2023 is coming to a close and in the same tradition, I decided to tally my book reviews. This year presented me with a big challenge. I was diagnosed with a serious illness and had to go through treatment and surgery for half of the year. This period was like a trekking expedition when I had a lot of solo time during pain and suffering to ponder and self-reflect. My introspection of health, personal changes and growth has changed my world view, values and things I prioritize. So my reading this year was focused on organizing and health.
organizing notes
After many trials with different ways to capture my book notes, I finally decided to settle with Obsidian this year. This decision is partly due to reading the book How to take smart notes by Sönke Ahrens on notetaking and crosslinking ideas. I am not straightly an index card person, but do live by the crosslinking paradigm to create a virtual map of my knowledge base, and generate new ideas. My previous attempt with my own app has a neat mobile interface for input, but it is not useful for visualizing relationships between book learnings and doing quick queries. I also notice that storing data in Google Sheets with lots of formulas (I mostly use those for calculating durations) results in performance issues. Combining what I learnt from this book with The PARA Method book to neatly organize my knowledge base, I now have a system that Tiago Forte terms as a production system geared for project output. What strikes me is how Forte mentions that organizing is a means, not an end. It’s a stark contrast to the numerous Japanese organizing books with all the flashy organization tools and methods. Forte has emphasized his techniques as a way to help you produce something concrete, be it a blog post, a website redesign, preparing for an interview, or launching a professional product. Organizing should never be a hobby on its own to dwell in and take pride with. I will write a separate blog post on my experience as an avid book reader using Obsidian, digital zettlekasten and the PARA method, to organize my learning and create new content.
what is design? and what is a good design?
I like to read books from different genre and career disciplines, and will try to scale advices to apply outside a professional domain. From the book Just Enough Design, I see the restraint placed in design can also be deployed to picking things to complement our daily lives, or for career planning. The author and designer Satoh Taku suggests not being obsessed with overly decoration, but focusing on the interaction between user and object, both now and in the future.
how can mindfulness enhance our health?
The book Deeper Mindfulness introduces me to latest neuroscience findings on feelings and thoughts. In addition to the 8-week mindfulness program that comes with the book, it inspires me to take responsibility of my mental wellbeing, learn how to pause during each arising of feelings, and choose the right action that aligns with my life goals.
looking into recommendation systems
Computing Taste reviews the progress of recommendation systems used in music apps. From an obsession for minimizing computation error in recommendation, to ensuring that people keep using the service by fine-tuning each move dynamically, it reflects a cultural change of prioritizing adaptation and embracing errors to accelerate learning.
self reflection in pilgrimage
走向內在：四國遍路、聖雅各朝聖道、ATPCT，三大洲萬里徒步記 was the author’s recap of her treks along AT/PCT, Camino de Santiago, and Shikoku. I resonate deeply with a term she introduces waldeinsamkeit, for savoring solitude in nature. As I was healing from therapy and surgery this year, one of my routines was to exercise in nature (well, my backyard overlooking trees) several times a day. Not only was the exercises good for circulation and reducing muscle sore resulting from treatment, but the ability to soak up greenery and feel a connection to nature (and a bigger existence) calms my nervous mind. I was grateful for everything they provide to sustain my health. Another idea from the author is that when we receive insipration from others to do something, we should practice self-gratitude too, as the action sprouted from a seed we have planted in our heart long time ago. The people who have helped us are just like the sun, the rain and the breeze to help our growth, not plant it. Like a thriving plant, I also received tremendous help and care from my medical team this year, something that I will forever be thankful for. And I learnt from this book that all my life experiences and reading have cultivated the seed that helped me to navigate this journey safely, under the support of my team.
Lastly, the author also describes “post trekking depression” which is similar to the psychological crash after you accomplished a big project and losing direction for what’s next. When you lost the simple daily goals of hitting a mile marker, and the dopamine high that comes with it, all the usual hurdles at home, finance and work will wear you down quickly. I really like the author’s approach in getting through this difficult period, and found her advice as applicable to people on and off trails. After all, who hasn’t suffered such crash after a major milestone in life (e.g., graduation, a big promotion, an empty nester, etc.)? She advises setting new goals to anchor the next chapter of life, and establishing new hobbies to challenge yourself and maintain dopamine production. Keeping up with me-time for self reflection is very important in daily life, just like on trails. Every small thing you found grateful for on trails (as you’re very easy to be thankful in adverse environment) translate to worldly life, makes you a more grateful and humble person. Keeping up with heavy exercise to be aware of muscles and body reactions, as this is also a kind of meditation. Finally, be assured that nature is always there for us, they are our anchors.
how small shops thrive in a big world
You can open a popular restaurant with only 3 dishes was written by Uno Takashi, an experienced entrepreneur in operating small izakayas (bistros and bars popular in Japan). In this era when it’s common for conglomerates to take over different industries, he discussed how small shops can thrive with niche. When you don’t have the capital like big franchises to operate in premium locations near train stations or busy intersections, and hire a big workforce, you stand out by being interesting, offering personalized service. This is never easy, as you need to be very observant of each customer and recommends dishes that they like. Small izakayas like the author’s chain are not competing on product excellency (the dishes are very common, non-professionals can cook it after training for a few days), nor operation excellency (they cannot secure low price from suppliers due to scale, unlike big franchises). So they tend to innovate in how they deliver the food. Hand-drawn menu boards placed on the sidewalk, running quiz for customers to win free food, naming favorite dishes after customers’ names, and being very agile to adapt to changing weather and season. All these are ways to entice and retain customers to make them feel connected to the store, at a personalized level that cannot be provided under the strict SOPs (standard operation procedure) enforced by big franchises. Lacking the fund to occupy premium storefronts, your true customers walk a distance to your store because of your niche. I find this to be an inspiring view on not just running a small business, but also on personal branding, by identifying your strength that the big shots are lacking or at a level they are not competing.
minimalist living in a big city
Tokyo in 8 sq. meter provides a very lively writeup of city dwelling. When we seem to lose independence by offloading tasks, some of the connections we make might yield interesting returns. And when we are not confined to our small world, we often find richer opportunities outside.
practicing self care
self care toolbox offers tips of using CBT, mindfulness, expressive writing and schema therapy to better handle our negative thought patterns. Of the 100 tips it offers, one really helpful one is to first prefix an automatic negative thought by “I am thinking about XYZ”. This small step immediately distances you from the thought and reduces it clearly as not the reality, but just one of the millions of daily thoughts in your mind. The author Ito Emi, a licensed clinical psychologist, then suggests viewing such thoughts as curses, and use blessings to neutralize them. Blessings are encouraging words we imagine our role models will tell us if we reveal our situation to them. Dr. Ito suggests writing down these blessings in pretty cards and carrying them around, so that you can always visualize the blessings like an amulet (lucky charm).
Another useful idea for being mindful of our mood swing is to establish a mental baseline, so that we can detect any deviation quickly when we are under duress.
It is also useful to clearly identify the source of your stress, and surprisingly, Dr. Ito also implies that things or events that make us happy and excited are also stress-induced sources. Something to keep in mind when we’re budgeting our stress-handling reserve for the weekend, as everything should be kept at a “just enough” level.