Yep, you’re busy, I get it. Skip down to “The Blueprint” if your time is tight.
If not, take a breath. Get comfy. Let your mind wander a moment, with me.
Baseline
Imagine we’re characters in a role playing game (RPG). How are our stats looking? Start Power, Bravery, Focus, Balance…
Experience points. Leveling up. How do we build and sustain consistent, measurable habits — without collapsing?
Foundation
When I was a kid, I really enjoyed creating. Legos littering my floor. Violin case draped over my right shoulder from class to orchestra. Computer screen, cursor blinking. Winking. Like it knew me.
I was too shy to raise my hand in class, but I would yell loudly as YY, my stuffed squirrel, led the charge up the dark basement stairs to safety. He listened to me practice Suzuki songs; starred in my video games — RPGs, naturally.
Legos, violin, stuffed animals, computer — my quiet childhood friends.
Cornerstone
Eventually, college forced me to confront adult life. My most obvious paths were either music or Computer Science. I wasn’t sure, so I took classes in both for the first year. Shortly after, along with many classmates, I left for two years to serve a mission in Belgium. (YY came with me.) My mission president recognized my talent: we organized a small group, then went on a month-long tour across three nearby countries. We performed mostly at big stake centers during the day, then visited with the local community in the evening.
When I got home, I immediately set my major to Violin Performance and dove in. Worked up to concertmaster, which led to competitions, fundraisers, and recognition. Overwhelming, at times. I mastered one particular art: finding the nearest exit and slipping out quietly.
Violin grounded me, gave me a loud voice to hide behind. Computer Science stayed backstage, playing a supporting role.
Settlement Period
Two early startups failed, despite my best efforts. Partners blamed the product — my coding — both times. Back then, I believed them.
A third startup stalled on funding. By then, I had a wife, toddler, baby, new house. No tech degree, by choice. Some savings left, but…
I had worked so hard: early mornings, late evenings, baby on my lap while pushing new code. I enjoyed creating, but struggled to make my opinion heard.
Two jobs snapped under pressure; another unraveling fast. One string remains; should I play it? Will it hold its tension, produce the notes I desperately need? I could bail now, switch instruments. Use my violin degree; attach a fresh set of strings, literally.
No. I worked so hard to get here. Flexible hours, extra time with family; music would threaten this. Plus, I knew I could code pretty well, just not run a company around it yet.
Motivation locked, I made a profile on eLance.com and eventually clawed my way up, one five-star-review and referral at a time. A decade later, I run my own consulting business. Flexible enough to attend my kids’ concerts and still keep my clients happy. Balance maintained.
A little too balanced. I rarely spoke French. Left the electric piano untouched. Just did my time: at work, around the house, bedtime routines. No more stretching myself. No more experience points.
The Blueprint
I’m a busy adult; not much time for me. But I’m trying something new — short, simple, and self-motivating.
Every evening before bed, I get on my MacBook and type out a log: minutes, notes, todos, highlights. I do this for each New Game Plus skill I spent time on that day. Takes about 2-3 minutes per log.
For example, Oct 9, 2025 for piano:
Minutes: 30
Notes: The Promise, Melodies of Life, a few others
Todos: Need to learn 2nd page chords in the middle better
Highlights: Worked hard on mid part of page 2
(The letters M-N-T-H remind me to review these monthly.)
The daily log matters. If I miss a day, I don’t backfill it. I simply leave the gap to remind me to be more consistent. I’d had enough time to write at least one log. I just didn’t. No guilt trip, just a mental note. Worth a few experience points.
Visibility also matters. I use GitHub, but there are lots of other options. Composition notebook, notes app, Google Doc, whiteboard. Published into the Void, but available if others want to look. Which raises the stakes and helps me to commit more seriously.
Ongoing Construction
After ninety days of logging, I noticed the same stats from the beginning — Start Power, Bravery, Focus, Balance — showing up in the patterns. My ability to start and restart violin practice powered up: less guilt for days missed. No excuses, just pick it up again and go. I’m braver on piano: accompanied a friend at church on a piece that stretched me technically.
Focus and balance have also improved. I’m learning in parallel during routine activities where I normally would just coast mentally — finding little pockets of time for practice. Podcasts on walks, audiobooks in the shower, Mandarin apps between errands. But patterns don’t make it easy. Some days, it’s still overwhelming. I’ll feel behind, a little ashamed. The bar to Chinese fluency for ABCs like me is high; I need so much more experience to level up that far.
I’m still trying to find the right balance. But when it works, it’s almost magical. Saying hi to my Asian neighbor down the street. Hearing a secret whispered between friends as I pass them in the mall.
You’re busy. I am, too. But there’s still enough time, by the end of the day, to level up — in plain sight — one log at a time.
Curious what ninety days of building looks like? Here’s my log — and a visualizer I built to make the XP visible. You can fork it, or start your own.
This work documents lived experimentation with human-first practice. It is not professional, medical, financial, or legal advice.