How 'Positive' John Ostrowski spends the summer
This is already the fifth edition of the Summer Series where we learn from experimenters how they are spending the summer time. Today we let John Ostrowski share his summer plans. Let's go.
About: John Ostrowski is experimenter, investor, creator, student, and a very positive being. You might know him as 'Positive John' and from his Positive Experiments newsletter. A guy with a true Experimental Mind.
Is it simply work as normal or do you slow down?
During summer, there's a clear trend of increased 'me hours' tracked against 'working hours'.
It's a healthy balance as working hours tend to increase by the end of August, as I usually start projects.
Life Track is hobby and madness, The substance pays off.
How are you preparing for the second half of 2022?
I take the last week of each quarter to escape routine, wonder, walk, and think.
Futuristics get energy from planning, so I created the ritual around it.
I revisit my personal statement, reflect on values, habits, and stories I'm telling.
It's a week of big picture, possibility, and reflective thinking.
Think Week this time was at the big apple, crossed the pond from London to New York City.
Cruising through Wall Street most likely influenced my focus for the second half of 2022:
Take advantage of the market downtrend by doubling down on dividend-paying stocks.
I plan to take advantage by increasing my investment velocity, for that I'm likely to join a new project by mid-August.
What do you do during your travels?
Traveling 20% of the year is an objective.
I grew up in big cities and I’m fascinated by the concrete jungles we created.
I explore capitals of the world.
My rule of thumb of a happy day traveling is 1. see something 2. eat something and 3. walk at least 8km.
1. Seeing cities from above, museums, and theatre are my go to 🖼️
2. Steak connoisseur documenting vists to steakhouses around the world 🥩
3. Walking tours 🚶
This summer I should be travelling 52% of the season.
Reading books? Learning a specific skill?
I set learning plans, or skills to 10x, every semester.
Writing, public speaking, and product innovation were top of the list.
Learning is 70% experiential, 20% social, and 10% formal
Here’s a brief of what I’m doing:Writing
- Practice: PositiveExperiments newsletter simplified — good advice Kevin 🔑
- Formal: Gone through Make It Clear, from Patrick Winston, and On Writing Well.Public speaking
- Practice: Speaking to larger audiences, stage time on conferences.
- Formal: Coached by speakers a lot more experienced than me.Product Innovation
- Practice: Corporate innovation exposure adapting the experimentation toolbox.
- Formal: The Corporate Startup and Strategyzer content.20% Social comes from networking with experienced people.
Trying out something new (personal experiment)?
1. Mens sana in corpore sano
I'm into bodybuilding for eight years, and now it's bulking season.
Increasing the weights and strength.
Healthy body for a healthy mind.
Monitoring the body is a big experiment.
2. Focus on sleep
I've been optimizing for sleep quality for about 6 months, ever since I got my Oura ring, best gadget of 2022.
I ran many initiatives already, and the next quarter I'm experimenting with no screens after 8:30 pm.
Looking to improve my sleep efficiency, reducing awake time while in bed.
Anything else to share?
Music is a big part of my life, while traveling audiobooks and podcasts also take over.
I wonder if we can sample music genre across the experimentation community.
I know there are many DJs out there 😅
Hip hop is what gets me flowing.
Thank you John, for sharing your summer stories.