Week 11, 2024 - Diary of a Revenue Engineer
Quote of the week:
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” - Mother Teresa
What I thought…
This weeks quote was a little left-field, even for the AI gen I use to create them week on week. It speaks of personal accountability however and the need to act as individuals on critical and imperative social changes - something which I’m very much behind on board with so I couldn’t help but be swept up with it.
It certainly impacted me in a key way, as I continue my learning in a million different directions, as it helped me focus on the responsibility I have for my own well being and how that can help the communities in which I operate.
It also linked in to how I hope to further develop my interest in longevity and healthspan as well as create some interesting thought experiments on the future.
I also had a great week with family and my daughter, which really does help a sense of connectedness, even for a cave-and-computer-loving geek like me.
What I learned…
An interesting clash of cultures brought about learning in two super interesting strands this week. I’ve been really getting into Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai and, more by sheer chance than a specific focus on Japanese culture, Disney’s Shogun.
It was also my Father-in-law’s 65th birthday and we cooked up a mexican feast. So - I spent the week jumping between Japan, mexico, ramen and tacos… an excellent way to spend a week’s learning in my opinion. Here’s something well worth sharing on the ramen side of things:
Amazing Vegan Ramen Recipe (components):
Great Ramen is comprised of 5 key elements: broth, tare (sauce), noodles, toppings, and oil. Here’s some super-quick and incredible wins on the vegan side and some key learnings from this week.
Broth - Save vegetable scraps in a Tupperware box in your freezer and get them out when you need to make stock. A major win here is using onions with the skin on, this gives the broth a wonderful golden appeal, similar to excellent chicken stock.
Tare - I mixed a little rice wine with some mirin and the 50/50 share of light and dark soy for a simple Tare here. Add a sprinkle or two of garlic and onion powder too if you can.
Noodles - I’ll have a go at using some one day, but the better quality Soba noodles you can buy from a supermarket are a great first step. I preferred these in flavour and texture to the Udon noodle options and I think they looked better in the bowl too.
Toppings - Don’t miss out on generous sprinkles of spring onions, the visual and flavour impact is a win that shouldn’t be missed.
Oil - I cheated here, gently frying some garlic in some sesame oil for a quick fix on the oil front.
When all ready I placed them in the following way.
Add the Tare and the oil to the serving bowl
Ladle in the stock
Add the noodles
Add the toppings
Devour in a messy and loud and wondrous way
Ramen is right up there with pizza and tacos as my favourite food, my simple learnings this week really upped my game.
What I built…
I redesigned and quickly adapted our home office for use for both my partner and I rather than taking the space over purely for myself. She’s created a need for some office space and it was high-time I sorted the place out. So, now we have working spaces each, but are endeavouring to not be in there at the same time. It’s a great space, I love our home office - it’s tranquil and great to focus whilst working there.
I also started creating some project management rigour for one of my clients, which was great fun for me if not somewhat painful for them. It’s one of those things which are so easily overlooked or overthought and I enjoyed helping them create a simple process for focus. Here I used two key frameworks to help:
Ivy Lee Method - I’ve posted and blogged about this before, but it’s a great method for simple focus and you gain a MASSIVE output increase if you implement it.
Mellody Hobson’s Strategy Checklist - I took this straight from the Masterclass Mellody leads (again, I’ve mentioned this in other blogs) and it’s a great way to focus projects on solving problems in an efficient manner.
How I lived longer…
In a single word - rest.
I found that the post-adrenaline crash and flood of cortisol leaving my system from last week left me feeling exhausted.
Not only this, but I’ve not had a week off pretty intense exercise for a long time.
So, I focused on rest and recouperation this week. I spent time making ramen, I got comfy on the sofa, I wrote things to make me happy and I engaged in an long standing love of computer games.
It was really great, I needed it more than I realised and I’m sure it helped my body and soul recover from a pretty intense sprint to make a better life.
How I stayed happier…
I re-engaged with old hobbies this week and found time to enjoy them. I lost myself in cooking, a drank some excellent red wine and I secured a few hours to loose myself in the calming and focus-drawing joy of a computer game.
The one I really lost myself in this week is a game by a brilliant publisher called Paradox Games who do an excellent job of working with some really fun studios.
This game is called “Surviving Mars” and could be a brain-child of Space X in truth. You have to manage resources and create an outpost in a really engaging and enjoyable way. I lost at least 4 hours here and regret it not!
Final Thoughts…
A fun week where I rested a lot but still worked.
Over the last couple of years I think I’ve finally understood those people who keep working at things even when they’re millionaires… something I’ve never understood before.
I do now… if you’re engaged and busy, you feel more connected and alive than anything. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a week off.
Take some rest yourselves, and thanks for stopping by!
