Monthnotes - February 2024

Writing these notes on the 29th day of February led me back to wondering about the last leap year.

Revisiting my monthnotes from February 2020 took me right to the early, chaotic days of the Covid pandemic. The memories of that early phase are still particularly vivid as we began to appreciate the enormity of what was unfolding. Thankfully February 2024 lacked the drama and anticipation of four years ago.

It’s been a particularly busy month. I’m pretty much at capacity with client work for the next few months and also took a week off in the not-so-snowy French Alps.

I’ve also been getting a bit clearer on some longer term opportunities that I’m really excited about. The freedom to develop new ventures alongside doing interesting work with a variety of clients is something I sought when I went freelance 13 months ago, so it’s good to be experiencing that.

I get the sense that my B3 framework for company building is slowly building momentum too. I’m sharing it with founders for feedback and to build awareness. Sign-ups on the site are increasing and I’m excited to be working with a new collaborator to develop the content further.

Away from work I treated myself to an Ebay bargain this month – an old but working four channel DJ controller with lots more knobs than I’m used to. It’s the first time I’ve been able to DJ with four decks instead of two. And it’s slightly blown my mind.

I’ve gone from being very comfortable with my DJing kit to feeling like a complete novice again. The challenges of mixing three or four tracks without sounding horrendous are fascinating. It’s a steep learning curve but one I’m enjoying a lot.

The discomfort that came with needing to learn was a good reminder that I need to avoid getting too comfortable with expertise in anything I do. It’s always good to feel the need to learn, diversify my experience and be exposed to novel problems.

Podcasts this month…

Been enjoying The Rest is Politics Leading interviews this month. I’m cherry picking some of the interviewees that I wouldn’t normally choose to listen to – trying to diversify the perspectives I take in a bit more.

Music this month…

Enjoyed All-Star House Party LIVE! with Jet Boot Jack, 2 Bad Mice, DJ Ramsey, Disco Waltons, & Grant Richards a lot this month. Seemed to capture my attention and keep me interested for the full 4.5 hours.

Reading this month…

This month I read a few fiction books, which was really unusual for me. Plus at the moment I’m reading a really entertaining book about tax evasion. It sounds like a non sequitur but is actually a funny look at some of the weird ways people and corporations minimise their taxes: TAXTOPIA: How I Discovered the Injustices, Scams and Guilty Secrets of the Tax Evasion by The Rebel Accountant.

Cycling this month…

173.8 miles.

Running this month…

25.5 miles.