- Tom's Sunday Summary
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- Sunday Sum - 7th Jan 2023
Sunday Sum - 7th Jan 2023
🌴 Tom's Sunday Summary - 7th January 2023
Hey , welcome back to
The Sunday Summary
, a collection of insights and my behind the scenes from the past week.
🇹🇭 The big update:Bangkok, ThailandIf you are new to the Sunday summary, I decided to start 2024 with a period of travel, first with a direct flight to Bangkok!Wow, what a culture shock, this is my first time to Asia (exc. a trip to Turkey) and Bangkok is absolutely mental. My usual strategy of just walking to explore as you would in a European city was futile, especially as I'm more north of centre. As you'll receive weekly updates I won't go into the minutiae, rather an overall summary.So why am I travelling? Well for the past 6 years I've been hamster-wheeling. Whilst I do have so other pursuits outside of work, I have been grinding taxi and now of course YouTube. I feel it could lead to a path of burnout (oh how cliche of Youtube), which is strange. Simultaneously I feel like I don't work hard enough on the channel, yet it consumes a lot of my life and mental capacity.So this is a pattern interrupt. A chance to reset to some kind of baseline. here's the TLDR;
I did The Knowledge of London to allow this opportunity (best bit about the job, no booking time off and straight back to work if I want to!)
Winters suck (unless you have a snowboard and a mountain)
My social bucket is fairly lacking. I prioritise work over connection.
I'm adverse to doing the difficult, "less faff" has become somewhat of a mantra for me in the UK. But whilst "less faff" is more efficient, it saps the enjoyment or naivety from life. Starting afresh in new places allows for more exploration, wonder and importantly, enjoying the journey.
Committing to direction and fully accepting FOMO has been difficult in London. There's a level of constant decision making (who to speak to, where to go etc) here. You can't always pick the right answer, just a direction and go from there.
🌴 Moments of though and reflection:
Pareto principle for travel. 20% of the photos you take will deliver 80% of the results. 80% of the results are yield by 20% of the cost (a commuter boat is considerably cheaper than a tour boat. A sleeper train achieves most of the outcome of flying).
Travel hack. Leaving the UK, Cafe Nero, Pret etc are always super busy and crazily priced. The caviar/champagne bars are similar money (at least in terms of coffee), offer way better service and nowhere near as busy!
Quick currency rate check. I made an Apple Shortcut where you can plug in the rate you got your currency at. Name of currency etc, and then you can add it to your widget screen or as a Home Screen icon. Can save a lot of time and money!
📚 Top books of 2023:As I begin 2024 and a new reading list, I just wanted to share the books that had the most profound on my thinking and life in 2023.
I've gifted and recommend this book the most this year!
The concept of a memory dividend (memories compound over time so get them in early, or prioritise making them).
Hobbies will be limited at older age due to physical abilities (i.e. snowboarding is a more appealing activity in your 30's than your 60's. Conversely, walking galleries and museums can be done way later into life.
Realising that my money has way more purchase power at 32 than than 62.
Some of this is hyper masculine, but there's a lot of wisdom pertaining to masculine and feminine energies within a relationship. I noted how some of the rules within this book lead to a breakdown with previous relationships. Definitely one to re-read for me!
"Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?" I can't wait to re-read this one!
Like Alchemy but applied to transport. Why are transport planner so inefficient at designing enjoyable transport systems? Why spend way over budget on time saving when passenger perception is surely king? This book has helped me inform my travel decisions on the trip I am on now.
💿 On rotation as I type thisSky EPG Music 2003-2005
I've featured this on the channel before, nostalgic instrumental chill. It's perfect for all the setting I find myself in. Currently 31c in a bit of shade.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Please feel free to reach out to me with your; comments, concerns or just general conversation.
I'd love to know what you're up to or what you might be working on!
📝😁
Have a great week everyone!
Tom
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