on having side quests

during my time in university, I encountered that it’s really easy to live on auto-pilot mode - eating, sleep, work/ study and repeat. not until the last year or so after meeting people and now living in toronto that I accepted that focusing in growth is vital, not only for your long-term, but a game is more fun if you have main and side quests to complete.

main quests - graduate uni, get job, get promoted etc
side quests - bench 225 (lol), more meaningful relationships, understand more philosophy, etc

for me, it’s important to have side quests in life to make the game more non-linear - i’d like to think this to be the same as the top of pyramid of maslow’s hierarchy of needs - self actualization

characteristics of a good side quests (this is just SMART tbh):

• measurable end goal OR recurring
• time-bounded
• excites you

(my) current side quests by category:

1. mental
   1. reading designing-data intensive applications
   2. building sfucourses.com
   3. leetcode (rip)
2. physical
   1. ppl-ing until i can hit good numbers
   2. (finding a good cardio routine)
3. spiritual
   1. read more cs lewis books (been putting these off t.t)
   2. strong application - host events, build not for the sake of building

side quests exist not to hinder your main quests, but to have better stats on finishing your main quests and make clearing it much more fun.

notes §

mental §

1. example >>> theory any day - if the hands can be dirtied, dirty it
2. for books like DDIE, learn it as just as a good-to-know kind of stuff
3. building sfucourses.com is fun

physical §

1. in a office/ desk life, i learnt that having exercises routine is non-negotiable
2. first 6 months of gym wasn’t really enjoyable, but now i look forward to squat big guns in a masochistic way when it’s leg day
3. gamify and tracker it - i use strong tracker app

spiritual §

1. spirituality from McKinsey - having sense of connection/ purpose larger than me
2. spirituality for me - peace from within and radiate it to others
3. how to apply? for me specifically, help people with your strongest forte
   1. reach out to people - sfu surge, impromptu hangouts, etc
   2. building things that help people
   3. and sharing anything to others who is clearing your previously cleared level - getting internships, class advices, etc

general §

1. have a good life operating system - things 3, obsidian, jomo (blocker), supernote are just some of the tools i enjoy using
2. the journey is more important than the destination (cliche but always a helpful reminder)
3. good company >>> alone >>> bad company