Looking back on 2022

Earlier versions:

• Looking back at 2021
• 2020
• 2019

2022 was the most productive I’ve ever been in my life. It sounds a little weird coming from someone who was unemployed for the last couple of months but that veneer fell off ages ago. I can attribute most of it to deep bouts of introspection and good physical health. I casually woke up with a hangover today and decided to go for a 7KM run to fetch bread. Absolutely unnecessary. I just felt like staring at the christmas tree in front of Reichstag. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life and being at peace with my mental and physical health was a hallmark of 2022.

It also helps that I cook way better food now and we could live in multiple cities over longish periods to absorb the local vibe. Of all the places we lived in, I must highlight three:

1. London for the food scene
2. Prague for the music and nightlife
3. Paris for the unusually warm folks and culture. Yes, I know the stereotype and it is plain stupid!

Random collage of pics which Google Photos put together

People I love continued to have a rather rough time and it being outside my control drives me nuts.

Aditi and I celebrated 7 years being together and moved into a new apartment we’d bought in early 2021. I’m a creature of habit and shifting physical locations, even places I have absolute control to modify is overwhelming. I hope this one settles down soon.

Professionally, I ended an almost 3 year stint at HelloFresh. It was so much fun being with really smart people but I felt my learning curve was tapering so it made sense to look out externally. I join an edtech firm (GoStudent) tomorrow morning. Excited to see how this one pans out.

I also became an author this year (actually, just yesterday) and published my first book on pricing in ecommerce. You can grab a copy either from my own website or Amazon if the field is of interest. I hope this book is the first of many but I have no idea of what is next.

As I look to 2023, the one thing I’d like to do more of is to connect with people I love more often. I’ll make an effort to do this diligently this year.

Wrapping up, I have tonnes of recommendations to watch, listen and read but I’ll filter the top few in each for sanity

1. Books

• Aanchal Malhotra’s Remnants of a Separation is a work of art. To quote her, [it is an] “… attempt to revisit the Partition through objects that refugees carried with them across the border”. Bloody brilliant stuff and dare I say, my favorite book ever.
• Brandon Sanderson is a genius and the mistborn trilogy is :chef’s kiss:. I have a soft corner for fantasy but my god, the world building here is beautiful.

2. Series

• The Bear. Masterclass in acting and cinematography. It has long uncut scenes where people just talk to each other making it feel like they’re with you in the room. It just happens to be the story of a chef trying to make a restaurant work after his brother’s death.

3. Podcasts

• Revisionist History by Malcom Gladwell was my discovery this year. It is six years old and I’ve started from the top going through three seasons now. Thought provoking and at times, just frustrating that we get stuff this wrong as a society.
• Lenny’s Podcast on product management I felt is a brilliant addition to the craft. Especially the episode with the Coda founder, Shishir gave me so much to chew on.

4. Articles

• The inimitable Matt Levine’s The crypto story

If you got this far, hope you have a brilliant and happy 2023!

Love, Ravdeep