Archives for July 2025

That’s it. I’ve reached 6 years of daily posting. This is the final post in the project.

I remember cycling home from work in 2019 and listening to Seth Godin talk about the benefits of daily writing. I remember waiting another 6 months before starting this blog. I remember the fear I had the first month staring at the blank screen.

But fast forward 6 years, I can say—without a doubt—this habit has made me a better writer. It’s made me more confident at work. And it’s helped me be more curious about the world around me.

I will likely still post in some shape or form, but it just won’t be daily anymore.

Thank you for being great readers, friends, and supporters over the years. It’s a been a wonderful ride.

A big thank you to Seth and Rohan who inspired me to start this journey. And, most importantly, to Maru, who believed and supported me unfailingly during the past 2192 days.

I really enjoy the short recipe videos from Marco Pierre White—the youngest chef to receive 3 Michelin stars.

There is one that I’ve tried and enjoyed: the anchovy sandwich.

Toasted sourdough, butter, anchovies (I used Spanish white anchovies in oil oil and vinegar), finely sliced shallots, and parsley.

I like how it’s deliberately simple, and how the limited number of ingredients lets the flavours of each shine.

There’s a reason why it’s a stop sign rather than a give way or yield.

Although it may look like the road is clear, all four wheels coming to a stop gives the driver an extra moment to pause, look, and check for possible danger.

The idea should extend beyond driving. When the stakes are higher, or there is an increased risk of danger, think about a metaphorical stop sign making you pause for a second longer. It may help you avoid a headache.

I loved this video about legendary All Black, Conrad Smith. He wasn’t strong, he wasn’t fast, but he was highly coachable.

His three things were: work hard, listen, and ask good questions.

We celebrate great problem solvers because it’s easy to see the impact of solving a problem.

I wish we did (or could do more) to celebrate problem avoiders. For clarity, I’m not referring to people who refuse to solve problems, but rather those who know how to anticipate them, and figure out a way to avoid them becoming problems in the first place.

I tried the WHOOP fitness tracker 2-3 years ago and hated it. I was sleeping poorly at the time and it was impossible to get out of the “red” on their app. It was demoralizing and I gave up. I sent it back.

Earlier this month, I decided to give them another shot. I made sure to start when I had a more predictable sleep schedule, and to spend more time understanding the app.

I love how much better the experience feels now. The sleep insights are very good; detailed but clear. I’m also loving the Strava integration for tracking runs—although that was probably available a few years ago.

I’ve also switched to a bicep band which has made the wearing experience much better. Their wrist strap needs to be worn too high up to be comfortable, but with the bicep strap I barely notice it is there.

Happy customer!

If a dog is acting up, dog trainers will first ask if the dog has been getting enough exercise. Without this as a baseline, no other generalised behavioural assessment can be made.

I wonder if there’s at least a loose parallel for humans: for feeling good, for clarity of thought.

Historically, I haven’t had a morning routine.

I kind of potter about and do things in a haphazard fashion.

I get everything done, but I’m solving the same problems each day. I need to remind myself of what I need to do, and I try and cram it all in before I rush out the door.

It sounds kind of silly, but I wrote down my morning routine, and I just started following it without deviation. I made sure there was enough time to complete everything, and the morning has become much calmer.

When the start of the day runs a little on autopilot, it gives my body and mind a chance to wake up.

I watched the gentlemen’s final today between Alcaraz and Sinner. It’s a humbling feeling watching another human perform feats that you didn’t think were possible. The speed, power, accuracy, and athleticism of the two players was astounding.

Wimbledon is such a great event. It’s the biggest crown in the tennis calendar, and it’s emblematic of London summer. When Wimbledon is on, concerts are happening around the country, the British Grand Prix is happening, festivals are happening in parks around the country, it really is the peak of summer.

Ironically, it’s hard to write like you talk.

Putting pen to paper can make you overthink, explain too much, and create complexity.

Writing like you talk—using plain, simple, understandable words. That’s when messages land.

So much joy during my school years came from a “have a go” attitude.

My parents supported me no matter what activity I wanted to try—sport, music, theatre, debating—they’d encourage me to have a go.

I got to try many different hobbies, fail safely, and learn a lot about myself in the process.

Maru’s favourite flowers are peonies. They’re available late-May to early-July.

To be honest, I used to think flowers were a waste of money and pointless.

But now I understand how happy they make Maru, and now we try and have peonies in the home throughout June, and I have zero qualms about it.

The game over screen in video games is overly dramatic.

The game isn’t actually over. The game always allows you to try again.

When things don’t work out as planned, see it more like game over in a video game: an invitation to try again.

One of the big lessons when learning how to SCUBA dive is how to avoid decompression sickness. When the human body spends a prolonged amount of time at depth, nitrogen builds up in the blood. As the diver ascends to the surface, they need to perform either decompression or safety stops to allow the nitrogen to escape from the blood stream.

It made me think about the pressured situations we find ourselves in on land, and how we don’t have any universally agreed decompression stop.

Maybe we should?

Heroics are hard. Herculean feats are few and far between.

Consistency, on the other hand, is achievable. It’s doing the basics well over and over and over again.

When society celebrates heroics, learn to be content with the quiet, steady, determined rhythm of consistency.