Writing

It was on November 20, 2024, that I handed in my keys at the art gallery where I had worked and began writing full time. It has now been a year. Let me reflect on how it’s been.

But first, since this is a sort of yearly review, here are the ten most read essays this year:

1. Sometimes the reason you can’t find people you resonate with is because you misread the ones you meet

2. On agency

3. Almost anything you give sustained attention to will begin to loop on itself

4. Advice for a friend who wants to start a blog

5. How I read

6. When facing a complicated problem, don’t try to solve it, try to understand it

7. The paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, I change

8. When is it better to think without words?

9. A list of books and essays that I love (this was paywalled when I published it, but I’ve unlocked it now)

10. On the pleasure of reading private notebooks

Also, for those who are new here, these are the ten most popular pre-2025 essays on Escaping Flatland:

1. Everything that turned out well in my life followed the same design process

2. Looking for Alice

3. Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born

4. Childhoods of exceptional people

5. Relationships are coevolutionary loops

6. How to think in writing

7. A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox

8. Almost everyone I’ve met would be well-served thinking more about what to focus on

9. Don’t sacrifice the wrong thing

10. On having more interesting ideas

The main thing I remember, looking back, is how tired I was for the first three months after I quit my job. All through December, January, and February, I felt wrung out, empty, and sad. This came as a bit of a surprise to me. I had expected to be filled with energy now that I had reached my goal and finally had plenty of time to work on my projects.