1/ All my life I have worked in cycles. Intense effort in one specialization followed by a repeat in another.
Working out different part of the brain every few months or years.
A few years with CS, followed by a few years as an actuary. Two years as an author than a film maker
2/ As I have gotten better the cycles have gotten shorter and more intense. Now it's a few month of regulatory reporting work, 15 days as a writer, a month of intense road running, a week as a trsiner and then repeat.
3/ The variety and context switching makes it possible for me to keep the output above the mean.
And it ensures that I don't have the time to think about boredom.
The problem is when burnout hits it's equally intense.
The last time was 2015.
4/ I could no longer write.
Luckily we had just sold our tech piece to a partner and the earn out had a pre sales component. I spent the next 3 years traveling 120k km a year.
Didn't have time to think. Travel was a change. I learned to swim all over again in hotel pools.
5/ This year has been particularly hard. The conventional exits for stress - movies, travel, vacations, eating out are no longer there. Work is more intense.
My coping mechanisms for handling stress are failing one by one.
But one thing still works like a charm. A morning run by the creek with the sun rise on your right.
Two of these a week and I can carry on for a few more days.
I had been running in the lanes through out Covid.
Today was a special treat.
6/ I run for the sunrise and the sounds of silence.
The city is still, asleep. Between the slap of the sole of my shoes on the road and the whisper of wind lies a zone of sanity. It's my refuge.
7/ Can't wait for Sunday. Rest, recover, refuel and try the course again - this time with speed.
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A single customer credit transfer made on the SWIFT network.
The bane of remittance/ free lancer / tech founder challenge across banking sector in Pakistan. More so for small businesses / founders that receive sub $ 1,000 wires.
Once upon a time in a different life we wrote, ran and supported treasury systems that generated MT 103 messages for local banks.
Given how treasuries front / back offices are structured and how all $ payments are consolidated and cleared via NYC, workflow was simple.
Collect all outgoing payments, bundle them together into one balance for one market / relationship / target account.
Send a shorter message to primary US$ Nostro account targeted for out going transfers for one amount.
Open to all undergraduate and graduate programs in Karachi.
If you are:
a) Avid game player
b) Aspiring game designer
c) Care about creative expression
d) Curios about what make games playable, addictive, instant hits, or
e) Love real time community feedback
2019-20.
First and second half marathon.
Remote work + Zoom Cohort based live training.
Founder Puzzles. Product launch.
2020-21.
Surviving Covid + recovering.
Close call.
3rd half.
2021-22.
Context switching. Fixing my knee.
Growth and Economic Complexity.
Raising 6 at 18 post.
Scale multiples and idea selection framework.
The Pakistan dataset.
Ed-Tech and crypto deep dive.
Teaching Venture Capital + Fintech and Financial Innovation.
Shipping FP, 2nd Ed.