One Year of Transforming Thoughts by Changing Environments

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 06:33:35 +0000

From The Extended Mind I learnt that our environment shapes our thinking more than I’d expected. That we can arrange our environment to extend our thoughts.

In 2023, each month I changed something in my environment to see:

What does “changing my environment involve”? What can I change?
Will I succeed?
Does it affect my thoughts? Can I track this?

Here are the results.

🟢 Jan. New desk orientations. Rotated standing desk, settled on one direction. Impact: LOW. I don’t know if my thoughts changed.
🟢 Jan: New walking routes. I explored new areas in Singapore, Hyderabad and Chennai. Impact: MEDIUM. Just seeing new shops, posters and layouts helped me think differently.
🔴 Jan: New song genres. I playlist-ed with several western genres, but listened only twice.
🔴 Feb: New book genres. I list 12 genres I dislike: Art, Chick Lit, Christian, Cookbooks, Gay and Lesbian, Horror, Music, Paranormal, Poetry, Religion, Sports, Travel. I didn’t read any.
🔴 Mar: Sleep over problems. Sleep is a great way to solve complex problems. But I couldn’t summon the willpower to “load” problems at night.
🟢 Mar: New people. I met a new person daily. Impact: HIGH. Meeting diverse people had the highest impact.
🟢 Apr: New work places. I worked out of libraries, cafes, school, parks, and offices. Impact: HIGH. New complex environments (like libraries) prompted new thoughts.
🟢 Jun. Notes from podcasts. I took notes rather than just listening. This helped me reflect and synthesize. Impact: MEDIUM. BTW, I listen mostly to Cautionary Tales, The Knowledge Project, Hidden Brain, How I write, The Seen and the Unseen, and Deep Questions.
🟢 Jul: New gadgets. I bought several new gadgets that changed my habits. Impact: HIGH.
- Portable USB fan lets me sit comfortably anywhere in any room
- Desk clock (with a second’s hand) keeps me on time for meetings
- Gaming laptop lets me run LLMs locally on the GPU
- Rucksack lets me carry laptops and clothes in one bag
- Pomodoro timer helps me time my activities and focus
- Monitor lets me code while seeing the output
- Gaming chair lets me read lying down
- Standing desk gives me a mobile re-orientable desk
- Raincoat lets me cycle in the rain
- Gaming mouse lets me browse leaning back (and play Minecraft)
- Cycle phone mount lets me film while cycling
- Plastic belt lets me through airport security
- Lycra sandals helps me with rains and airport security
- Rain bonnet helps me grab lunch when raining
- Bicycle lamps let me cycle at night
- Fidget cube keeps my hands occupied while I think
- Bluetooth speaker lets me carry songs while washing dishes
- Others had lower impact. I don’t use them much.
- Gaming microphone
- USB hub
- Video conference light
- Graphic tablet
- Monitor stand
🔴 Aug: New cuisines. I tried a Bibimbap, a Verdure Ciambatta, and then discovered my cholesterol problem. I stopped.
🟢 Aug: New work habit. I used Pomodoro with micro-tasks. Impact: MEDIUM. I became more aware of where I misestimate time and got less distracted.
🟢 Nov: New exercise pattern. I switched walking to cycling. This increases heart points, reduces foot stress, and gets me to work. Impact: MEDIUM. I switched from typing notes to dictating, which needs a different thought process.

In summary:

8 / 12 attempts were successful.
New people, new places, and new gadgets had high impact on thoughts. Most others had at least medium impact.
The changes mostly led to diverse thinking. But measuring that is subjective.

I’ll continue exploring new environments in 2024. I’m evaluating:

New book genres (contd)
New music genres (contd)
Walking meetings
Reading while walking
New places to sleep (e.g. AirBnB)
Working while traveling
New audiences to teach
New attires

Comments

Santosh 27 Dec 2023 4:37 pm: Superb articulation Anand…never thought adding gadgets will enable productivity…BTW, your suggestion on notes in VS code is one transformation step for me…
My Year in 2023 - S Anand 31 Dec 2023 8:20 pm (pingback): […] 1 change a month in my environment. I managed 8 / 12. New people, new places to work, and new gadgets had the most […]
Jaspreet 7 Mar 2024 10:52 pm: Woowwww!! I always used to hear the popular suggestion “To change your life, you need to change your habits” - and I am now more convinced to the idea - if someone wants to change their life - they need to change what they hear, speak, watch or just break the pattern of what they have been doing all this time and I just realized thats what I am trying to do in my current situation of life and thats how I am evolving. I have changed my taste of music, replaced the series/films to new genre, replaced the books, replaced the articles. So, basically we don’t need to leave the habits - we need to replace the habits - thats the crux!

Portable solar charger

Mon, 02 Dec 2002 12:00:00 +0000

Geeky gadget of the day: portable solar charger. I can charge your cellphone / CD / digital camera. It will also add a pound to my pocket, in addition to my purse, and cellphone, and digital camera, and office keys, and … my laptop case. Still, might be worth it. And maybe, some day, all my gadgets will fit in my pocket without making me look bloated.

Being Wireless

Sun, 13 Oct 2002 12:00:00 +0000

Nicholas Negroponte on “Being Wireless”.

Five years ago, I put a wireless LAN in my home in Boston. At the time it cost about $2,000 for the base station and $500 for each device I wanted to connect. Today, it costs $120 and $50, respectively, and the price is dropping.

That’s about Rs. 10,000. My next gadget is identified.

Toyfair

Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:00:00 +0000

Some interesting electronic toys have come up at ToyFair.

CES 2001

Sun, 07 Jan 2001 12:00:00 +0000