Meletē

Goal Setting

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000

After reading an article recently about the importance of writing quickly, I've decided to spend less time thinking about what to write and just try to get my thoughts onto the page twice a week and see what happens. Much of the advice you hear from essayists and book authors about how much time they spend editing and revising makes a lot more sense once you're more experienced and know what to look for. For me right now, I think it's more important that I just put in the reps.

The other day I finished a notebook that I've had for the past 6 years. I've only been consistent about journaling recently, but there were a few journal entries from each year starting in March of 2020 (right at the start of Covid). As I went through some of my old entries to scan and back them up digitally, I was struck both by how much I've changed and how most of the things I've accomplished were not what I predicted six years ago. Throughout the years, the lists of goals I wrote down at New Year's remain remarkably consistent—and unachieved. The goals I wrote down had very little in common with what ended up mattering and what I actually did.

On the one hand, you could look at this as neutral. If I still achieved the most important goals, why does it matter that they were different from the ones I wrote down each year? Based on my reflections each year, I think the reason is to remove some of the self-loathing that is inevitable when you look back and see the same unachieved goals year after year. I've gotten to the point now where I can let most of them go and realize that they're not truly important to me, but 3 years ago I still hadn't moved past those goals from 2020 and was beating myself up for not having achieved them.

I think that is a major problem with most New Year's Resolution type activities. Often people set goals for themselves that they kind of want to do, but they haven't fully thought through what it will take to achieve them. The problem arises when the guilt for not achieving your goals outweighs how much you actually value achieving them. For some goals that I've written over and over again—like being consistent with writing—I'm just now to the point where it makes sense in my life. When academics were still my principle focus, setting that as a goal for myself was not being honest with where my priorities lay. It has been a goal of mine for years, but for the first few years of it being a goal, it was not a reasonable goal to have considering my time constraints. Much of what I do feel proud of was related to the things that I did consistently for years, things that became such a part of my identity that I didn't think to write resolutions about them.

For me at least, my resolutions usually focus on people I want to become or cool things I want to do. But I don't think about all the details of that person. I think "it would be cool to run a 5 minute mile" without thinking about the daily commitment to training, the early morning runs, and dedication that accompanies it. If I were to honestly think about all of these factors, I'd realize that becoming that type of person is not worth the sacrifice to me. Instead of looking about types of people to become, look instead at elements of your existing life to modify. Don't think about the end goal when you evaluate your past and plan for your future, think about what day-to-day changes you can make to turn you into a version of that person right now. Because fundamentally, you don't become a runner by being able to run a 5 minute mile, you become a runner by running every day. Note: I have since let go of this as a goal because I honestly don't care enough.

Another moment where I have this same realization is when I find myself being jealous of other people. I once heard someone say that you cannot be jealous of just one aspect of another person, you have to take every part of them that comes with it. Due to limited time, resources, etc., you cannot take one person's athletic achievement, another's academic achievement, another's relationship, and so on. When I consider all aspects of those same people I'm envious of, I usually find that it is not worth the trade, that I wouldn't trade their whole lives for my own. When you think of goals in the same way as being envious of a specific aspect of another person—only looking at the upside, not the price—you create unnecessary negative feelings when those goals are not achieved. Your current life is the product of your true values up to this point. To affect your future you must fundamentally change the beliefs, priorities, values that brought you to where you are. By looking at goal setting in this way instead, I usually realize that most goals are the equivalent of being jealous of one aspect of another person—not something I truly care about.

Grease The Groove Principle

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In the past few weeks I have listened to several podcasts with Pavel Tsatsouline (Tim Ferriss and Huberman Lab). These podcasts, much more so than most ones I listen to, were packed full of wisdom. Pavel seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge about seemingly every aspect of strength training and is able to attribute each finding to a specific person or study from memory. He also is very clear about what is known and what is just theorized which is so refreshing when it seems like a lot of podcast experts overstate their expertise and what they know.

As I was listening I found myself so drawn to his philosophy about training and how it counterbalances the gym bro culture that seems to dominate the majority of online fitness information—specifically how he focuses on strength, flexibility, and endurance over aesthetics and muscle size. Around the same time as I listened to this podcast, I saw a video of Dr. Mike (a bodybuilder YouTube guy) completing an army fitness test. His lack of coordination, flexibility, endurance, and even strength compared to the army people much lighter than him was astounding. I had watched a few of his videos in the past talking about the "optimal ways to build muscle," but after seeing where that type of training leads I began to be much more receptive to other methods of training.

Pavel's philosophy fills that gap. He advocates primarily for developing a strength practice instead of trying to work yourself out. The core feature of his philosophy is strength first: strength is the mother quality of all athletic performance, even endurance. The best way to develop strength is through what he calls "greasing the groove" which he articulates through these key principles:

Moderately heavy load (heavy enough to respect but not to fear)
As often as possible (many sets per week)
Always fresh (never go to failure and rest a lot)

In practice:

Choose a moderately heavy load (80-85% of 1RM) in 1-3 movements (no more than 3)
Lift it for half of the possible reps you could do with it (if your max was 8, only do 3-4)
Do many sets in a workout (minimum total reps per session is 10, ideal is 20-25)
- At sets of four, this looks like 5-6 sets in a session
Rest at least 10 minutes between sets of the same movement
- i.e. set of squats, rest 5 minutes, set of pull ups, rest 5 minutes
- During this rest time incorporate active rest where you're walking around and shaking off muscles
Never go to failure and never leave the gym exhausted. The training sessions are a strength practice, not a workout.

Pavel also outlines an alternative way to grease the groove which is to choose 1-2 movements and to do many submaximal sets throughout the day. For example, do 5 pull ups ever time you walk past a pull up bar in a doorway. While most people are more limited in what movements they can do in their daily routines like this, he argues that it can be even more effective. Some suitable movements: pull ups, push ups, one-arm push ups, hand grippers, single leg squats, kettlebell work.

I highly encourage you to listen to the Huberman Lab podcast episode with him for the explanations and evidence behind all of his training advice. The episode is long (~4hrs) but packed with useful information.

As I was trying to implement greasing the groove into my daily routine (I bought a hand gripper to use throughout the day) and in my gym training sessions, I tried to think of other areas where I could apply the philosophy. Short submaximal sessions spread throughout the day seems to be the ideal way to structure practice in many different areas, from learning to instrument practice.

The first places I implemented it were in reading and journaling. I had created a consistent reading and journaling habit before bed for the past 3 months, but I hadn't been able to expand it to filter into the rest of my day. Thinking about approaching reading and journaling through a grease the groove lens—a few mini sessions throughout the day where I always stop before I'm ready to be done—makes accumulating volume in each habit less daunting. I think stopping before you're ready is key. There's a famous Hemingway quote about stopping mid sentence so that it's easy to pick back up later and you don't deplete yourself, which gets at a similar idea. I haven't been stopping mid sentence but just before I'm ready to be done. Approaching writing this way makes me more excited about the next session where I can pick back up where I left off.

Approaching reading this way and making the reading app displayed prominently on my phone has allowed me to replace some of my previous social media or news habits where I would either check the news or open social media if I had 5 minutes to wait. By making the default reading but never forcing myself to read more than I want, I've been able to read a lot more throughout the day while also enjoying it more.

The thing about reading, though, is sometimes I'm not in the mood for it. For the times I previously would have mindlessly scrolled or put on a random video to zone out to, reading is not a 1-1 replacement because it requires a lot more concentration. In these moments, instead of forcing myself to read, I've just gotten more comfortable with doing nothing.

Since trying this out, I realized that I almost always had the urge to be doing something while eating (watching a video, reading and article, etc.). When I limited myself to either reading or sitting there, the times when I just did nothing felt remarkably freeing. The task of finding something to watch or read every time I sat down meant that I felt like I couldn't relax until I was sufficiently stimulated. I have enjoyed the simplicity of having less occupying my attention.

The final area that I've implemented Grease the Groove is in piano practice. I am a mediocre piano player, having played for years, but never very seriously. Since stopping consistent lessons, I have slowly started to practice less and less which makes starting again even more challenging. By limiting my expectations to just sitting down for a few minutes 1-2 times per day, I have increased the overall amount of time I practice per week even though the sessions themselves are much smaller. The small chunks throughout the day also is just a better way to practice. The breaks in between each session allow for more progress overall than if the same amount of time was spent all at once.

The final piece of the Grease the Groove philosophy is to make all of the things visible and impossible to ignore. I have my journal sitting on my desk at all times, my kindle widget displayed prominently on my home screen, a hand gripper on my dresser, and always keep my keyboard plugged in with my sheet music open.

Since I've implemented this new way of thinking about my priorities, moments where I have nothing else to do are channeled towards either reading a book, journaling, piano practice, or simply doing nothing. For each specific task that I want to repeat often, I make sure that it's displayed prominently so my default becomes to pick it up. I have a kindle widget displayed in the middle of my home screen, a hand gripper on my dresser, my journal always on my desk, and my keyboard sitting right outside my room so I have to pass it every time I leave. Limiting myself to these options has removed a surprising amount of stress that I didn't even know I was carrying. All options are visible to me, but I also feel no pressure to do any of them. Just sitting and thinking is always a fallback. I never have to force myself to do anything, and only grease the groove when I genuinely want to.

My Current Supplementary Training Fall 2026

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

3 flexibility sessions per week at night based on the principles in this video
- Front split Monday/Tuesday
- Middle Split Wednesday/Thursday
- Shoulders and upper body Friday/Saturday
1 medium distance run (4-5 miles) (usually Saturday)
2-3 Pavel-style strength training sessions choose 3 of (pull ups, shoulder press, leg lifts, ab roller, front squat, Romanian deadlift, power clean)
- Supplementary PT type movements superset throughout (ankle stability, shoulder external rotation, etc.)
Daily Greasing The Groove (usually 3-6 sets throughout the day)
- 1 rep of 1 arm push up each side
- 1 rep of hand grippers each side (I got the Captains of Crush No 1 but I can't quite do it all the way)
- 2 sets of power cleans during my lunch break (3 days per week)

A Blog as Journal Highlights

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

I've now had this blog for a few months, and while I've updated the book and film lists, I still haven't written anything. During this same time period, I've been very consistent with journaling, which I enjoy. I've been trying to think about why my associations with the two are so different and why I always dread the thought of actually writing something for this blog.

I think it's because I was putting too much pressure on the quality of my posts. I really respect people who craft highly edited, thoughtful articles, and I think subconsciously I was putting those same standards onto myself despite having a very different level of experience. In the same way that I finally became consistent with journaling by setting super low expectations, I want the experience of writing for the blog to feel effortless and enjoyable to work on.

My new idea is to think of the blog as just an extension of my journal. Instead of trying to come up with dedicated "blog articles", I will just occasionally go through my journal, find and interesting idea, edit it slightly by typing it up, and then post it. The journal feels so effortless because it feels authentically me. I always feel some level of restriction when I think about the imaginary audience who will read what I write in the future. But I am posting it publicly, so there does need to be some form of a filter that establishes some boundary between the blog and my journal. My solution is to imagine that I'm only writing the blog for one person (a close friend) to update them on what I've been thinking about recently.

By thinking about writing articles as comparable to catching up and having a phone conversation about what's been going on recently, I hope to remove pressure I put on myself of appealing to a nebulous audience. When talking to my friend I still feel like myself and don't feel like I'm filtering what I'm saying. But I still do filter to a degree, which for a public blog is necessary.

This new workflow means that the blog will function as a highlight reel of my journal. After reading this article, I hope that the practice of going through my journal entries will allow me to refine my writing style and reinforce the things that I like. The blog itself will function like an index and provide a record of how my thinking has changed over time in a more concise and searchable format than a handwritten notebook.

Still, I like that the method of capture is analog. I prefer doing the thinking with a paper notebook because I am a lot less likely to get distracted and because the constraints of the paper mean that I have to let go of the impulse to edit while writing. While journaling I never edit what I'm writing and focus only on capturing my thoughts. The indexing and typing up my handwritten notes that come later serve as a form of minimal editing as I refine and expand (if needed) on what I originally wrote in the journal.

I'm really happy with this new way of thinking about the blog and hope that eliminates some of the friction that was preventing me from being consistent before. At the very least this new system resulted in the article you just read, so in that respect it has already been successful.