Jekyll2019-01-01T15:31:49-08:00https://with.thegra.in/feed.xmlWith the GrainPotatowire's Blog
I am Back2019-01-01T00:00:00-08:002019-01-01T00:00:00-08:00https://with.thegra.in/i-am-back<p>This project is still <a href="https://with.thegra.in/what-now">complete</a>, but I am back.</p>
<p>I’m starting a new project in 2019, and I will no longer write it as potatowire. On January 31st, I will transition out of my
Commanding Officer role. On March 1st, I will go on terminal leave, retiring June 1st from the Navy after 20 years on Active
Duty. This is why I have been pseudonymous, but it’s time to leave that behind.</p>
<p>So, what is the new project? It is called <em><a href="https://thiswillbehard.com/">This Will Be Hard</a></em>, and there I will begin the next
phase of my life. <em>It will be hard</em>, but I hope you’ll join me.</p>["potatowire"]This project is still complete, but I am back.What Now?2018-01-06T00:00:00-08:002018-01-06T00:00:00-08:00https://with.thegra.in/what-now<p>Well, this project is complete. <em>With the Grain</em> is now closed.</p>
<p>It’s been a while since I’ve produced anything of value here, and leaving things unresolved has been a mental tax
on everything since. So, I’m going offline.</p>
<p>Since I like some of what I wrote here, I may someday make a good landing page for this site, and curate it in some way. If
something particularly resonated with you, <a href="mailto:me@potatowire.com">let me know</a>.</p>
<p>I may sometimes feel the need to say something, in order to get it out of my head, and I do want to keep working on the
bigger picture, fitting together what I’ve learned. For those times, and if I ever have a new project to share, I will send it
out to my email <a href="http://thegra.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=7712b37391b550e3826c38f34&id=bec2c14066">list</a>.</p>
<p>Be well.</p>["potatowire"]Well, this project is complete. With the Grain is now closed.Streaming2017-11-14T00:00:00-08:002017-11-14T00:00:00-08:00https://with.thegra.in/Streaming<p><a href="https://with.thegra.in/a-new-phase" title="A New Phase">Did I mention</a> I would be taking November off?</p>
<p>I’ve also been thinking about what I want to do with my lighter fare. It’s stuff that would once have gone on Twitter, but that’s no longer a happy place for me. I’ve often posted ephemera here, but I like the idea of this site being populated with more fully-formed thoughts. Because of that, I set up a separate sub-site that will include more nonsense.</p>
<p>I am calling it <a href="http://stream.potatowire.com"><em>Stream</em></a> based on Robin Sloan’s concept of <a href="http://snarkmarket.com/2010/4890"><em>Stock and Flow</em></a>. Because I am more wedded to the term <em>flow</em> as Mihály Csíkszentmihályi <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)">uses it</a>, I chose <em>stream</em> as variation of <em>flow</em>.</p>
<p><a href="http://stream.potatowire.com">Take a look</a>, and let me know what you think.</p>["potatowire"]Did I mention I would be taking November off?A New Phase2017-10-28T00:00:00-07:002017-10-28T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/a-new-phase<p>Argh, <a href="https://with.thegra.in/i-dont-know">so much angst</a>.</p>
<p>I’m going to try another experiment here. Given my general dissatisfaction with the quality of my writing, I am going to move to a Tuesday and Thursday publishing schedule. The twice-weekly posts will be more ambitious than my recent navel-gazing. Because I am an all-or-nothing sort, I will still maintain a daily writing practice. I just won’t show my work.</p>
<p>If, in a month, I haven’t met my publishing schedule, or the quality of my work has not improved, I will go back to daily posting. Or quit writing forever. Depends on the magnitude of my angst.</p>
<p>Let the new phase commence.</p>["potatowire"]Argh, so much angst.I Don’t Know2017-10-27T00:00:00-07:002017-10-27T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/i-dont-know<p>I’m repeating myself, but it is hard to write every day.</p>
<p>I want to make sure my writing fits within some sort of logical framework, so it is useful, but it is hard to be that organized. It is so hard to be brief and clear. It’s harder still to be brief, clear, and organized.</p>
<p>I could post less often, except I continually prove that I am all-or-nothing in everything I do. Maybe I need to change that? Maybe I am subjecting you, patient reader, to the twists and turns of my mind, when I could learn to publish less frequent, but better posts. Maybe I should write every day, but publish twice a week. Maybe the writing, as it stands now, isn’t worth it.</p>
<p>I don’t know.</p>["potatowire"]I’m repeating myself, but it is hard to write every day.Equilibrium2017-10-26T00:00:00-07:002017-10-26T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/equilibrium<p>My habits all seem to exist somewhere between a_stable_ and <em>unstable</em> equilibrium. This has been a useful way to think about my self discipline.</p>
<p>An ingrained habit is in <em>stable</em> equilibrium. For example, I brush my teeth every morning when I wake up and every night before bed. This is true when I travel, have a long day, or something interrupts me on the way to the bathroom sink. If extraordinary circumstances cause me miss one day of teeth-brushing, it requires zero effort—or even conscious thought—to resume the habit the next day. This habit is in equilibrium with my life. It continues without an energy requirement.</p>
<p>New habits, on the other hand are in an <em>unstable</em> equilibrium. For example, my nascent <a href="https://with.thegra.in/cold-water/">cold therapy</a> habit requires all the self-discipline I can muster, just to turn the shower faucet full-cold. If I miss a day, resuming the habit is very hard.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup> this habit is in unstable equilibrium with my life. It stays in balance, only with effort.</p>
<p>There are degrees of stability, too. For example, my normal diet<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote">2</a></sup> is easily disrupted by travel or hard days at work, but I easily settle back into my routine when life returns to normal. This habit is in partial equilibrium with my life. It requires some energy to maintain balance, but it is generally stable.</p>
<p>This way of thinking about my habits has allowed me to be more practical in my self evaluation. I don’t beat myself up as much when I backslide, and instead, I look for ways to build better stability into new habits.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>In fact, I took a break (ironically, jbecause of a bad cold), and even though I’m pretty much all better, I’m still finding excuses to not resume what <em>was</em> a daily practice. <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:2">
<p>The details don’t really matter here, but for the curious: I eat one meal a day (a stricter form of <a href="https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/">intermittent fasting</a>), and that meal’s only restriction is that’ carbohydrates come only from healthy vegetables (no bread/grain, no added sugar). I have three cheat meals at various times during the week, still intermittently fasting on those days. This may sound hard to do, but I eased into it. For that matter, send me an email if your struggle with your weight. I have test plan we can try, with some one-on-one coaching/cheerleading. <a href="#fnref:2" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>["potatowire"]My habits all seem to exist somewhere between a_stable_ and unstable equilibrium. This has been a useful way to think about my self discipline.Liar2017-10-25T00:00:00-07:002017-10-25T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/liar<p>I lied <a href="https://with.thegra.in/prepared">yesterday</a>.</p>
<p>Well, maybe I didn’t lie, but I also can’t finish my <a href="https://with.thegra.in/archive?search=randomness">randomness</a> series today and tomorrow. I severely overestimated the mental energy I’d have today, and I don’t want to phone in my last two posts in the series.</p>
<p>Sorry.</p>["potatowire"]I lied yesterday.Prepared2017-10-24T00:00:00-07:002017-10-24T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/prepared<p>“Luck favors the prepared mind.”</p>
<p>-Louis Pasteur</p>
<p>Whether we call it luck or God’s grace, we need to take advantage of the opportunities we have. We must be prepared to say <a href="https://with.thegra.in/reject-the-middle"><em>Hell yeah</em></a>.</p>
<p>Tomorrow and Thursday, I will close out my series on <a href="https://with.thegra.in/archive?search=randomness">randomness</a>.</p>["potatowire"]“Luck favors the prepared mind.”Reject the Middle2017-10-23T00:00:00-07:002017-10-23T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/reject-the-middle<p>I’m a strong believer in avoiding the middle ground.</p>
<p>What middle ground? Every point between 0 and 1; on and off; best and bad; in or out. Now this doesn’t mean we need always dwell in the extremes of every spectrum we inhabit, but I do think we should only transit the middle <em>on the way</em> to one pole or other. Spending time in the middle wastes time and wastes energy.</p>
<p>How about an everyday analogy. Have you ever tried to stand in one spot where the waves break on the beach? It is very hard to stay put, but we can (usually) hustle past the breakers into deeper, calmer water. Alternatively, we can move with the breakers on to dry land. Choosing either option is a better use of our energy.</p>
<p>A number of years ago, we adopted a rescued greyhound. That little guy was either in a dead sprint or lazing on his big pillow inside the house. He had no interest in an easy jog. He was bored on walks. But he could <em>run.</em></p>
<p>I think both of these analogies<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup> illustrate a good philosophy of self-improvement. We are better off devoting all our spare time to improving something in our life, <em>or</em> recuperating completely by resting totally, than if we just spent 11 minutes a day in mild effort.<sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote">2</a></sup></p>
<p>Derek Sivers, entrepreneurial sage, has a similar outlook when it comes to managing your external commitments.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…If you’re not saying, “<em>Hell yeah!</em>” about something, say no. When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” then say no.</p>
<p>When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to throw yourself completely into that rare thing that makes you say, “<em>Hell yeah!</em>”</p>
<p>For every event you get invited to, every request to start a new project, if you’re not saying, “<em>Hell yeah!</em>” about it, say no.</p>
<p>We’re all busy. We’ve all taken on too much. Saying yes to less is the way out.<sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote">3</a></sup></p>
</blockquote>
<p>When we don’t have the bandwidth to do everything,<sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote">4</a></sup> we have to be selective. Don’t waste time on the <em>okay</em> commitments. Wait for the great opportunities. Commit fully when they arrive.</p>
<p>Don’t be good. Get <a href="https://with.thegra.in/better">better</a>. Reject the middle.</p>
<div class="footnotes">
<ol>
<li id="fn:1">
<p>Do good analogies mean a good argument? No, but I think big truths harmonize with common sense. <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:2">
<p>We may only have 11 free minutes a day, sometimes, but on those days we need to give that 11 minutes <em>complete</em> focus. And we need to look for 12 minutes the next day. <a href="#fnref:2" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:3">
<p><a href="http://amzn.to/2zvsTtZ">Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur</a> by Derek Sivers, <a href="http://a.co/3ZOtcrV">link</a>. I really like Sivers. As I post this, his short book is only <a href="http://amzn.to/2y1goKq">$1.99 on Kindle</a>. A no-brainer. <a href="#fnref:3" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:4">
<p>The motivated young and commitment-less can often do everything…until they can’t. <a href="#fnref:4" class="reversefootnote">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>["potatowire"]I’m a strong believer in avoiding the middle ground.Goals on the Road2017-10-22T00:00:00-07:002017-10-22T00:00:00-07:00https://with.thegra.in/goals-on-the-road<p>As <a href="https://with.thegra.in/archive?search=weekly">tradition</a> has it, it’s time to look at my weekly goals.</p>
<p><a href="https://with.thegra.in/breathing-room">Last week</a>, I wanted to avoid device-use first thing in the morning. I succeeded, but I’m not sure it mattered. I didn’t feel any more or less in control of the day that followed, and I had no big revelations. Maybe this is a bit of conventional wisdom that doesn’t matter in my case.</p>
<p>Regardless, it was a good way to exercise my habit muscle, so I’m happy about that. I’ll keep it up another week to see if the benefits were just slow to arrive.</p>
<p>So, what’s the goal for this week? This is the first Sunday in a while that nothing came immediately to mind. I’m away from home this week, so none of my habit patterns will be precisely the same. This means the effects of a new habit can’t be easily measured, so I might as well focus on an achievement instead.</p>
<p>This week, I want to improve the quality of my posts. Last week I was <a href="https://with.thegra.in/what-i-can">beginning to lose patience</a>, but I also decided too accept that it was okay to just <a href="https://with.thegra.in/faucet">keep writing</a>. Now I want to create an inflection point that will make this writing better.</p>
<p>This goal will be tough to evaluate, but that’s okay. It’s an unusual week anyway.</p>["potatowire"]As tradition has it, it’s time to look at my weekly goals.