We don't build for exceptions
+ quick links + cheeky reflections
Hi everyone. Welcome to Of All Trades! I’m writing to you today as we come to close a very crazy, hectic week — work and otherwise. Here are some random thoughts in my brain, hop on the ride.
QUICK HITS
fold.money
big tech employee vs startup founder day in the life
brain and body yoga
dekha ek khwab - chill lofi mix
Q. How to think?
A. Get a notebook and a pen, scribble, doodle, let your mind wander and put things on paper. I discovered how easy it is for me to track my thoughts in progression, sometimes with unexpected jumps, when I see them outlined on a flat visual surface. I got a classmate spiral notebook and a uniball roller bank pen on Zepto! :pThe more you force your brain to think—it’s a slightly alarming feeling if you haven’t done it for a few hours in the day (caught up in meetings)—the more you practice coming up with ways to handle exceptions. Everything, I’ve noticed, has some edge cases and as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon or the frequency bias points out, you get better at identifying them as you keep fishing them out of their holes. One pointer I noted today was how despite exceptions looking like they are a very big, important parts of the puzzle, the jigsaw pieces that you didn’t realize you were missing when you started and you had to unearth from underneath your sofa, we do not build for exceptions. If you take that train, you’re never thinking about the main user flow. You’re optimizing at the edges, leaving the meaty middle to go astray.
In other news, I recently got to know about this great app being built in our favorite city, Bangalore. It’s called Fold Money and it’s supposed to be a no-BS consolidated view of all your finances allowing you to link your bank account(s), credit card(s) and other financial investments. It’s currently in the beta stage and at the first glance of their website, I’m definitely in their target group and I love the design. It’s getting good praise for its onboarding journey. I only have an SBI bank account and since there are some account aggregator issues on the bank’s end, I haven’t been able to try it out first-hand. I’m eager to jump on this as soon as I can. You can check them out at fold.money.
Q. How to workout more?
A. Get a workout buddy, even if they live in a different city. I and my friend, A, have been keeping each other accountable and in healthy competition. Plus, it’s really satisfying and fun![spoiler alert] On the entertainment front, I watched Moana 2 last weekend in a playhouse screen at PVR with a bunch of kids playing on the slide and in the ball pool. I enjoyed this one but I think the original version will always have a special place in my heart. But I loved the girl-power and empowerment in this with Moana becoming a master way finder, a Tautai, and her transformation towards the end.
There was a point in my work day today when my desk looked aesthetic. So I took a picture :p. We live to romanticize the mundane! The Subko Cacoa 70% dark chocolate (with notes of red cherry, oats, almond milk) was a polarizing snack and I’m on the “love it” side.
That’s pretty much it for now. I’m still reading Intermezzo—I have thoughts. I’ll tell you when they’ve been marinated enough.
Until then,
godspeed
Ragha/Abhinaya/whatever you wanna call me.