The Year of Big Rocks

Akrasia
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Toward the end of 2024, I listened a lot to The Cortex Podcast. For a few years, they’ve advocated something they call yearly themes as an alternative to New Year’s resolutions.

The idea is to be more flexible than a specific resolution. Roughly, you’re supposed to pick a theme for the year, and then keep it in mind whenever you make decisions in the year about how to spend your time. For example, two of Myke’s past themes have been “The Year of Weekends” (trying to take real breaks on the weekend) and “The Year of People” (trying to rely more on others / delegate / etc.)

So I’ve decided to try this, and to designate this year as “The Year of Big Rocks”. The plan is to try to do fewer things and do them better. Hopefully the idea of what I have in mind is somewhat clear. Examples of actions I’m considering taking in support of this theme are:

  • Not starting new projects at work without finishing old ones first.
  • Picking a single project to focus on at work each week.
  • Picking a single hobby / recreational activity for my time at home each week.
  • Sending friends a few long, interesting messages each day rather than pointless, short ones every hour or two.

So, how can beeminder help? Well, the first thing to keep in mind is beeminder goals can actively work against this theme, if one isn’t careful. Perpetually edge-skating on many goals can lead to a pattern of filling every day with a long list of small things that need to be done. So I’m going to try to avoid this—whether by building up buffer, or by pruning goals that lead to this kind of behaviour, I’m not yet sure.

Over the year, I expect to make many small goals to try to enforce specific habits I decide support the theme. For now, however, let’s start with something very basic—I’m going to try to write a simple journal entry every day, with two headings: “list of things I did today which fit the yearly theme”, and, “list of things I did today which didn’t”.

Again, the idea is that if this seems to work, I’ll keep doing it, and if it doesn’t, I’ll kill it and think of other things I can do that fit in with the theme. Actually, a lot like New Month’s Resolutions, except with a central theme for all the resolutions.

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This sounds really fascinating. I hope you will be sharing your journey.

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I’ll post in this thread every time I make, change, or derail on a beeminder goal relevant to the theme, and I’ll also post with other updates if they seem interesting!

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Powerful idea here. I’m still chewing on it but thought I’d point to the rocks and pebbles post for those who may be missing the allusion.

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This is great. I’ll give a plug for @malcolm and his app intend as it’s a perfect and beemindable companion to setting and maintaining focus on these kind of things.

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So, some thoughts on the month thus far (which is most of the month):

  1. I have definitely made progress in making my work days less fragmented. Most days I have managed to spend the majority of the day, often in one nearly-contiguous block, working on a single thing. This is very good.
  2. I accepted one new work obligation I really should have turned down this month. This is less good. It felt like a favor for a friend. I should have just refused. Oh well. I did manage to turn down one other thing. So I could have done worse.
  3. Relaxing at home… I’m still spending a bit more time on “random shit” and a bit less time on my hobbies than I’d like.

As February approaches, I think I should:

  1. Make some concrete goals for the month for things I’d like to get done. What is a reasonable amount to accomplish, at work and at home? The most important goal for each? (Just thinking this already reveals some tension—I kind of have trouble picking what I think the most important work project is to finish in Februrary, but if I don’t even know that, how am I going to avoid spreading myself thin again??)
  2. Make a new on-theme goal. Possibilities include: do-less goal for watching youtube? do-more goal for piano practice? A toggl goal on whichever project I decide is most important to finish at work? Some other goal for the most important project to finish at work?
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