edition 2.
I know, I know. If this was the title to the third edition it would’ve been perfect. But perfection is overrated and the stars did not align. Moving on.
In an effort not to use this newsletter to untangle all of the ideas and questions that have been plaguing me this week, I will be noting the 3 that have taken up most of my brain space:
Action does indeed precede direction and everything I want to create will only come to life if I make it exist first and perfect it later.
How do I build a routine to increase my creation to consumption ratio?
Only consider a reflection complete if it results in habits to build and/or a to-do list to work on.
Writing of ideas, I also wanted to share 3 AI apps that I will be trying out in the coming week to save and organize everything that resonates with me as I stumble across the internet:
My initial thoughts are that they probably won’t be replacing any tools I’m currently using (maybe except for Pinterest) but I’ve been looking for ways to better curate thoughts, ideas and inspiration I come across online and to that end all 3 look incredibly promising.
If you’ve tried any of these I’d love to hear your thoughts!
read/reading: Keep Going by Austin Kleon
That completes my reading of his Steal Like an Artist trilogy, each of which I read in one sitting because they’re just that compelling. Especially Show Your Work which, if you haven’t heard of yet, is the one book I recommend everyone read. At the very least, it will get you thinking about creating an online presence for yourself and at most will change your life and perspective about art and opportunities in the digital age.
It’s tiny, barely 200 pages, and incredibly inspiring. All 3 sit on my desk at all times just in case I’m overthinking sharing my work, or need to remind myself to climb out of the consumption spiral.
learning:
I’ve been practicing and re-learning key concepts in SQL this past week. I really like Mode as a free resource for this; it’s what I’ve used in the past to sharpen my SQL skills before interviews and does a great job of going through important concepts while providing practice questions - which you can implement directly in Studio, which is Mode’s free IDE.
making:
Being on substack, I find myself venturing down so many rabbit holes that I sometimes need to slow down and write in order to process them all.
My last little essay was a result of that: https://ananyakos.substack.com/p/what-my-childhood-taught-me-about
Thank you for reading!