2024 resolutions
#66 - Yearly goals and the Kale/Cocaine phone protocol
Hello friends! I hope your January is going well and that Blue Monday wasn’t too blue for you!
I started the year with 3 reflection posts: 2023 considerations, 2024 predictions and finally today’s post: new year’s resolutions!
I wrote about this also last year, writing about how I like to set and track goals, probably something that comes from my work, and I always use the New Year’s excuse to reflect about what I would like “My better self” to be in the new year. I try to set for myself inspirational goals, but at the same time (having done this several years) I try to set realistic goals. The worst thing that can happen to a New Year’s resolution is for it to be already expired at this point of the year!
Setting resolutions isn't about stringent rules; it's about guiding principles that keep us aligned with our true north.
What makes a good resolution list? For me, it boils down to three key characteristics: attainability, measurability, and personal significance. A resolution should be challenging yet achievable, offering a clear yardstick for progress and deeply resonating with our personal aspirations. Whether it's about enhancing skills, fostering relationships, or improving health, each goal should be a stepping stone towards a better version of ourselves.
As I turn 40, this year is also one for self-reflection about longer term goals. And one of the things that my life experience has taught me is that at the end of the day the really important things are not many, the things that really make one happy are ultimately very few… family, health, friends and a little more.
I just read a really cool book (Man’s search for a meaning) written by a psychotherapist (and Auschwitz survivor) who has an interesting point on this and on the importance of focusing on better version of one-self:
“I consider it a dangerous misconception of mental hygiene to assume that what man needs in the first place is equilibrium or, as it is called in biology, “homeostasis,” i.e., a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him”.
In other words what one needs is a goal, an ambition, and I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Obviously I also have some more personal goals, but I don’t think these would be interesting for this post, so my 2024 goals basically sum up to “Mens sana in corpore sano”.
1. Exercise
In 2023 I set a goal of running 1,500kms. I failed the goal, as I ran 931km but that’s ok because actually this is partially due to an injury (that taught me the lesson of avoiding over-training, and investing on stretching!) and partially to the fact that in the summer I spent a lot of time (for my standards) biking rather than running.
In 2024 I’d like to at least maintain the current training level, with the usual goal (no, not the olympics, yet): feel good and be active. So, simplifying the metric to encompass running, biking and everything else (a little padel, some football, etc) I want to increase my exercise daily average statistic for the year using Apple Health data. In 2023 I was at 64min/day average, let’s shoot for 70 min/day!
2. Read
This has been one of my long-standing goals. As I mentioned last year, I have learned not to fixate on the quantity of books read, but rather to focus on the quality and enjoyment derived from reading. Nonetheless, I appreciate the simplicity of Goodreads' reading tracker goals, so I will stick to it and set a goal of reading 35 books (same as last year, which I missed but got close enough!).
The best goal for me would actually be to spend more time reading than on my phone, but this is probably too ambitious, and also hard to track because my kindle (where I do 95% of reading) does not have a time tracker like the iPhone does. Kindle team, please please please build this feature!
3. Sleep
I have already covered this at length in a previous post, but I learnt the importance of high quality sleeping for good health reading the book “Why we sleep”. I have been quite diligent on this in 2023, and averaged slightly above my 8hrs+ goal per night. So in 2024 I plan to keep my goal and sleep 8hrs/night.
4. Write
This is my most recent goal. In 2023 I have been very diligent writing this newsletter. I like how this gives me an excuse to write and practice, as any skill the consistence and “making an habit out of it” is how you eventually get better. In the first year of my blog I gave myself zero slack and wrote every single week. I want to avoid this becomes a stress (although it has not been the case yet) or that I write for the sake of it, compromising on quality. So I might skip some weeks, but target is to write at least 40 posts in 2024.
Finally last year one of my goals was to become more proficient in Spanish, and that is something I feel like I did achieve… still very basic but I feel more confident now. As we moved back to Milan this is going to be harder, but still I would really love to avoid my spanish fading…
And finally my biggest 2024 goal:
PUT THE FREAKING IPHONE DOWN!
Like last year, my biggest challenge and goal is to reduce my phone time. As I wrote last year this is basically an indirect goal: I want to reduce time spent on the phone to increase time dedicated to things I deem more important (mainly family and friends).
At the beginning of 2023 I took some preventive measures to reduce my phone screen time:
I removed all social networks from my phone;
I set time limits of 45’ for twitter/games;
I intentionally bought a older and less-performing iPhone (a 2020 SE);
I cleaned the home screen and made all the small tricks.
I set for my self a goal that I saw as too timid of being below 3hrs/day every single week. The iPhone does not allow you to see yearly stats (data get over-written every week) but, While this intentional friction did help me get more conscious about usage, looking at the last weeks I am positive I missed the goal.
I am therefore stepping my game up next year! I read a super interesting concept in a newsletter a few months ago, and I am going to apply it. It’s based on this concept of…
Cocaine&Kale Phones
The newsletter I read refers to this framework to beat smartphone addition, and the author smartly labels it as: “The Cocaine - Kale Phone Protocol”. Pasting the framework below, and adding some of my considerations at the bottom!
How I fixed my smartphone addiction
I have 2 phones - Cocaine Phone & Kale Phone
Here's how it works:
1. The Smartphone Paradox - Your phone is a gateway to the world's best knowledge — and the world's best distractions. It's like having the best teachers, strip clubs, and social clubs in your pocket 24-7.
2. Society's Solution - There are 2 paths people use to deal with the smartphone paradox:
Phone addict: Glued to phone constantly.
Phoneless Luddite: No access to the best technology of this century so far.
You either burn out or miss out. Instead, there's a 3rd door nobody in society is talking about: The Cocaine-Kale Phone protocol.
3. The Cocaine-Kale Protocol
I have 2 phones:
Kale Phone: Full stack serotonin. Only notes, Kindle, Uber, Maps, and emergency number for 2-3 people to call.
Cocaine Phone: Full stack dopamine. Twitter. Instagram. TikTok. WhatsApp. Anyone can contact.
4. How does the Kale Phone work? I can check this 24-7 - but it's so damn vanilla I don't feel the need to. If I want to procrastinate on it, I must read a book or generate ideas in my notes. (Win-Win) I get 90% of the upsides of having a phone -- with none of the addiction.
5. How does the Cocaine Phone work? I don't check it until ∼12pm on weekdays and ∼2pm on weekends. I still get the optionality that smartphones and social media produce. But I don't consume it 24-7 until my brain melts.
6. What are the impacts?
The Kale Phone resets your baseline.
Your Cocaine phone feels too intense after 60 minutes per day. You start to crave the Kale phone.
I really liked this framework, and slightly edited it for my own needs. I realized that one of the biggest factors for me was that I often took the phone for work (e.g. check my mail, respond to a message from a colleague etc) or respond to a personal message, which is something I am ok with, but then ended up stuck to it often wasting time.
Here’s what I have done a couple of weeks ago as I embark on this 2024 goal:
I have 2 phones, both are intentionally old models (iPhone SE, 64gb - intentionally lowest storage available). One is the “Work Phone” (aka Kale Phone). On the work phone I have removed everything fun (games, social networks, etc) and basically use it for email/whatsapp and utilities (e.g. maps, home banking, etc).
I setup a “fun phone” (aka Cocaine phone). I bought a large cover for it (so it’s uncomfortable to put in my pants pocket and bring around), and it has all the fun apps (twitter, instagram). I did not put TikTok even on the cocaine phone cause that app is too tempting, I need to keep staying away from it!
When at home the fun phone does not leave my backpack. I only pull it out intentionally on the weekend for some casual fun, after noon and it NEVER comes to the bedroom.
I have done this only for a few weeks, let’s see if it sticks. I have noticed that the work phone becomes very boring very quickly, and often I don’t even want to take it in my hand because I do not want to check email. I would probably like to do a bit of twitter but the fact that it’s not a “hands’-length” helps me avoiding it. This means that in bed I go to my kindle when I’d take the phone, and that in turn is also a good thing for good sleeping!
The friction on the fun phone also makes me less prone to going to it every 5 seconds, I basically increased my awareness of the fact that I am going to waste my time.
The author had some really fun Q&A on the protocol that I share below, as he tackled basically most of my observations:
Why don’t you put a time restriction on the apps?
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA.
Let's be honest: every person who has a time limit on an app eventually resets it by entering their password when the "you have reached your time limit" prompt appears.
Why not just delete apps?
I have had some form of digital distraction for decades: playing GTA, binge-watching HBO or losing money on Fantasy Sports. I derive tons of benefits from social and messaging apps, but I need to be more reasonable on time spent.
How about buying a burner Nokia brick phone?
Nah. The smartphone is the most powerful technology if used correctly. My current workflow includes a ton of Instapaper/Kindle reading and Notes writing on the iPhone. A potential middle ground is a Kindle reader. However, typing on that thing is a pain in the ass and the browser is too slow. I also want to minimize the number of devices I have to carry around.
What are your new year’s resolution? Anything cool you’d like to share?
Also, let’s make a collective new year’s resolution: spread the word about this newsletter! :)
Jokes aside, if you enjoy reading this please share it with your friends… and help this writer!
Have a fantastic weekend,
Giovanni