Annual Review 2018

Hi there –

I hope you’ve had a fruitful year.

I thought I’d give a brief summary of 2018 and share some lessons. (Like I did in 2016)

The year went ahead different than I had expected. It’s been eventful and I learned a tremendous deal (if you’ve followed Future Skills, you’ll have picked up on some of it).

I made many mistakes, but had some windfalls too.

In this post:

• My 4-step Process for starting the new year
• Annual review of 2018
• Brief plans for 2019
• Book recs and other fun stuff

Here are some of the things I will be doing now, as the new year begins….

Review, Organize and Evaluate:

One important thing I will now do is to review and organize material collected throughout the year, across different categories in my commonplace system. This includes lists of thoughts and ideas, potential new projects, and tasks for ongoing projects.

The process goes something like this:

1. Sift through all the material
2. Collect all relevant items by list
3. Order it by perceived priority
4. Divide it into two categories: (1) “important but time-consuming” (will take at least several weeks) and (2) “low-hanging fruit” (can be done in less than a week and will have tangible impact)

Then I will write a brief annual review over 2018. What went well? What went less well? What are some of the biggest lessons?

Then I’ll review admin work and metrics, break it down by year and monthly averages, and update systems (e.g fixed costs by category, active subscriptions, domains, stocks, etc). Boring, but useful for staying on top of things.

Then I will review some of my best study material (from review file) to get a sense of what needs spaced repetition over the next months.

Then I will attend to my Archives: adding material to it, and looking at what’s already there, hopefully jogging my mind to get some ideas for using it in new creative ways.

Doing these things might take me a couple of days, but it’ll give me a big picture perspective and help make the rest of the year run along more smoothly.

My health is great. And I did some tests a couple of months ago. Otherwise I would schedule some health tests around this time of year too. 

–And I recommend you do the same if you haven’t done it before.

Stuff like — hormonal tests, vitamin/mineral tests, and possibly Omega 6/3.

Some Things Done in 2018:

Started Future Skills Podcast, about big ideas and career skills to future-proof yourself. We’ve been fortunate to have many smart and impressive people on.

Including:

• Martin Sandquist – Finance Billionaire
• Barry Schwartz – Psychology Professor
• Tyler Cowen – Economist
• Walter Kiechel – Fortune Magazine & Harvard Business Review
• Seth Godin – Author
• Elkhonon Goldberg – Neuroscientist & Clinician
• Ola Ahlvarsson – Serial Entrepreneur
• Erik Townsend – Hedge Fund Manager
• Alexander Bard – Future Philosopher
• Philippa Malmgren – Geopolitical Advisor
• Martin Ford – Futurist

We have many more interesting guests coming up for 2019.

Check this page for an overview of all current episodes and written summaries: https://futureskillspodcast.com/episode-list/

Read my article for a synopsis of lessons & future skills from guests: https://startgainingmomentum.com/future-skill/

Sponsorship & Cooperation Opportunities: We’re finishing the first season of Future Skills and will be preparing season 2 during early 2019. We have not spent any time looking for sponsors thus far because we’re already time constrained as it is with our other projects.

However, we’re open to suggestions if it’s long-term and fits the brand. If you have a proposal for sponsorship or some creative idea for cooperation, you can email [email protected]

The same goes for guest recommendations. Who would you be interested in? 

–Speaking of Future Skills, and future industries.

I received an email from long-term reader Alex.

I Just listened to the latest episode of Future Skills, on the 5 global problems and 5 big technologies. Some very interesting points there. I was delighted to hear Mikael briefly mention vertical farming — especially in the context of resource management and health, being two key challenges.

Alex just did a TEDx Talk on this topic:

His preparation:

I attend Toastmasters regularly…. plus the ideas were simmering for quite a while – but in terms of practice, it took me 1-2 months. In the last month I practiced once a day.

Most of us know little or nothing about the esoteric fields of ecosystems and sustainable farming.

Which is a good thing for Alex.

Early entry + low competition + Future Industry

= great career foundation.

People do need food.

Here’s part of my response to another of his emails:

“My guess is you can expect at least another 5-10 years until these ideas permeate into the mainstream. Though tedious, this can and should be seen as an opportunity, because it means you’ll have a head-start on the competition.”

If you are in university, and not sure what to do, you could learn from Alex’s example. This is a good “template”.

* * *

Another two things I did:

-Released the Ultimate Commonplace System (how to start commonplacing and build up an archive of your learning, creative work, and best thoughts) http://www.startgainingmomentum.com/tucs

-Re-released an updated version of my popular free eBook 92 Practical Tips. It’s 65 pages long and filled to the brim with actionable advice from my articles. https://startgainingmomentum.com/92tips/ – you get can get it by subscribing to my newsletter. This is the quickest introduction to my ideas.

Some Plans for 2019:

-Finish the Expanded & Updated (Print) version of Breaking out of Homeostasis. It will include ~100 pages of new content; a more nuanced explanation of the philosophy, reader stories (people who have used the ideas to improve their lives), and a ton of bonus material. I’ll keep you posted.

-Improve upon Future Skills Program https://futureskillspodcast.com/future-skills-program/. FSP is an online course by myself and Mikael Syding to help you level up your career and improve your decision making. It includes videos, homework assignment, and one-on-one weekly email coaching. Due to it’s personal nature, spots are limited and will open up gradually through the year. If you want to be notified when spots open up, you can apply here.

-Several other projects.

Truth is, I have too many things planned.

Hence, I have to prune it down and prioritize. That’s what I’ll be doing over the next couple of days.

Book Recommendations:

In 2018 I read somewhere between 55-65 books and many essays. I was not planning on reading that much, but it had a synergy with Future Skills and some research I was doing. For 2019, I won’t read as much. Maybe half of that.

Here are a few books I think may be helpful to you.

All of these are excellent learning resources for each specific area, assuming you’re not already knowledgeable about it.

• Architects of Intelligence, by Martin Ford. Includes talks with 23 of the leading innovators in the fields of AI and computing. This gives you the lay of the land.
• Signals, by Dr. Philippa Malmgren. Read this if you want to understand the global economic system and current geopolitics.
• The Leangains Method, by Martin Berkhan. Read this if you want to get in good shape. It teaches you the fundamentals of intermittent fasting, muscle-building, and diet.
• Beyond Blockchain, by Erik Townsend. If you want to understand cryptocurrency, the Blockchain technology, and their potential future implications. It dispels many myths surrounding the Bitcoin hype. Erik predicts China/Russia might make a global digital currency. He hopes the U.S will use this technology to build a new, better bond market.
• This is Marketing, by Seth Godin. This book teaches you important ways to share your ideas, build an audience or sell your product.

Other books – The following are less area-specific. They’re good, but you have to dig out the lessons on your own.

• Jean-Bernadotte. A biography on Bernadotte, the Frenchman who became king of Sweden (his heirs are still the royal family). It’s interesting to compare and contrast the lives of Bernadotte and Napoleon. It goes to show the roads to success are many.
• On Jung. A great guide to the thoughts and ideas of Carl Jung, from a professional psychologist. Very insightful, compared to what you’d find about Jung on the Internet or Youtube Videos.
• Ray Dalio’s Principles. Finance entrepreneur Ray Dalio shares his best practices for thinking and management. Great book, but honestly, I prefer the original. You can find an old article of mine, summarizing its ideas.
• Adventures in the Screen Trade. An entertaining industry-type book that gives you the inside-view of the movie business, from the perspective of a successful screenwriter. I’ve often fantasized about making a movie (I have several ideas), but this book has strongly convinced me not to pursue screenwriting. It’s a hassle.

Final Piece of Advice:

Brief recap – 2 pieces of advice for you:

1. Start a commonplace (or review it)
2. Do health tests, if you haven’t in a while

(If you’re not already doing this, it can have a big positive long-term effect)

And join my newsletter to get my 92 best tips, if you haven’t.

Question: What will you be doing for 2019? What’s your preparatory process look like, over the next few weeks etc?

I’d be interested to hear it.

Leave a comment below to let me know.

* * *

Check out the Top Posts

Subscribe to my Newsletter (I only send emails a few times per year)

* * *