./Now
(this is a now page). Input, output.
Last updated: April 5, 2022
Doing
- Continuing to Explore the USA
After a year of road tripping across America, I've learned that there's so much out there. So we're continuing to move and explore the country, now New York --> Colorado --> Arizona. - Running
Training at high altitude is no joke, and after a year of Covid I was completely out of shape. I ran my first high-altitude half-marathon, hurt my knee, and barely finished under 3 hours (2:59:45). Now training to do it again, better, and hopefully work back up to marathon distances. - Outdoors'ing
We invested in a tent, two sleeping backs, new hiking shoes, and a lot of fire-starter. Spending time outdoors is the new playing video games. - Business'ing
In 2022, I quit my job to focus on Dragon Blood Balm and Recommended Systems full time. It's a wild ride full of learnings, and I plan on documenting as many as I can here. - Reading
I've been perennially guilty of buying more books than I actually read. This year, I've tried to be more "planned" and conscious in my book-reading habits. I'm putting together a personal learning course, and will be writing it through 2022.
Learning
In 2021, I had a chance to replicate and validate a lot of what I've learned about running product and engineering teams. One time is a fluke, twice is a pattern. In 2022, I'm stepping back from subject matter expertise there to focus on how other parts of a company operate, looking particularly at the finance and operations departments. And after a few years of not-really-learning anything in marketing, I'm going back to basics with a deep focus on growth marketing and building from zero.
Media Diet
A few years ago I made a conscious choice to pare down what media I consume. Rather than staring down a firehouse of unfiltered information, I prefer to get longer, curated, more thoughtful pieces from people whose opinions and perspectives I find interesting or challenging. Most of these are private communications.
Newsletters:
- "Radar" / Studio D Radiodurams Newsletter by Jan Chipchase (Thoughtful)
- "Commonplace/Commoncog" by Cedric Chen (Business, Thoughtful)
- Irrational Exuberance by Will Larson (Business and Technology)
- Stratechery by Ben Thompson (Business and Technology)
- Benedict Evan's Newsletter (Business and Technology)
- Andrew Chen's Newsletter (Business and Technology)
- "Of Dollars and Data" by Nick Magguilli (Finance)
- Collaborative Fund Newsletter (Finance)
- Roden & Ridgeline by Craig Mod (Thoughtful)
- "Things That Have Caught My Attention" by Dan Hon (Thoughtful)
- Robin Sloan's Newsletter (Writing, Thoughtful)
- Brand New / Under Consideration (Design, Creative)
- "Monthly Dispath" by Jarrett Fuller (Design)
Podcasts
- Masters in Business by Barry Ritholtz (Business, Finance, Thoughtful)
- Operators by Delian
- The Tim Ferris Show (Thoughtful, Self Improvement)
- The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish (Thoughtful, Self Improvement)
- Infinite Loops (Business)
- On Margins (Creative, Thoughtful)
- Bandcamp Weekly (Music)
- Tiny Desk Concerts (Music)
- Song Exploder (Music)
Thank you for reading.
Was this useful? Interesting? Have Something to add? Let me know. Seriously, I love getting email and hearing from readers. Feel free to send me an email at hi@romandesign.co with your thoughts.
If you're interested in reading more, I encourage you to sign up for emails as well. It's really easy:
Thanks,
Roman