Reflecting on 2022

Yearly reflection on work, life, travel, wellbeing and intentions

Here we are again, with another yearly reflection post. I just re-read my 2021 reflection and I’m excited to say that I was wrong about most things that I predicted would happen in 2022. Predictions are hard, but I’m incredibly grateful for all that happened in 2022.

While I didn’t restart my yoga practice like I hoped, I did create more in public by launching my newsletter.

The theme of 2022 was experimentation with ways of working.

Experimenting with Contract Work in Part 1 of 2022

For the first half of 2022 I wanted to experiment with having more freedom in how I spend my time. I was working part time for Dual School and could make my own hours. I picked up a few teaching engagements at night, took on a coaching client, and ran educational programming for a web3 project.

My hope was that I would have more schedule flexibility, allowing me to travel, and be more spontaneous with my time. Say, going to snowboarding on a Tuesday morning, or playing tennis in the middle of the day. While I did do these things a few times, I found that I actually preferred to get up, go to a coffee shop and write. It was awesome to be more active during the day, but the consequence was that I then had to be online and working at night.

At one point during the spring I was teaching at least one class four nights per week. While I was technically “free” during the day, my nights were booked and I ended up working during the days anyway to prep for night engagements.

So by the time May rolled around I found that I was:

1. Working just as much, or maybe more than before I stopped being full time at Dual School.

2. Making a similar amount of money, but with much more stress and uncertainty about stability.

3. Not learning very much.

It was time for a change. So in late May I set my sights on finding a full-time job where I could work with a great team on an important problem and learn a lot while doing so.

The Job Search

After working in the nonprofit world for about 5 years, looking for jobs was not easy. Aside from personal side projects and some internships in college, the only “real” experience on my resume was leading Dual School.

While I learned so much at Dual School and knew I was capable of a lot, my previous title didn’t clearly qualify me for any specific roles.

I have lots of appreciation for Matthew Grande from Careerage, and all the people who granted me informational interviews and connections during the process. Eventually I found the perfect opportunity to join a venture-backed technology company as the Director of Marketing, helping to define our narrative and improve content and growth efforts.

Trinsic

Digital identity is coming. We believe that it could either enhance our privacy and humanity, or usher in an age of dystopian surveillance and control. That’s the thesis behind working on digital identity right now. Many people assume that any digital identity system will come with no privacy guarantees and could lead to intrusions and abuse, but there is actually a better way. We can create a digital identity system that respects privacy, while still making the world more accessible. That’s our goal at Trinsic and it’s been super engaging to work on.

Physical Activity and Wellbeing

Last year I wrote how I played a lot of golf, got back into tennis and started playing some soccer. I still love golf and played a fair amount this year, but the focus has really been on improving my tennis game. I started playing with some some advanced players, and even entered a local tournament (where I got crushed by a high school student).

My tennis game feels better than it’s ever been and it’s been super fun to play a lot. To me, tennis feels like the perfect mix of mental and physical challenge, while still remaining deeply playful and social (as long as you play with the right people).

I entered a Turkey Trot at the last minute on Thanksgiving with low expectations. I had only run 3 miles a few times during all of 2022, but somehow with the energy of the race environment I finished much faster than I thought was possible. It was pretty exhilarating and got me more interested in running in general.

I’ve also been getting into a gym routine in the new year, and have consistently been going 3–4 times per week during the month of January and plan to keep it up.

Travel and Life

Sophia and I have spent the month of January in Savannah, Georgia, and then St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Florida. We’ve enjoyed the warmth, avoiding the cold and dark month of January up in New Hampshire.

I have a bunch of travel coming up in February and March. We’ll get back to New Hampshire in a couple of weeks, then we head to Cleveland for Sophia’s great grandma’s 109th birthday. I’m going to ETH Denver February 28th-March 3rd. We’ll be in New Jersey March 24th for a wedding, then I’ll be in Austin for a company offsite March 27th-April 1st.

Intentions for 2023

I don’t have anything profound here. My plan is to stay active, get stronger, play sports I enjoy, do work I’m proud of, and spend time with people I love.

Thanks for reading,

Zack