Reflections, mid 2025

It is a reflection document. Not structured, unfiltered. Exactly 3 people said they would like to see my reflection notes last week, here I am. 12:12 am in the night, writing one (Friday, 8th August 2025). This is my approach to reflection that works for me. Have a read, see what strikes, feel free to try it out. Try it out for a few days, maybe copy this note to GPT, and do the reflection there. If you are new, it is much easier. If you want to get better, it is better to let your thoughts flow. 

Habit - Friday 8th, 2025

It is 12:18 am, and I am writing this. I want to call out time here because it is way past my bedtime. I used to be in my bed by 11:30, 11:45 max. Well, 11:30 is the ideal one. I like waking up by 5.30 am. Gives me 6 hours, practically 5 hours of sleep. I used to take a few naps during the week, as I felt the need. I wake up late on Saturday, Sunday - 7/8 am. 

This used to be so accurate, it was almost a habit. It was, because it hasn't anymore for the last few weeks. I am waking up same time, but sleeping late, by 12.10 am. That's almost 30 minutes late. Fortunately, it hasn't impacted my day. Still the same beast I am. 

I slept at 2 am the day before, and worked till late. Woke up at 5 am, worked till 7.30 am, and got ready to go to a game. My parents were also heading to a medical checkup, and I was locking the house. I locked my room, kept my keys inside the parents' room, and locked the main door. I forgot something, so I unlocked the main door, got the keys from my parents' room, unlocked my room, got the stuff, locked my room, kept the key in my parents and locked the main door. I did this 3 times. Forgot - Phone charging cable first, Sunscreen 2nd, and the card key 3rd. While I was locking the room, I realised this isn't the best of me. Probably the worst of me. Thankfully, parents didn't notice. I can't be doing 3 round-trip flights at home. It was mainly because of a lack of sleep; I had taken a short 5-minute nap, and I was still sleepy and blanking out. Sleep is probably the biggest factor in lifestyle. There was a time for 2 years I was sleeping 4 hours and a few short naps in between; there are very successful people who do the same. 5 hours if I am getting regularly is good for me. 

This started with a habit, and we are discussing bedtime. Bedtime is also a habit, right? Something you do so often that you don't have to think consciously of doing it. The body auto-tunes for the task. Our biological clock responds and optimises for the task because it has to do the same task, at the same time, or with the same trigger. Habits are good, they bring in structure, sometimes peak performance & clarity. I am dead now, will write later. 

Update: I slept at 12.40am. This is 10pm, Sat, Aug 9. tldr; I want to fix my bed time back to 11.30pm. You don't have a habit, you let your subconcious system take care of things, and by practice it must have gotten better. 

So, two things I need to fix 

1. Sleep at 11.30 pm
2. Wake up, open my door, and have some FaceTime with family early in the morning. I wake up early, max by 6 on weekdays, sometimes 8 on weekends, but my door usually opens around 8 every day. I don't know how many days I am at home, I would love to see these faces early in the morning, plus vitamin D. 

Health

I have been on a good track. Fair amount of physical activity. Mental-cognitive, logical, and creative, all parts firing. I haven't solved many math problems, but I managed to re-read a few chapters of the 11th book so far this year. 😅

If anything health is a big tick. I need to start doing regular crunches again. I had a month long streak, and was feeling my abs. Have been acting lazy these days. I don't think any trigger, plain old lazzyness. 

Knowledge

Read a few new books - Engineering leadership, Thinking in Bets - these are the highlights. 

I started learning Sanskrit, can at least say - my name is Bikram. Not a lot of progress, need some more practice. But I take this as a done item for the first half. 

Wealth

This is the only tracker I have failed to tick. I had a 40% exit, one highlight. I still have one 2x, but that's an old investment. Have mostly made foolish investments. I feel I don't give the attention money deserves post-earning. I need to get better at this, or do 10x my earnings 🙃 or get someone to take care of my money. I am speaking like I have a lot of money 🤣. But I believe this attitude will bring the money. Fake it till you make it. 

How I feel

I feel good. Positive, energetic, lighter, faster, calmer. I have gotten better in delegation, 2nd, and 3rd order thinking.  I don't think I am chasing any other feelings, emotions right now. It is a very healthy state. 

Socially-emotionally, the last two quarters were the best. I found a lot of answers. Most importantly, what exactly do I need from a partner? I have met a few people. I should meet a few more. I am not a traditionalist, and I hate to admit, I am very specific. Randomly wired. 

Social Impact

I have automated out of all socially active responsibilities. Instead of impacting masses, which I would love to do, can I ignite chain reactions? Can I find ways to play a part in people's lives who are going to have a great impact? Less investment of mine, faster results. And silent execution. 

What next?

I figured it all out today, and was in the hospital with mom. Had some hours to think about this. But not exactly, looks like I will have to adjust the plan. Got more data points today. I will have 60% clarity for the next year, and will have the remaining 40% in the next 2 months. I can't share details. I don't have the details right now. Or I might have. 

• It is either going to be a very fun cinematic time
• Or very fun, hard grind

It is gonna be fun either way. 

The biggest realisation so far this year has been, I am good at making big statements. Not so good at breaking them down into steps.  If it is a problem, I do really well. If it is an idea, I am not so good. I need to do better. Starting with my 2025 goals, I have streamlined them into small trackable metrics. I can break them down and track them at the atomic level. 

That's my mid-2025 recap.