2022 in review
Every year I do a big yearly review, go through all my notes, all my photos and my calendar. Usually it’s a lot, and brings a lot of insight. 2022 was the most eventful year yet I think. In no small part due to the fact that I moved to Berlin.
Timeline of events
Projects
Books I read
Things I learned
Timeline of events
January to March
We found a temporary apartment in Berlin. Packed all our things in Stockholm. Rented out our home since 5 years, and flew south. Berlin welcomed us with more sunlight than we were expecting and an early spring in February!
We also had some visits from Agnes’s family and our friend Laura flew in from England.
April to June
In April we visited Zurich for the first time to celebrate Benjamin and Sara’s wedding. We celebrated my birthday at Monocle cafe. Fredrik visited Berlin for an our recurring sessions of Arts & Crafts. May we explored the city, and I did conferences in Germany. June was all about midsummers! Which Laura joined this year!
July to September
In July we finally found an apartment in Berlin. It really is hard to find a place to live here. I did another conference. We accidentally joined a techno parade/protest. In August we visited some parks and I think this was when we saw the Pride festival? Even if my timing is wrong, Pride was a mess on broken bottles. August had more conferences for us both, and a lot of apartment fixes. Then in September Agnes mom swung by, closely followed by Laura again who flew in from Scotland this time.
October to December
October started with covid instead of Oktoberfest. Then we enjoyed the fall despite the unusual early cold. Our heating also broke down in October giving us three days of heavy winter gear indoors… November I spent more time on trains and conferences. Then my parents visited. We onboarded a new designer to my team, and had a Xmas party. Then we flew to Sweden for a 10 day Xmas bonanza. visiting friends and family.
Projects
I proudly set out this year to be more focused. But I significantly underestimated how much time it takes to set up a home here.
I did launch a beta of Sponsorpost. But all my other plans simply ran out of time.
Books I read
According to Goodreads I’ve read 19 books this year.
I want to especially recommend three of them:
Quite Leadership by David Rock
This management book gave me a lot of insights into self management and personal growth. Highly recommended. It’s a quick and easy read.
How to survive on 24h per day by Arnold Bennet
This classic self help book only takes about an hour to read. But it is packed with interesting ways of thinking about how to spend your time. It really helped me rethink what I’m doing on a daily and weekly basis.
Open Society and it’s Enemies by Karl Popper
Popper is a strong contestant for most important thinker of all time in my opinion. And this giant book is his steel manning and total refutation of the philosophies that underpin totalitarian regimes, from Plato to German National Socialism. It’s not hard to read, but the scope and detail makes it very long, and very dense. Might be the most notes I’ve ever taken from a book, and I suspect I will take years to fully digest it.
Some things I learned
There’s no speed limit
I’ve had to relearn this again this year. Most of the time we limit ourselves by doing things slowly. And doing them slow brings with it a lot of problems and mental friction that wouldn’t otherwise appear. Fight this. Fight this with every fibre of your being.
“Going fast makes you focus on what’s important; there’s no time for bullshit”
…
“You learn more per unit time because you make contact with reality more frequently”
You can learn soft skills from people around you
This shouldn’t be a shock. But I find it strangely counterintuitive. We’ve all heard from a young age that personality is something you’re born with. But you can learn to be charming and easy going. You can simply listen to people who are easily talkative and think about what they said and how they said it, and then you can do the same.
Yes it takes practice. But all things do.
Being stubborn is usually a sign of being dumb
Whenever you are stubborn, it’s likely that you are because you’ve closed yourself off to improving something about yourself. Smart people try, evaluate, and move on. They don’t cling to old thoughts. You probably do this in some areas, but not others? Why not?
This year I learned a few areas where I’m stubborn simply because I’m resisting change.
Time to change that.
The world really is abundant
We live in an age of abundance. And opportunities are all around us. But this isn’t the common view. And thoughts are shaped by habit even faster than our bodies. So if you don’t practice thinking about opportunities, and looking at the world as abundant, you won’t see it.
This is the year I actively start practicing thinking in certain ways.
If you want more time, go slower
Val Sopi nailed it. I completely agree:
This article might sound like I will go head first and as fast as possible. On the contrary, I have learned that if you want to slow down time, go slower, which is precisely what I need right now: Slowing down time! I will rest more. Stay organized. Execute. Reflect. Plan ahead slowly.
A quote to end on
your growth comes first be
intentional with your time
forcing things does not work
being kind supports your peace
hang out with revitalizing people
let consistency help your flourishing
remember the progress you have made
slow things down when your mood is low
people pleasing hurts your mental health
seeking perfection hinders your progress
you cannot make everyone understand youyung pueblo