An intensely busy day

Today was a frantic mix of bugs and deadlines. As soon as I reached the office, I asked Gemini about problems with my “fasting experiment.” Each answer led to a more detailed question. By the end, I had worked out what to buy at the supermarket for each meal, how many grams to eat, and even the order in which to eat it. I also found a way to exercise in the park instead of paying for a gym, and put together a minimum viable plan for losing fat and building muscle around my circumstances.

I went back over the decisions and execution of my TACO trades across the past three trading days, looking for ways to improve them. Then I wrote new material for tomorrow morning’s foreign-language reading practice. I packed as much as I could into the day—perhaps too much.

What drives all this is my fierce desire to succeed. The preparation is for more than my next day at work; I imagine it laying a foundation for decades of life. My boss may never reward quiet groundwork, but that does not weaken my motivation.

To do my current job well, I cannot look only at the immediate task, at least while my own working system is still incomplete. A longer view helps me see more clearly and worry less. Of course, this only makes sense if I use time that does not interfere with my ordinary work. Otherwise I would have my priorities backward.

The fasting experiment has lasted a day and a half. I cannot judge its results until I measure them, but I can tell you this: I am so hungry I could cry.

There are other effects I can already see. Eating two meals a day, buying ingredients, and making dinner at home makes it less likely that I will eat junk food. Buying more ingredients while eating fewer meals has also cut my food spending. The park can serve as my alternative to the gym. On paper, the new arrangement looks excellent.

At lunch I became absorbed in reading the Bible. I found myself reading faster as I followed the story, just as I had hoped. I might even call it a vast novel—more specifically, something like a historical novel. Following its stories also gives me a way to understand parts of the cultural background and ways of thinking in today’s Western world.

That is what a classic can do: cross generations and outlast cycles.