Contents: [[#Outline of next 6 months]] [[#Amble 4 plan]] ## Outline of next 6 months ### 2022Q2 ### May & June Focus: - (2-3 weeks) Software development—Inbox When Ready, maybe other things too (e.g. Google Docs Comment Helper). - (1-2 weeks) P32 review and other study/writing ### July - September Focus: explore towards / start next big project ## Amble 4 plan _4 weeks from 23 May until 24 June._ ### High-level aims - [x] Maintain energy and optimism, ramp up productivity to ~100% of normal, work hours to \>90% of normal - [x] Track >100 Toggl hours - [ ] Book "third opinion" psychiatrist appointment - [x] Complete 2.5 day silent mediation retreat - [ ] Improve Inbox When Ready so that: - [x] I am more proud of the project, more willing to point to it as evidence of general competence. - [ ] Passive income increases by >50% Y-o-Y between 2022-07 and 2023-06. - [ ] Progress / wrap on P32 review (reflection on study period) - [x] Continue improving personal life - Have a good time with CK, and feel good about how things are going. - Write and call with \>1 friend every week I will not aim to: - [ ] Figure out my next big project - [ ] Track more than 4-5 Toggl hours / day - [ ] Significantly advance my studies #todo _Ideally I might tighten these up and then interrogate them more. But I'm hitting my timebox, and I think this is good enough. Fairly unlikely that further reflection would generate a major change of plans, though 10-30% chance that 1-3 hours talking with peers / coach might do. Meh, this is ok._ ### Focus projects _20 days / 80-100 prime hours available_ **1. Software development: Inbox When Ready; Google Docs Comment Helper; New Thing.** - [x] Track at least 50 Toggl hours on software. - [x] Inbox When Ready - [x] \> 3 hours on marketing - [x] User test & AB test features developed last amble - [x] Release tweaks to these features as necessary - [x] Comment Helper for Google Docs: - [x] User test prototype, update BOTECs and decide whether to do it. - [x] (added) Build & publish first version of Comment Helper, start private user testing - [ ] (added) Close first sale - [ ] (stretch, maybe) New Thing: Finish and release **2. (1-2 weeks) Publish 1-2 blog posts for the P32 review; other study/writing.** - [ ] Track at least 20 Toggl hours on this. - [x] Publish blog post 1 - [x] Publish blog post 2 **3. (1-2 days) With CK, find a good rhythm and make a good plan for spring (and summer).** - [x] \>3 hours on "buy farmhouse" project - [x] \>3 hours helping CK think about career options, experiments, finances - [x] >2 hours journalling about CK **4. (0.5-1 days) Mental health / good cheer push** - [x] Follow up psychiatrist appointment - [ ] Book appointment with a third psychiatrist for a "second opinion" **5. (Up to 1 days) 80,000 Hours advisory & support** - [x] As per demand. **6. (1-2 days) Important personal stuff / life admin / smalls:** - [ ] ~30 min review of daily routine, with a view to increasing daily productivity, ambition, compounding. - [x] Settle location plans to end September - [x] Decide whether to buy a car or continue renting - [x] Finish 2021 accounts for HartreeWorks LTD - [x] Somehow complete change of address for Carte de Sejour ## Week-by-week plan _I will decide whether to do 1 week or 2 weeks on P32 and study based on how enthusiastic I feel. I will definitely do 1 week on P32 and study before week 3 of the amble (i.e. I won't leave it to the last week to start on that)._ **A4W1: IWR & life admin** Project work: - [x] Track \>15 Toggl hours on IWR - [x] Spec out next steps - [x] Release IWR update - [x] \>2 hours on marketing - [x] (stretch) Prototype Google Docs Comment Helper and share for feedback Personal / life admin / smalls: - [x] Settle location plans up to end September - [PH-CK Where to live?](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XF1yubDJJgDCteZUT_RysmGW3mapx2CWJIp5A4UF5d8/edit#) - [ ] \>1 hour helping CK think about career options, experiments, short-term finances - [x] Decide whether to buy a car or continue renting - [x] Finish 2021 accounts for HartreeWorks LTD - [ ] Write to >1 friend, call with >1 friend **A4W2: Software** Project work: - [x] Comment Helper - [x] Figma mockups - [x] Build MVP - [x] IWR - [x] Review inbox whitelist feedback and data, if good then release to all users - [x] >1 hour on marketing Personal / life admin / smalls: - [x] Thu / Fri Monthly review - [x] Decide about AI investments - [x] Decide about car - [x] \>1 hour helping CK think about career options, experiments, short-term finances - [ ] Write to >1 friend, call with >1 friend - [X] \>30 mins journal about CK **Holiday week** - [x] Good time with parents and CK - [x] Return long term rental car - [x] Buy car - [x] Investment actions **A4W3: Software (2 days) then P32 review (3 days);** Project work: - [x] Comment Helper - [x] \>3 user screenshare interviews - [x] (stretch) Another release based on interview feedback - [ ] (stretch) Share download link to >10 people. - [ ] (stretch) Get first sale - [x] Inbox When Ready - [x] (<3 hours) Next steps on feature tests - [ ] P32 review - [ ] Writing on impartiality / maximise EV - [ ] Writing on metaethics Personal / life admin / smalls: - [x] Write to >1 friend, call with >1 friend - [ ] ... _This week started strong but then I lost roughly 2 days of prime time due to the heat wave Tuesday - Thursday. Ideally I'd have AC in my home office, but that isn't practical. Second best is a place I can go to work all day which has AC. I would usually have that, but I didn't have a car Monday - Thursday this week, so I was a bit stuck. Calling a taxi is hard around here but in hindsight, perhaps it'd have been worth trying..._ **A4W4: P32 review or software** Project work: - [x] P32 review - [x] Writing on impartiality / maximise EV - [x] Writing on metaethics - [x] Inbox When Ready - [x] Restart lockout feature test - [x] Check on pricing AB test - [x] Comment Helper - [x] review feedback - [x] decide about pricing change - [x] spec and release next version - [x] share to >10 people OR make roadmap to do this on Friday at latest Personal / life admin / smalls: - [x] Write to >1 friend, call with >1 friend - [x] \>1 hour helping CK think about career options, experiments, personal finance - [x] Fix car issues - [x] Sort car insurance - [x] Check CFE flights ## Pre-mortem At the end of amble I think it went badly, or only ok, or I made some big mistake. What happened? - Something related to CK - Keep up the relationship chats. - Keep doing "solitude day" once / week. - Write for >30 mins about things. - I didn't achieve much on writing and study. - Front load it to some degree. - Plan not ambitious enough. - I started feeling low again for some reason. - This seems quite unlikely, based on past trends. Most likely cause: feeling uncertain about next projects. - I wasn't prepared for 80K role discussion in July, or for some other reason I regretted not thinking much about my next serious project. - Hmm. #todo - I continued not getting around to writing to the friends I want to be in touch with!! - Explicitly include this in weekly goals. ## Prompts and trigger questions #todo - [ ] Life areas check - [ ] What is the 10x more ambitious version? - Spec out software stuff and hire someone to work on it. - Really push on marketing to grow IWR MRR X% / week - [ ] What important thing(s) am I missing? - [ ] What should I cut? - [ ] Does this plan play to my strengths? Does it exploit, develop or help reveal my "edge"? - [ ] Does this plan make sense from perspective of 2-10 year vision? - [ ] Thinking sideways; refactoring ## Major alternatives considered **Focus on progress towards next big project** - Don't feel excited about this right now. Not sure why. I'm going to let myself respect that feeling for now, even if I feel a bit nervous about it. **Focus on study and writing** - Somewhat tempting. A bit of a wash but I feel personally more excited (and unusually excited) for IWR for right now, so I say let this be the decider. **Focus on skill development** - IWR does a bit of this. - Tempting to do LearnUI Design course, but punt for now unless IWR needs it. **Freelancing** - I am tempted to do 1-3 days on 80K to add basic implementation of email alerts to job board (via RSS => Mailbrew). I personally really want this now! - A couple other ideas for orgs / people I'd like to help but nothing I'm super excited about. ## Rough notes 10th May Another 4 weeks on software seems like a good baseline. My main reservation is that it's not *obviously* the most direct route to the most important goal for the year, namely deciding what to work on for the next few years. --- I have four weeks to play with between 23 May and 26 June. (One week of family vacation awkwardly in the middle, but ok.) Candidates: 1. Moar software. - IWR, Google Docs comment helper 2. Find next project (focus for next few years). 3. Study and writing. 4. Another small freelance thing. 5. Push push push on buy farmhouse and other CK-relationship things. 6. Skill up: complete a coding course; LearnUI Design; or something else What would (2) look like? - (1-5 days) Improve online profile - Make CV (or something) - Writing - IWR polish - (1-2 days) Tell lots of EAs that I'm looking for projects, post to EA slack, etc - Look at longlist of my own projects - First pass on project criteria, clarifying what I want - Send in some speculative applications / apply for some roles / start some of my own experiment Things I must do during this period: 1. Prep to move out of Penne 1. Secure storage place 2. (May, or early June) Pause / cancel hire car 3. Try to get car door fixed 2. Location plan for July & August; think ahead a bit to autumn & winter 1. July: Reykjavík 2. August: ??? (Oxford?) Plausible long-term locations: - Rural-ish France (+ travel) - Oxford (lean fairly strongly against, unless I can somehow afford a reasonably nice house) - Reykjavík (love it, but LTP & friends & language...)