessary. You are already enough. You are capable. Get out of your own way.
* **Magnitude of Failures**: Derailing on a goal is not a failure, neither is deleting the goal altogether. As long as you keep with the idea of committing your time and efforts to good progress
* **Reporter Supplementary**: Using **Reporter** as supplementary data

## Pesky Obstacles

> Figure out solutions to these problems/rants

* **Photography Workflow**: I want to start using Instagram again, and start getting back into photography in general, but it's been difficult. You need to dedicate an unexpectedly large amount of time and effort in order to take the photos, as well as editing and publishing. Having a camera that has bluetooth for automatic syncing to my phone, as well as lovely out-of-the-camera JPGs like what FujiFilm has.

* I don't want to use social media.
* I don't want to use Instagram because I feel insecure and lousy about my photography. I feel like I haven't taken a good photo for years, since I had a really bad camera. I have a really good camera now and I feel like it's more than I should be using. I need to get out of my head.
    - But at the same time, photography is a time-consuming process to do correctly. I need to allocate more time to this and simplify the workflow (Straight from camera to phone -> vsco filters -> publish)
    - Of course, I have a camera on my phone like everyone else. The reason I don't like using my phone's camera is not because of quality, but because of the UX. I have a Fujifilm because I enjoy the tactical sensation of buttons and ability to change aperture, shutter speed, and ISO with a single dial and ease.
* I don't want to use Twitter because it's frankly a toxic website that has perpetuated poor mental health in people moreso than any other social media platform. For reasons I don't fully understand (but want to research) people seem eager to act hostile, and dig up old information/material you published in an attempt to harm your career and you in an abstract fashion. In short, it's a liability. Yet, if I want to get a job, I suspect most places will expect you to have a Twitter and play by the same game everyone else does.
    - I already use social media in a very santizied method, and I don't like that at all. I want to have fun and


## Reporter Questions

Morning:

* How well did you sleep?
* How many hours of sleep did you get?
* Did you dream last night?
* How was your dream?
* What are you looking forward to today?
* What are you going to focus on today?

* Where are you?
* Who are you with?

* What did you learn today?
* How happy are you?
* Did you eat healthy?
* Did you work out?