Bye 2024! Sunday Surprise[29-Dec-24]
Reflections at the end of the year
Hello there!
The end of the year is coming, coming and then suddenly here. I was preparing a little worksheet for the end of year for you, dear reader, and suddenly it’s time to deliver. More on that below and some reflections on the year that was.
Also, a quick favour? If this newsletter has been an interesting read, could you kindly share it with ONE friend who might also like it? It’s been a while since I asked and I’d love to start 2025 with some more new faces! If you’re feeling REALLY generous, feel free to share to your socials.
I’d love to know how your year has been? Hit “reply” and let me know! Housekeeping stuff below as usual!
General housekeeping: 90% of the newsletter is completely free. Any links with * are affiliate links. If you’ve enjoyed any of my random creative endeavours/like giving to charity/want to support Substack as an awesome platform, consider subscribing. They take a cut(I can’t actually pay for this awesome service) and I tend to donate most of this to charity, but I do use it as a yard stick to know that people find the content valuable. It should work out to <$2/wk!
Creative update
Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Review: Worth the hype?
Even though I have too many earphones, I decided to get the new Buds 3 Pro. It has some great features, one of which I haven’t seen in many other headphones that I use daily.
It’s nearly the end of Season 4 of the podcast and we’re back with a mini-sode! This one explores compliments and how some are *much* more meaningful than others.
Only 20 or so left in stock now! It’s been one of the highlights of the last few weeks with photos of the calendars arriving across the world! If you’re looking to pick one up, use code NY2025 for a discount.
Things I’m listening to
This is an Australian doctor and singer who has released a song that I think captures the mood of the world perfectly. Now, the lyrics are a bit controversial to the point where she left her management for not changing them, but the song is so darn catchy!
(It gets a bit too conspiracy theory for me personally, but hey, music is for entertainment at the end of the day)
Cool finds
After the hectic Xmas period, I haven’t had the chance to go find new cool things! Here’s a few from the past that I’ve enjoyed using.
Galaxy Buds 3 Pro* - literally listening to them now as I type out this email and they’re brilliant! Add in one of the best voice interfaces for quick things and I’m sold!
USB Desk fan* - not sure if I mentioned this one in the past but a while ago I was on the look for a small and relatively quiet fan for the desk that was USB powered. This was the best one I could find that also blended in with the rest of the desk.
Levitating light bulb lamp* - I haven’t mentioned this in a while and it’s STILL one of my favourite desk objects. They’re getting cheaper than ever and I still just love watching it levitate and spin.
Actionable insight
End of year review tool - Goal setter 2025
This week, it’s not an insight but something I have been creating for myself and for you. If you’re not familiar with the concept of the Wheel of Life, it’s basically a way of scoring the different elements of your life so you can compare it over time.
This is my own spin on it since I quite like the “Healthy”, “Wealthy” & “Wise” categorisations and it’s been an useful rubric to assess my year against.
The second is my old Goals/Resolution template. Eventually, I’ll merge it into one document. If you’d like to use it, click on the link and hit File > Make a copy, and save it into your own Google account to use.
For those paid subscribers to the newsletter, firstly THANK YOU for your support and further down, I’ve included the more advanced version that is currently in development.
This is a new project for me so please do share any feedback!
Weekly Update
This is less of an update and more of a list of lessons learnt in 2024 and what I’ve doing about it.
It’s ok to take a long break - This was a big one for me since I thought I was taking enough breaks. Turns out, I was just recovering enough to keep going but not really recharging. After my stint in the US, I realised what I thought was “normal” was just “less tired”. Prioritising sleep and recovery has really allowed me to be calmer and focused.
I don’t have to do everything myself - Delegation was never my strong point. I always preferred to do something myself and felt that it’s not worth offloading the little things if they don’t really take much time. This year, I *tried* it at the request of a good friend — not just half-heartedly, but ACTUALLY tried and it is amazing! One of the reasons the podcast, newsletter and now more regular Youtube videos has been happening is because things have less friction!
Being healthy requires more work as I age — For someone from an Indian background, I have been fortunate to have any health problems. My friends are already on cholesterol and blood pressure medications while I’ve been able to avoid all that. As I near 40, I’ve realised I have to be more proactive and ACTUALLY dedicate more time to keeping things in order. I’ve been able to always prioritise other things be it work, obligations or the occasional late night, but I can feel that those days are limited for me.
Health has a LOT to do with food — This is a bit silly, but in my mind, being healthy was always about exercise and less about nutrition. My 3 month break allowed me to experiment with my normal and see just how wrong that was! Exercise is definitely important, but nutrition is where the quick wins are if you’re not quite where you want to be. If you’re curious, Outlive* is my favourite book on health this year.
… and I’ll put the rest on the blog.
If you’ve read this far, thank you for being part of the journey of 2024! As always, it’s readers like you and the occasional comments and feedback that make this project worth doing.
Have a safe and happy start to 2025! I’ll be taking a short break and will see you in the new year!
Quote of the week (& a bonus)
This week, the quote is from a tennis legend, but I heard it from a Youtuber…
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