Iterate Weekly - Issue 170
This week I'm reflecting on the first half of 2024!
Welcome to issue 170 of Iterate Weekly.
Now this is a very special edition folks. This week we celebrate my birthday, the halfway mark of the calendar year, Canada Day, American Independence Day, my wedding anniversary, and I’m sure plenty of other important things!
It’s a jam packed week and a particularly special week for me personally. So I wanted to take a slightly different approach to my weekly rundown below. Instead of scouring the internet for the latest and greatest stories in each category, I thought it’d be fun to personalize things a bit more.
So rather than the usual blurbs, I’ll be taking a moment to reflect on my thoughts on how each topic has been embodied by yours truly in the past six months. What pieces of tech have worked for me or against me? What has been motivating me when it comes to work or productivity? What have I been doing for my health and the environment? And then some fun grab bag ideas, a quote, and some summer movie recommendations.
Hope you enjoy the change this week, and if you haven’t done so yet, maybe find some time this week to reset and recharge as we enter the back half of 2024
And if you’re looking for the perfect birthday gift for me, why don’t you forward this to a friend who may be interested or share a link via your social media platform of choice?
Thank you as always for reading!
🤖 Tech
My favorite tech of 2024 so far
Please excuse my rambling, but I have some thoughts on technology to share with you all.
What tech has improved my life in 2024? And what has just been more of a headache than it’s worth?
The Good
My GE Induction smart range has been fantastic. The kitchen is one room in the house where it’s nice to have modern tech but people have cooking for millions of years without right? As long as you have sharp knives and a good source of heat, you should be good. But this thing has made cooking so much more fun and efficient. The induction cooktop is just cleaner and better for the environment. The wifi connectivity allows me to pre-heat the oven from anywhere (usually when I’m on my way home and want to save some time). And theoretically, it should get better with further software updates. So far it’s been worth every penny.
Pixel phones have been getting the job done. Yes, I may have lost my Pixel 8 Pro recently. But it was amazing how easy it was to get a new Pixel 8a setup and running with no real noticeable difference. I’m all for phones getting smaller, more durable, and less expensive. So I have been really impressed at how well the 8a can handle everything the beefier 8 Pro was able to do. And lo and behold it looks like Google may be releasing the Pixel 9 line a bit earlier this year in August rather than October. I’m anxious to see what the next iteration will be like, but I have had very little to complain about when it comes to phones this year.
The Bad
My Landroid robot lawnmower has moved on to a new home. It was probably the piece of tech that I was most excited about last year and one of the first big purchases for our new home. But I just think this technology isn’t quite ready for primetime. The Landroid was ahead of its time. It ended up taking more time to troubleshoot than it would have to just manually mow the lawn myself. It’s still usable for the right size and type of lawn, but it isn’t the set-it-and-forget-it solution I hoped for. Thankfully, I was able to pass it along to a neighbor who was well aware of its shortcomings but eager to tinker with it to handle his grass.
The Nest Secure alarm system and cameras around my house have been a total headache this year. I’ve written plenty of about Google’s decision to kill off its fantastic Nest Secure system. But in an odd twist of events, I still have my system set up? Why do you ask? No, it doesn’t act as a proper alarm system any longer, but the door sensors still emit a very satisfying ringing sound whenever doors are opened in my home. That is still hugely valuable and no other door sensors look or sound as nice as these ones. I’m glad Google didn’t brick that part of the system. As for the cameras, they seem to be getting dumber over time. Both the backyard and doorbell camera should be able to detect friendly faces that we have programmed. And it worked well for quite a while. However, these days it seems to get all faces confused, it often mistakes me for my wife or thinks I’m a stranger. It just seems like software that has been neglected and it’s a darn shame because it was amazing when it worked well.
Ok, that’s enough for now. I have high hopes for the test of the tech calendar year but it’s certainly been a roller coaster thus far.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
What is driving my work and productivity?
I wish I had a laundry list of courses I’ve taken and lessons I’ve learned so far this year. But it hasn’t gone that way. Sure, I’ve read plenty of books so that’s always good. We’ve also welcomed our second child and that can surely throw an extremely cute baby toy monkey wrench into work and productivity plans.
I have been happy to keep up with my daily writing habit using 700words.com. I’m up to well over 600 days of consecutive writing and I’m proud of that streak. That streak has certainly helped contribute to my writing here as well. I’ve managed to diligently post two pieces every week for the entirety of the year and that hasn’t been easy.
I’m still regularly hosting deep work sessions via Caveday and find it to be the best solution for procrastination and lack of focus. If I don’t get a few deep work sessions in each week I don’t feel like myself.
The other big thing I’ve been working on so far this year is getting my new home workspace in order. Once that is set up and our baby is a little older (and under the watchful care of our new nanny) I think I’ll see a major increase in motivation and output when it comes to daily work and creativity.
I’m excited for the rest of the year and should have a lot more to say within this space.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
How’s my health and carbon footprint these days?
When looking at my health, I’m feeling pretty good these days. I’m still wearing an Oura Ring everyday to track my sleep and other vitals. The data has become indispensable to me even if I don’t always know the best way to act on it. Sleep cycles naturally change when you have a new baby at home, but I’ve managed to find my sleep wherever I can get it.
After cutting back on running mileage in the first half of the year, I’ve ramped up training for a half marathon in the fall. Having a race on the books is just the most effective way for me to get my training in order. I’m starting to do less strength training from the Wild Gym ecosystem as I dedicate more time to running. I should also point out that I’ve still been wearing the Wild Gym ruck pack everyday when taking my dog for a walk. That extra 20+ pounds on my back has started to feel lightweight and I think it’s helped improve my overall strength.
The health choices I’ve made can easily transition into more environmental choices as well. It was about this time last year that my wife and I both purchased new e-bikes that have really been our main form of transportation in 2024. I’m lucky enough to sometimes go weeks without stepping into my car as I handle most errands and daily school drop-offs via our Tern HSD cargo bike. It’s been great for my physical and mental wellbeing while also being nice for the environment and our wallet.
There are still plenty of other little things around the house that we do to try to minimize our carbon footprint. It’ll never be perfect, but the journey is pretty fun in my humble opinion.
🛍 Grab Bag
What’s next for iterate?
Why not ponder some half-year thoughts about the state of this publication?
I can’t really imagine not writing these posts at least twice per week. Even if no one were to be reading, I’d likely still be writing. It’s just become part of my daily routine and I have no desire to stop.
But I can be critical of myself for really not iterating enough in this space. I’ve been pretty rigid in keeping the format more or less the same each week. That’s probably been the only way of keeping the train on the tracks as I created content each week without a miss. But it’s also sacrificed some creativity and spontaneity in favor of consistency.
How can I fix that? I don’t have all the answers quite yet. But I do want to change some of my formats or at least be more open to experimentation. As I said earlier, I think some of this will open up once I’m comfortably in my new office/studio and have a bit more time as our newborn son becomes less newly born. I’ve said this before, but I do plan to try some audio and video content in the coming months as well.
💬 Quote of the Week
"I intend to live forever. So far, so good."
-Steven Wright
🎥 Content Recommendation
Summer movies
We recently had some friends over in our backyard and we were discussing the idea of summer movies. Specifically, what movies feel the most appropriate to be watching on a projector screen in your backyard in the summer while sitting around a fire?
Plenty of good options were thrown out. Movies that take place in the summer obviously make sense. “Wet Hot American Summer” is probably my favorite of that bunch. “The Sandlot” also makes many people’s list and I’d argue is maybe the most watched movie on outdoor projector screens.
That night we ended up choosing “American Graffiti”. It’s obviously an American classic that takes place at the end of summer as high schoolers plan for their future. If it’s managed to slip through your summer movie cracks, now is the perfect time to go check it out. Embrace the summer and let your viewing habits adjust accordingly.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
Hey! Could you use some help establishing healthy habits? Do you have a big project or new business that you want to get off the ground but could use some advice? Maybe you could benefit from hiring me as your coach. If you’re interested, read more about my coaching services here, or go ahead and book some time on my calendar to discuss further.
Iterate is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you should let me know that this writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless I enable payments at some point in the future. Think of it like an IOU in a tip jar.