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- End-of-year review
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.
— Doug Larson
I love this time of year—not just for all the festivities (though I won’t be seeing my family this Christmas), but also because it feels like the perfect chance to start fresh.
For me, the end of a year is all about creating order. Clearing the clutter, making things lighter. This isn’t just about physical stuff (I don’t own much anyway) but more about cleaning up my digital world—organizing my workspace, emails, to-do lists, and anything else that doesn’t need to follow me into 2025.
Along with this “housecleaning,” I also take time to reflect on the past year. My approach to this has shifted over the years, and this time, I tried something new.
Steph Ango, the CEO of Obsidian, shared a list of 40 questions to ask yourself every year (available in 33 languages). I’ve been following his work for a while and really enjoy his writing, so I gave it a try.
The questions are a great guide for reflecting on the past year. They focus your attention on areas you might not have thought about otherwise and help you create a more complete picture of your year. It took me about 1–2 hours to go through—just enough time to feel thorough but not overwhelming. The process is simple, too: you just answer the questions however you like (I used bullet points).
You can tweak the list, skip questions, or add your own—it’s flexible. But even as it stands, I found it to be a solid foundation for reflecting on the year.
Now, with this review done and my digital space tidied up, I feel lighter and ready to move into 2025.
How do you like to approach the end of the year?
— James
Tools & Websites
Local Map by Matthew Siu is a simple but fascinating project: a map that helps you explore Wikipedia pages from around the world.
Yume is a dream journaling app designed for simplicity. Its black-and-white interface is easy on the eyes, and it offers two options: write or record (voice) your dreams. The app hasn’t launched yet, but you can join the waitlist.
Navigate is a decentralized platform where users are rewarded for contributing data to help build AI training datasets (remember last week’s issue?). Also, their website is quite an experience—definitely worth a visit ↓
James’ Library
Article | We live in a world where scale is rewarded, making it tempting to always pursue it. This piece is a gentle reminder that (1) not everything has to scale, and (2) some things—like care—can't scale without losing their very essence. For care, though, it doesn’t get bigger and better. If your goal is to educate the world, you can look for ways to educate thousands or millions. If you want to inspire the world, the billions await. But if your goal is to care for the world, and in a given moment you’re deeply caring for one person, you’re doing the best it’s possible to do. There’s something oddly comforting about that. |
Article | A thoughtful piece from Nathaniel Drew offering tips and frameworks to enhance conversations, while exploring how we never really understand one another. You can try this out the next time you speak with a friend. It’s really simple to do, all you have to ask is, “what do you mean when you say ________ ?” This is like a door into a whole new world: a world where you stop assuming you understand what people mean when they say things. And it turns out there is a tsunami of assumptions in basically all conversation. |
…Aesthetic Corner…
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The OP-1 is a marvel of technology and design by Teenage Engineering. It's a portable synthesizer and sampler with delicious onboard effects. It's been used by many well known artists including Bon Iver, Diplo, Tame Impala, Childish Gambino, Deadmau5, and even Depeche Mode.
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This isn't just any pen tray—it's a beautifully crafted piece made from walnut (or maple, your choice). It comes from Ugmonk, the same folks behind Analog (the daily todo cards, mentioned here).
Sustainable Living
East Village Studio is a 500-square-foot (45m²) NY apartment that balances functionality, style, and sustainability. Designed with Darrick Borowski, it serves as both Michael Pozner’s home and office. Bespoke furniture, a sleeping loft, and clever storage solutions maximize the small space without sacrificing its eclectic vibe.
Sustainability plays a key role in the design. A large wooden volume hides areas like the bathroom and closet, keeping the space visually clean and organized. By streamlining his belongings and prioritizing smart storage, Pozner embraces a minimalist lifestyle that reduces his material footprint.
Art and decor bring warmth and personality to the apartment. Each piece is thoughtfully chosen, adding character while keeping the space tidy and inviting for guests. East Village Studio shows how small spaces can be both practical and meaningful.
Friends of James
Beehiiv — the powerhouse behind all my newsletters, helping me craft, design, grow my audience, and monetize effortlessly.
Notion — my go-to tool for the last 6+ years, where I store all my notes, manage tasks, and essentially run both my life and businesses.
Webflow — the engine behind all my websites, letting me design, build, and launch seamlessly without code.
Make — the tool that runs my business on autopilot, handling all recurring and time-consuming tasks
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