Experiments
Gentle Refinement May 2026 — The Daily Note Wrap Up
The discovery of linking my task management to a daily note has been liberating and exciting. I finally have my own task management system. And I love it.
Experiments
The Practice
Gentle Refinement Month 5 — Exploring the Daily Note
April was a blessing. Having the opportunity to spend the month focusing on my previous three refinements was helpful and a good opportunity to lock things in. But it's a new month, and time for me to begin working on something else. I've decided it is
Experiments
Gentle Refinement Month 4 — First Quarter Recap
Another month has come and gone, the first quarter of 2026 now behind us. It is crazy how fast it seems to have gone. I've had three months to work on refinements, and now comes the big question: How did it go? First, let's do a
Experiments
Gentle Refinement Month 3—A Creative Dashboard
It’s time. Maybe it is even a little past time. But the time has arrived to begin work on my next refinement. Before I jump into this month's plan, though, I want to briefly look back at last month. A Nightly Routine I'll just put
Experiments
Capturing Everything—A Shortcut to Mental Clarity
A shortcut to mental clarity "This consistent, unproductive preoccupation with all the things we have to do is the single largest consumer of time and energy." (David Allen, Getting Things Done) I read Getting Things Done by David Allen. There was a lot of it I found unhelpful.
Experiments
A Return to the Past—A Piece of Paper
Getting Back to Paper The point of the journey is not to arrive. -Neil Peart, from the song "Prime Mover" off the album Hold Your Fire It started as a complex query to Claude AI, from Anthropic. It ended with a piece of paper. And while I appreciate
Experiments
Gentle Refinement Month 2—A Nightly Routine
Habits are like the entrance ramp to a highway. They lead you down a path and, before you know it, you’re speeding toward the next behavior.James Clear February has arrived, and with it, it is time for me to look at my next gentle refinement for the year.
Experiments
Gentle Refinement Month 1: Exercise
Everything starts with vision. You have to see it before you can achieve it. You will never regret the time you spend to develop a very clear vision. -Arnold Schwarzenegger That is a yearly theme—a vision. A vision of where you see yourself in a month, a quarter, a
Experiments
Building a Database of Wisdom: Why Readwise is Invaluable
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe We are surrounded by information. It comes at us from every angle. It is a boon of our modern era. It is also often a fallacy, a lie. And because
Experiments
Imperfect Progress: Finishing the 30-Day Habit Challenge
Habits are the entry point, not the end point. They are the cab, not the gym. —James Clear, in Atomic Habits Thirty days can pass in an instant. Before it begins, it seems like a reasonably long amount of time. Once done, it barely seems like anything at all. When
Experiments
Training to Write My Next Novel
As I read that, it seems obvious to me. But it wasn’t. My job forces lifelong learning. It’s part of what we do, with good reason. I have numerous resources available to help with my ongoing medical education. I don’t want just to learn medicine. There is
Experiments
Habit Tracking: Halfway Done, or Just Getting Started?
I'm halfway through the 30-day habit tracking challenge, so it's time for a check-in. Initial thoughts First things first: this hasn't been as motivating as I hoped it would be. Many days, it all feels like a chore. Many nights, I feel like I