In late October, my wife and I embarked on our greatest adventure yet: a 17-day trip in Japan, spanning Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima, without guides or local contacts, armed with nothing but our maps and our wits. We were no strangers to overseas travel, but we’d always traveled in group tours. The tour […]
Putting Strength in the Bank
A favourite saying among old-school bodybuilders and weight lifters is to put strength in the bank. It means stopping just short of doing your absolute maximum in a training session, to do just one or two reps short of complete failure. It’s hard-won wisdom with sound basis in biology. Strength training requires gradual adaptation over weeks […]
Be Still Every Day
As important as it is to move every day, making time to be still is of equal importance. It is the quiet yin to the yang of activity, the vessel that holds the fire of creation. Without stillness you can only hope to achieve half your potential. The modern world is antithetical to cultivating mindfulness. […]
6 Vital Skills for High-Functioning Autistics
If you’re high-functioning autistic, there’s a high chance you’re starting life on the back foot. You may have significant social difficulties, poor motor skills, sensory issues and other deficits. It’s not your fault, it’s just how your brain is wired. But the real kicker is that to most people, you appear mostly normal — if […]
The Art of Preventing Procrastination
I’ve been told procrastination is a major hurdle people have to overcome. I wouldn’t know about that: I never had a problem with procrastination. I’m not going to discuss how to overcome procrastination. There are plenty of articles out there that teach you how to do that. What I am going to articulate here is […]
Notes On Navigating An Overwhelming World
5 Life Lessons for Autists
I won’t call myself an autist. Not yet. I don’t have a formal diagnosis. Nonetheless, I display many of the classic signs of autism: deficits in speech and communication, repetitive behaviours and rigid rituals, hyper-focus on areas of interest. And the Big Three: poor verbal and non-verbal communication skills, impaired social skills, hyper-reactive senses. I […]
The 90/30, 8/10 Rule
Over the past month I’ve been experimenting with productivity hacks to increase my writing output. These are the results.