Midlife Momentum

Two weeks ago, I started a new role at PetPlace, and it's been incredible. The responsibility, the challenge, the potential for growth. Everything I'd hoped for. But there's been an unexpected side effect. I can feel myself getting close to burnout. This isn't your typical "I'm working too many hours" burnout. It's more subtle than that. As an individual contributor with emerging product owner res...

At my last job, I could literally go days without accomplishing anything significant. I'd wake up with the best intentions, but then I'd open my computer and immediately feel overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. So, instead of tackling any of it, I'd escape into a game like Hogwarts Legacy or binge the Lord of the Rings extended cuts. Days would disappear. Other times, I'd be "productive," bu...

“Hey Dad, do you want to hear some popular music?” I looked up from my phone. My daughter was sitting next to me on the couch, already queuing up her favorite songs. Then she jumped up and started showing me the dances she’d learned from YouTube. It was spontaneous and surprisingly sweet. And it never would’ve happened if I’d been in my office like I usually am. I wasn’t doing anything special. I...

It’s 5:30 a.m. My house is still. My mind isn’t. Every morning before my daughter wakes up, I pull a tarot card and ask ChatGPT to give me an inspired journal prompt. I spend time mining my subconscious, bringing thoughts and feelings that had been buried to the surface. But what if the most important parts of your life never make it into your journal? A few weeks ago, ChatGPT analyzed a week of m...

The part of me that needs to look smart is panicking. The rest of me is trying to breathe. I just quit a job I held for over five years—and I'm walking into something I don’t feel fully ready for. I'm changing jobs. After 5.5 years at Johnson Health Tech, my last day will be May 13th. I accepted an offer at PetPlace, a new team building software for pet shelters. Thanks for reading Midlife Momentu...

I thought I was just tired from a busy Easter weekend. A few days of family events and broken routines. I figured a good night’s sleep would fix it. But by the middle of the week, I was still exhausted. It was not the kind of tired that rest could solve. I knew it was not about having too much to do. I have been careful lately to give myself space and avoid overloading my schedule. This was someth...

I’ve been working through the iCanStudy course, and while it’s packed with valuable ideas, the biggest thing it’s done is force me to confront a pattern I didn’t know I was stuck in. I thought I was just learning how to learn. What I actually found was a deeper issue that’s been driving how I approach all my projects. One of the significant lessons in the “High-Yield Phase” is a warning against ru...

This week, I’m going to circle back to a concept I mentioned in How I’m Making My Learning Actually Useful , and that’s the concept of 12 Favorite Questions. I had mentioned that Richard Feynman liked to have a written list of his 12 favorite problems, so he’d always be on the lookout for things to support solving these problems. People seemed to have some questions about the concept, as well as h...

At 43, I’m not scared of dying. I’m scared of wasting time. Neil deGrasse Tyson says mortality gives life meaning . I think it robs us of ambition. Thanks for reading Midlife Momentum! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. As I get older, I have less time left, and because of that, I can’t take the wild swings I would have when I was younger. What I prioritize to work on bec...

I bought a course to improve my study skills and time management . I block time on my calendar to work on the course, but I keep missing my study sessions. The irony? The first module of the course talks specifically about urgency trapping, which is exactly why I kept missing those sessions. Each time I set aside time to study, I ended up doing tasks that felt more urgent instead. The course sugge...

Curiosity is desirable and powerful, but when fragmented, it becomes a liability. Every time you mindlessly consume content without context or an objective, you’re building a mental bottleneck. However, you want to make room for serendipity and be able to follow rabbit holes even if there lacks evidence of a connection to your goals and work. How do you balance following curiosity without falling...

I’ve spent hundreds of hours reading books and taking courses, hoping they would help me grow. But most of the time, I finish and can’t remember a single thing that matters. There are no big ideas, no change, just a hollow, frustrating feeling that I wasted my time. I knew something had to change, so I started experimenting. What I’m trying now feels completely different. Thanks for reading Midlif...

The trail was covered in ice. Where people had walked, the snow was compacted and slick, and I was heading downhill over a lot of rocks. It’s easier to be present when you’re just trying not to slip and crack your head open. This weekend, I conducted an experiment. I headed to Blue Mound State Park, grabbed a notebook, and left my phone in the car. I wanted to step away from the constant stimulati...

I know I want to focus on foundational skills and habits to help improve my day-to-day, but there are so many different things I could work on. Thanks for reading Midlife Momentum! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Do I improve my software development skills? If I need to switch jobs, I should really study data structures and algorithms because that will be needed for hi...

In September, I stepped on the scale, and I felt like I would puke. I clocked in at 307.1 lbs, an all-time high. All year, I had been hovering around 300, which was frustrating because I was trying to lose weight. In May, I walked 6,500 steps every day, and in August, I had a grilled chicken salad every day for lunch. Why wasn't I losing weight? Thanks for reading Midlife Momentum! Subscribe for f...