Learning is subjective. I learn from reading, from podcasts, from observing and listening but to actively seek out learning for its own sake is something that not a lot of people do. Throughout my life I’ve learned quite a few things simply because of my ADHD – I find something interesting, hyperfocus on it for a few months until I become somewhat knowledgeable/good at it then switch my focus to something else and start the process again. I am very aware of the learning loop needed to become proficient at something and it goes something like this:

This loop repeats until you hit an exit condition – usually when you have satisfied your curiosity, or it becomes too hard to penetrate further into a subject and the time needed to pass that hurdle doesn’t seem worth the trouble. 

Some things I put into the feedback loop I kept going with well after my hyperfocus period:  playing guitar, computer programming/administration (I once wrote a program freehand in a notebook because computers in the library had a time limit), cooking/baking (although I would argue that it broke off into smaller hyperfocus things like pizza, sourdough, grilling, sous vide, smoking, etc.), gardening, and now 3D printing. The list of things I’ve tried that didn’t pan out and are now littering my poor brain is too numerous to count but every now and then some bit of learning becomes relevant to what I’m doing so it’s good to know it isn’t all wasted!

I’ve set learning goals in the past but after a strong start they’ve always tailed off as other things fought for my already scattered focus – I did have a list of the things I wanted to learn that carried over year to year and for this project I was determined to hit that 50 hour mark (arbitrarily picked 50 for most goals because well, I turned 50 – as Thanos would say ‘ perfectly balanced as it should be’ )

I didn’t want to break out work related training vs. personal training since a few of the things I wanted to learn crossed both categories, so I lumped them both into the 50 hour category. I did tag each one with what I thought was the right category (work or personal) just for my own metrics but for the purpose of this post we’re just going to lump them all together. It was a varied bunch of training. I kicked it off with some guitar/music theory classes to better understand music and work on getting my solo skills refined.  There were quite a few pizza related videos as I explored different techniques to refine my pizzaolo skills. In the middle of the year there was a huge chunk of AI training which I found super interesting and as soon as that week of training was done, I was looking for ways to incorporate AI into this effort.  A nice percentage of the 50 hours was spent on application training to help me upskill at work (and at home since a lot of it carried over to home projects). Finally to prepare me to write the short story/novella that has been bouncing in my head for a few years I’m following Brandon Sanderson’s lectures on writing which are fascinating. 

The biggest thing I learned? You need to carve out time for learning. I picked the slowest day on my work calendar and blocked out an hour for work-related training. It didn’t always work as I was really busy this year but enough times it gave me the space to learn the things I needed to. I also blocked out an hour once a week at home to work on the personal stuff and again sometimes that didn’t work but it did enough times for me to hit the 50 hour mark and keep going. I won’t stop at 50 – there’s still some things I need to learn and there’s 4 months left so I’ll come back and update this at the end of the project. 

Well OK this one was hard, not because I’m a sugar junkie (although I do enjoy a treat now and then) I have two small kids who always want a little sweet dessert and a wife who helpfully bring home leftover treats from events and just leaves them on the counter in plain view. So, I knew I couldn’t do the tried and true ‘get all the sugar out of the house’ methodology. 

I did however remove the one treat that my brain craves more than all others: Reese’s peanut butter cups. I collected up all the Reese’s in the candy jar and put them deep in the pantry where I couldn’t see them (oddly enough next to the jar of Nutella I was hid from myself a few months back) hoping that one day a curious hobbit would find them and after a battle of wits with a dragon… 

My preeeeecious stored away where I couldn’t be tempted, I set about finding what everyday items secretly had sugar in them and sadly – it’s almost all of them. Sucrose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose.. all fancy names but all meaning you have processed sugar in your food. I knew this would be an uphill battle, but my cooking skills helped me by allowing me to make more wholesome varieties of food without the added sugar that I could eat. The overwhelming consensus of my kids after eating my ‘real’ macaroni and cheese was; “Daaaaaad we want the boxed version with the pooooowder” so I knew that I couldn’t drag them along on this journey. [Author note: We generally feed our kids whole foods and really limit sugar but there’s just some things that are a key part of childhood and Kraft mac and cheese is one of them] 

Armed with the secret knowledge of the sugar in foods I started the journey. The first few days were fine but then I developed a headache and general malaise that lasted for almost a week. I didn’t have a cold or other illness and had no other explanation other than sugar withdrawal. I did some research, and it backed up my initial hypothesis (Scientific Method Yo!). It was… alarming that I was eating enough sugar to cause physiological reactions when I stopped.  It took almost two full weeks before I started to feel normal again and the cravings which were highest that first week finally dipped off into almost nothing. 

There were a few temptation points that required a force of will – mostly around making banana bread for my kids and kids birthday parties where there were cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and other treats being handed out and I had to verbally say no requiring a stronger exercise of will. One work event had a tray of brownies that were still warm from the kitchen and were right in front of me for almost a full hour as I tried to focus on what the speaker was saying but the smell of brownies was making my brain misfire. 

Other than those few inflection points I was able to control the sugar intake and make it well past the 30 days – it was around 7 weeks total that I broke down and had a slab of fresh baked banana bread because dammit – I just spent a half hour making this thing I’m going to enjoy it! Enjoy it I did… almost ¾ of the loaf scarfed down like a sugar goblin. About an hour later I was having stomach pains and really needed a nap. I guess coming off of a sugar fast and eating a bunch of sugar is bound  to make your body go haywire 

I’ve watched enough documentaries and read enough articles to understand fully how damaging excess sugar intake can be. I had real world experience by experimenting on myself to show that yes – it does have a physiological effect.  However – there is a simple joy (and a nice hit of dopamine) in an Italian pastry or slice of pie and that joy is valuable to quality of life.  I’m lucky in that I’m not prediabetic and not at risk so I can have sugar without immediate harm but I want to stay that way so I’ve really cut back on my intake. I rarely have sugar during the week easily turning away when offered and, on the weekend, if I want something sweet I don’t turn to prepackaged candy or chemical laden treats I make it myself. I get the joy of cooking/baking, I can ensure quality whole ingredients are used and I get to spend time with my kids teaching them how to bake which is the tiny dollop of awesome on the top of this whole experiment. 

I’ve always liked being in the woods – as a child I would explore the scrub pine forest that was our backyard growing up. We’d wander around the white sands looking for cool stuff and just enjoying the primal feeling of being in nature, smelling the strong scent of pine and the earthy petrichor of the streams that dotted the forest. We found all kinds of things wandering the woods – beaver dams, fishing spots, fox dens, a weird amphitheater cut into the woods with a podium made of stone in the middle (OK so we never went back there because that shit was creepy). The serenity of the woods is ingrained in me and I always long to just go back. My dream vacation would be a cabin in the woods on a lake where I could just explore the forest with my family then come back to have a fire and make dinner then enjoy a scotch while relaxing and breathing in the cool night air.

All that being said – I never get to go on hikes much anymore. I just have a lot on my plate and so many activities to balance so I decided to make it a goal this year to get out at least 10 times. I picked 10 because that seems like something that would balance against all the other demands on my time and is often enough that I feel it would benefit me.

I usually go on hikes with the kids but there is one weekend a year where I go up on longer and more challenging hikes. I like do to them solo because it lets me stop at my leisure in picaresque spots to sit and just be present. Also – asking anyone else to climb a mile long 40 degree rock strewn trail to the summit just seems mean.

Lets take a look at the trails we hit in 2024:

Clayton Park Green Loop / Blue Pond Trail (1.8 miles) – This is the home park one that we frequent often because they have a nice mix of short scenic trails and a few longer loop trails. We took the green loop to the blue so we could visit the pond. It was early in the spring so not much to see but it was still a nice way to spend a morning.

Abbot Marshlands Spring Lake Trail (1.5 miles) – I found this by googling ‘hiking trails near me’ it was a short loop through the marshlands. It was mid spring and there was a prolonged period of rain before we went so it was lush and green and smelled like spring. It was a really flat trail so not that challenging

Sourland Mountain Devil’s 1/2 acre loop (3.15 miles) – this is a fun trail it starts off with a gradual climb over a pretty rocky trail then sharply rises to a boulder scramble which the kids did their best mountain goat impressions while also giving me anxiety attacks. We manged to get to the top without incident and took our lunch amidst the boulder field the finished off the loop on the gradually descending trail

Mount Vesuvius – The River of Lava (1.5 miles) – Nice winding trail starting from a higher elevation and sloping down through through a wooded area until it opens up to a giant scar in the woods where the eruption in the 1940’s burned its way through in a path of destruction. A short climb and you are standing right on the path of that lava flow and all around you is black lava rock but interestingly enough there’s also fields of wildflowers and so many butterflies showing how nature is slowly overtaking the destruction. A short climb up the slope and you can get a really clear view of the bay of Naples

Watershed Institute: Creek side Trail (2.3) – Another local favorite this trail starts off with a nice clean boardwalks that winds through the watershed with fields of flowers and bird habitats. You step off the boardwalk onto the creek side trail and that loops around a with a lot if interesting spots (including a special ‘hobbit tree’ – a giant tree in a clearing) relatively flat trail with lots of muddy spots (it is a watershed after all)

Crystal Springs Nature Trail (3 miles) – We were staying at Crystal Springs for a little weekend getaway and one morning we decided to check out this nature trail that winded through the woods and across the golf course a few times. It had lots of informational posters on the trail talking about wildlife and nature in general which was in clear dissonance with the fact they built a giant golf course in the middle of the mountains. It was a nice day for a walk but it didn’t ‘feel’ like we were in the woods due to the noise from the resort.

Plainsboro Preserve Yellow Loop / White Trail (2.7 miles) – The Audubon society preserve is a haven for birdwatchers and on our hike we saw plenty of them! Herons, hawks, blue birds, jays, swallows, finches, ducks and of course the ever present Canada goose. This loop takes out you into the middle of the lake on a small peninsula where you get a great view of the lake and the surrounding area. Pretty flat trails but a variety of environments – from thickly canopied woods to bright and airy scrub trees.

Mount Tammany Red/Blue/Sunfish pond loop (11 miles) – One of the longer hikes it started with a very steep climb to the overlook via the red trail. I mean very steep – I had to stop a few times to just catch a breath as parts of it are more climbing than walking. The view from the top is great however and worth the climb and once I rested a bit I opted to do the sunfish loop adding almost 5 miles to the day. I thought I was done climbing so it wouldn’t be so bad – however I was gravely mistaken as the glacial pond was another 1000 feet of elevation at a steep incline. Once I got to the top it was a nice place to rest my aching legs and psych myself up for the last 5 miles down to the parking lot. The trail down wasn’t too bad – there were some spots where I had to use the hiking poles to keep my balance but overall it wasn’t too bad. Lots of water elements – however due to a prolonged drought they were mostly dry or brackish. I’d like to come back to see if during a normal rainy season.

Pyramid Mountain Yellow/Red/Yellow loop (5 miles) – This hike was an interesting adventure. Firstly my legs are toast from the 11 miles of climbing the day before and I was physically spent so I thought this short 5 miler should be pretty straightforward. It was not – I too the wrong trail marker and started at the end of the trail. Why does this matter because of the famous ‘100 stairs’ trail. It is what it says it is – 100 stairs cut into the mountain so you could get to the top quicker. It was also unseasonably warm that day and each ‘stair’ was a slab of stone so it took a while to scramble to the top (and I’m sure there were more than 100.. it was an arduous climb) once you get to the top though the rest of the rail is open, on flat ground and slowly descending so it was a pleasant walk to enjoy the fall foliage. The highly touted waterfall on this trail was bone dry due to the drought so it felt like a big letdown.. I was hoping for at least some water features but the land was parched.

Mercer County Park Red Loop (1 mile) – this is a beginner trail – completely flat and with little to no challenge. I was on it as part of my son’s cub scout troop’s hiking program. It was a fun hike led by the scoutmaster who showed them how to build a fire and what to put in a survival kit. It was so easy I considered not including it but a hike is a hike!

[no photo due for privacy reasons]

I still plan on doing a few more hikes as we get into the colder months and hopefully a snow hike at some point (if it ever snows here in the winter again) but for now these 10 were a lot of fun and I plan on keeping this goal going forward.

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt – John Muir

First off – I’m not one of those people that listens to podcasts all day so I can reference them at cocktail parties and seem enlightened (yes, I’ve met those people) plus I have a hard time maintaining focus for more than a few minutes – my mind will invariably wander and when I snap back into focus 20 minutes of the podcast will have gone by and I didn’t hear any of it (this is also the reason I struggle with audio books)

However – I knew I had two captive hours every day during my commute to work that I could leverage. I usually just listened to sports radio or Apple music but I started thinking that’s probably not the greatest use of that captured time. So I decided to lean into informational podcasts so I can use that time to learn and broaden my mind (not that sports radio doesn’t do that…)

Since I started a new job as a people manager it’s a bit heavy in the beginning on management tools and strategies since I was trying to build a management style but as the work picked up I started leaning into productivity podcasts to help balance work, life, and this 50for50 goals.

It was a bit of a struggle to maintain focus in the beginning since my mind tended to wander often but I think the meditation I was trying was helping me focus and be present and a few months in I found I could focus on most of the episodes without having to rewind

Since I was doing it so often it became a bit of a habit and now whenever I drive somewhere I’m usually trying to listen to something interesting but sometimes my brain just doesn’t want to work that hard and that’s when I crank the tunes and just enjoy the drive. In fact for a few months I split it up mornings for podcasts, afternoons for listening to the ‘Top 50 albums of all time’ maximizing that captive time to achieve my goals!

Here’s the list of the podcasts I’ve listened to while achieving this goal. There’s a few I listen to often because they’re consistently interesting enough that I didn’t feel the need to go and find new podcasts to listen to as I only had two hours a day