What can I get done (52-week) - 2025

Elon acquired Twitter, renamed it to x.com, and laid off a significant workforce, yet it continues to thrive, even more efficiently. This one question from him is doing rounds on x.com - 'What did you get done this week?'. By asking this every week, I can infuse the urgency. The answer to this should be directional. There should be a goal I am working towards every week. This is a living document of 52 sprints. Read the `theme for the year` from the table of contents. 

Let's start ⚡

August 31st, week 36th

August is dead. Missed exactly 3 updates. I am not allowed to go back and rewrite. 

• Apart from one lingering uncertainty, I have been at peace
• Maybe a bit more comfortable than what I would have liked
• Missed running the last few weeks. Exactly 3 weeks, Ig. Running fixes me. Did a run this week, and here I am back writing. Although I wrote a few notes during the last 3 weeks. 
• Have been spending some time learning Sanskrit. Started reading My Experiments with Truth. It was in my collection for some time. I like how well written the pre-text is. I like the transparency and how he puts no curtain, but shows his evolution as a person, as a thinker. No one is perfect, and we are all chasing something. 
• I have been running my Social detox mid-year this time. I am gonna set up recurring every quarter from here. 
• Health and knowledge are two things from the list I am topping; leverage is something I am not doing well. I should really double down on these coming few months. 
  • Let me break it down into building something, even as useless as it is, and publishing a written blog about it somewhere, maybe on Medium or LinkedIn, once every 2 weeks. 

August 4th, week 32nd

• Wealth, Run, Sanskrit & a great hackathon that is all going to be the week. 
• Was part of the winning hackathon team. Well, the PA team won 5 prizes in total. Crazy visionaries & top-level execution bundled. 

August 3rd, week 31st

Writing this on a Sunday evening. This was koala week—slow, lazy, a bit of biking, running, and taking mom to the hospital. I had initially planned to build something, but ended up doing nothing. There are good signs too - health is on track, I feel fitter, leaner, and faster. I played a game start of the week - was bowling well, batting well, and did a brilliant diving save. All thanks to the speed workout I have done this week. ~4.10s km lap feels not so tough. Breathing has become better. 

• Next week will be a hackathon at work. Will have a lot of fun. 
• 9 weeks to go on the Sanskrit track, I shall probably go back to the grammar book + 2 lectures a day. 
• And I hardly want to get a passive income going. Met a friend who is running a few businesses. He is way junior, has a few people working for him, kind of inspiring. 
• If I don't have passive income this week, I have failed in every aspect. Maybe I should go bald, as my teacher used to say. Let's write this down. I shall brainstorm on this separately. I wouldn't want people to read, but keeping it public makes me accountable. I can put some encoding, sounds like a plan. 
• Let's tick the wealth box next week; everything else is running well. 

July 24th, week 30th

22 more weeks to go. I can write a few small sentences in Sanskrit, finally. Have exactly 22 weeks to become more fluent. Learn more words & cases. Let's limit this to 10 weeks from next Monday. I can start reading small novels post that. To keep the interest going and go deeper into the language. Let's do the update

• Health ✅. I have been doing runs, I have been playing, waking up on time, and sleeping almost on time. It's been a streak run for the last couple of weeks. 
  • I had a long streak of regular crunches going. Broke the streak when I travelled to Bangalore last time, been a month. I should get back this week. 
• Knowledge ✅ - Personally, as mentioned can write a few small Sanskrit sentences.
  • Professionally, I have found a few places to grow. As the team grows, as I can foresee, scale problems - I have been trying to predict and build systems, technical & people enablement. I have reset my calendar to reflect the same. Feels like re-writting my role, a sign of growth. I should read staff engineer articles this week & update Sonesh. 
  • Can I plan on getting back on technical writing or building? Let me plan this weekend. 
• Wealth - Bearish week. 🙁. I have just been holding. 

Sun 27th update

• Made a mess of my investment. Good, that I don't care much about it. Otherwise, I could have been losing my mind. But I have seen droughts. Have gone from -60% to 180%. But I should act this week. Even if holding. Should be conscious.  
• Have been a little unwell. There are a few things on the food menu I am discovering to disturb me. Will do more observations before I make a call.
• Will have a cracking next week. 

July 14th, week 29th

Welcome to another Monday. Had a great last weekend. Felt like a complete reset, and felt like a long, long weekend. Let's have another great week. ✌

Update July 19th, Saturday 12.05AM 😄

I had my laptop on my side for some time to write this. Got late. This was a good week. At work didn't even realise how fast it flew. Went to attend an event on Monday. Father wasn't feeling well, took him to the hospital on Tuesday. And I was kind of covering up for the week. That's the reason, IG. But the week itself was very productive. Have set up a sync going with a very senior dev on org impact. In my team, it is time for me to step up for the scaling of our systems, today was mostly that. 

Personally, Have been consistent with runs. Did a 7K 🎉. Oh, I am still good, I am the best. Let's go to specifics

• Health ✅ - feeling good. Had a few good runs. Can be part of some more family chores. Gonna get them done on the weekends.
• Knowledge ✅ - Learnt a few sentences of Sanskrit. Gonna complete the 100th page this weekend. That WILL BE 25%. 
• Wealth 🚫 - Haven't done anything. The 5% I made last week went up to 22%. Should have exited. Got greedy or better lazy. I do this. I must sell within a week & rebalance. 

Should do more tech exploration this weekend. And some more family time. Will update by Sunday. 

Update Mon July 21st, 12:03AM

Didn't do much technical or reading this weekend. Saturday was spent on earth filling the new plot we bought. Went to Konoka village resort on Sunday. Had some fun. Did some activities and fun clicks. Maybe I am better at a beach or a park, or similar places with my old clothes, where I don't have to think about getting them cleaned up after reaching home. 🤣

Having a light headache, need to fix my slowly slipping sleep schedule. SHUT DOWN BY 11:40 pm. Next week's goal. 

July 7th, Week 28th

Almost feels like a repetition. Doesn't it?

What's the value of progress if it isn't directional? What's the value of speed if it is an oscillation?

I am part of Sikhsya Kalyan Nyash, which aims to elevate the educational environment in the area, but most I have seen is facilitation. But it is understandable, as most people don't have time, so they would rather give out money. Yesterday received the 3rd-yearly book they published. I had been contemplating whether to continue with it, the membership. Maybe it isn't much financially. But, you know, it isn't easy for me to just not be involved. Guess I will have to learn. 

I would like to bring color coding back again

• Health - Played a few games ✅, in a very healthy mind state.
  • I did take a few personal stances last week. I did put a status - It happens some fights I can't lose, even though I don't want to fight. So better to fight and fight for the glory. Read the tweet
• Wealth - Haven't done anything here 🛑
• Knowledge - Just random reads, I gotta do better. Also, it is July, so, I should focus on learning a language. I don't want to come back and say I didn't learn a new language. 🛑

Update July 11 🕺

• I feel I am back here. My schedule is patched back. One of the reasons I want to fly to Bangalore in July to meet new folks & Div, but don't want to fly to not messing up my schedule. Gotta continue it for some time without any disruption.
• With a few runs, games this week, health goals are checked ✅. Sleep is perfect.
• On wealth: Haven't made any money but have surely taken a few bets this week. This is new for the year. It is happening. ⚡

July 12

• This week was a solid ✅
• I did some building -> Built an AI browser prototype
• Have done a few good runs with my brother
• Have been back at learning Sanskrit
  • I have a 400-page book, down to the 86th page. 
• I tried some bets on the wealth side, got a 5% return in a week. Mainly, it was a bullish week. 
• And I have one more day, this feels like me. Let me add a dance emoji 🕺

Running fixes me everytime. And writting, Plus conversations with same brain wave people. 

July 1st, Week 27th

Well, it's been a long, long time. 10 weeks 🤡

Honestly, have done nothing from this list. 

- Have played a handful of cricket. Visited Kolkata. 

I was regular at the fitness for some time, but went to Bangalore last week and continuity was broken. Need to get back this week. 

April 23rd, Week 17th

Was in Bangalore last week, week 16th. Back home now. The good news is knee felt really good last week. Didn't even feel a pinch in slow runs. It still hurt when I went full-blown sprinting. Bad news - didn't do much activity last week. I am home this week. The schedule will be back. 

Did an all-nighter on Monday as I was feeling a little rusty. Still, this week will be a mix of work, hustle & social events - have a few weddings to attend. 

We had company on-site, and met everyone in India. I met the spaces team. Pretty cool to see everyone in person. 

I pulled the Google Analytics today, so good to see Kidli getting organic signups. I am sitting at 8. Not much, but yes. Should I build the thing? Considering I have MSFT credits and just put it online. Maybe I should. 

1. 1 run exactly, a few pushups
2. Did some reading - Leading effective engineering
3. Met friends, work friends. 
4. Didn't do any building on side. 
5. I have setup 1:1 with a very senior engg in LD. I should do this with more folks and learn from them.

April 10th, Week 15th

Have been holding up well in terms of fitness. Waking up early, sleeping probably less than ideal. But exercising well. Knees are starting to feel a little better. 

Haven't read anything this week so far. Haven't published anything so far. BAU in work life. 

March 31st, Week 14th

I have a few (two or three) sit-downs in front of computer tasks, each lasting 15-30 minutes, but I have procrastinated. This is the week I shall get them done. 

Update on last week, Did one good run. A couple of stretches. Okay, I won't count them as quality/intent wasn't there. Did some reading - Thinking in Bets and Consumption. Got good sleep.

Cricket season has winded up. I also felt like taking a rest last week. Still got pulled into 2 matches. Wasted my time wildly last week. I binge-watched Marvel Punisher. Woke up way out of schedule on Saturday & Sunday. Full awake midnights give me energy. This week I plan to use them in a more like 'me'. 🤘

1. Get good 3 runs & 7 days of full body stretch. 
2. MCP, set up & play with them. Post something by the end of the week.
3. Read. I have a new book on leading engineering teams that I haven't opened. I have exactly two Assamese books I bought from a book fair 2 months back, I haven't opened them yet. Not sure if I will end up opening the Assamese book. Will take a hell lot of energy from me to do that. One isn't fiction so maybe I will open it. 
4. By the weekend - close all housekeeping digital work pending on me. 

Update here by the end of the week. 

Update: Week went well in terms of all 3 but the 4th item. I don't know if I will ever open those Assamese books.

March 26th, Week 13th

Honestly, I don't remember which week this is (the 13th, I googled it). I haven't been able to tick anything from the above list. Although

• Health
  • I have been sleeping well. A good number of hours. ~8. I want to bring it down to 6/7. 
  • I have also started doing a few runs. Not regular yet.
  • Physically, look-wise, I am not way far from abs. I have maintained where I got by the end of 2024. 
  • My diet can be better.
  • I have developed lower back pain & knee pain. Have been working on recovery. Getting better. It should go away in the next 2 weeks. 
  • Should hit the gym. 
• Learnings & Build
  • I have been reading books - Recently reading Thinking in Bets.
  • I have built a few new POCs, on the build side, all on my Git Hub - https://github.com/thebstar. 
  • Still running behind on the latest AI stuff, practically. 
• Growth & Investment
  • I have started technical advising in a tech startup. https://spacesos.com/
  • I have set up some passive investments. Long term investments
  • I have been looking to set up at least one manufacturing plant that in theory will give me a good return. 
  • I haven't yet worked on how many people I reached, branding. My next update should have something on it.
• Hobby & fun
  • I have played a lot of cricket matches. It will slow down now since season is mostly over.
  • I haven't progressed much in new language learning. Maybe I shall go and practice with someone. 

Week 4 (Week of 20th Jan)

1. Health - Resume Gym (have been off from mid-2024)
2. Leverage -
   • Money - I have 1L to play around and generate a return from the market/crypto/physical investment. Set up a plan/schedule this week. So that I can start thinking/executing from next week. Can I grow it X% in 3 months (X to be filled)?
3. Knowledge
   • Get back to reading AI.
   • Be on track to complete 11th math by next week.  

Week 1 to 3

I didn't get anything done in these 3 weeks that aligned with the direction I had set. I am here finalizing the direction on the 4th week, 20th of Jan. Hence, Can I say I created the clarity? Saying this, I did start re-reading the 11th Math book. Read Set theory, functions, and Relations.

Theme for the Year (Simplified)

1. Leverage - Wealth, brand. Questions to answer - 
   • Metrics to track - Publish one article every 2 months from September. 
2. Health - Let's have the visible abs this year. If not this year, it isn't happening anytime soon. Questions to answer
   • Metrics to track - How close am I to 22min 5k, how close am I to sub 50 10k
3. Knowledge - Be on top of AI and establish engineering excellence in the network. 
   • Metrics to track - How many AI articles have I published?

Additionally, I will pursue items from the following list, but all of them are secondary, and I shouldn't be judged on them.

• Score a 50: I have a wishlist that includes playing plenty of cricket matches.
  • Did I score a 50?
• Learning a language (my goal for 2024). 
  • Sanskrit, can I read a basic Sanskrit book and make sense? 
• Continue my social & community work
  • Impact 5 people's lives, who have the potential to impact 5 people's lives each. 

Theme for the Year (Old, not clear)

1. Leverage - Wealth, brand. Questions to answer - 
   
   • How much money did I make?
   • How many people did I reach?
   • How many valuable connections did I make?
2. Health - Let's have the visible abs this year. If not this year, it isn't happening anytime. Questions to answer
   • What did I do this week to have visible abs?
   • Did I sleep well? Overslept, under-slept?
3. Knowledge - Be on top of AI and establish engineering excellence in the network. Math is back. 
   • What did I learn?
   • What did I build & publish on the web? Engineering Article, new product, open source contribution?
   • What did I read?
   • What did I learn in math?

Additionally, I will pursue items from the following list, but all of them are secondary, and I shouldn't be judged on them.

• I have a wishlist that includes playing plenty of cricket matches.
• Learning a language (my goal for 2024). 
• Continue my social & community work
  • I am mostly putting a full stop on running the cricket club. 
  • And I am putting a full stop to active social work on commitment. I won't hold any positions. 
  • I will evaluate mid-year if I want to continue the kids' enablement sessions
  • What's the most impactful thing I can do for the community?