Organizing Life

The point of this post: I believe there are 4 categories of systems for which one can develop mental models and subsystems around in order to make life better, and I’d like to share that with you.

I mention that podcast because that was the first time I’d heard of, and seriously thought about, the concept of mental models and system-based thinking. I’ll skip the part about my journey to my current thinking process (maybe that’s a post for another time) and cut to the chase. More recently I heard another podcast episode from “The Knowledge Project” which was a conversation with Venkatesh Rao. In it, Venkatesh says that in our mind we contain a simplified version of the universe (a “toy universe”) where we simulate life’s events in order to make decisions, and that mental models act as plugins to that universe in order to make the toy universe as consistent with the real universe as possible.

In other words, the more correct mental models we have, the more accurate our toy universe simulations will be. This means we make better decisions, and over time won’t need to spend as much time and energy while making them.

This got me thinking. Until now my understanding of mental models was that they would just be a motley collection of facts in my mind about the world and its inhabitants. It now dawned upon me that for me to apply them effectively, I needed to organize them according to the various aspects of my life.

So I sat down and thought about. This is what I came up with:

According to me, life has 4 major aspects:

Here’s what I mean by each category:

Any mental models or systems you cultivate around your body, mind, behaviour, ethics are filed under here. What is filed under here shapes your personality.

What sort of mental models could get filed here? Let’s take food habits. The end goal here is, with your health in mind, to be able to decide what you can eat/should eat/shouldn’t eat in your daily life. For that, the types of mental models you can develop can be around understanding how the body processes different kinds of foods and what the body needs to keep you healthy and happy. Based on that, you can come up with systems on what to eat at different times of the day, what to eat when you go outside, how much to eat etc.

Other examples could be things like having personal grooming systems, ways to unwind, exercising everyday. Things as simple as making your bed in the morning, not leaving stuff lying around, doing the dishes as soon as you’re done eating (instead of a week later) which contribute to your overall personality would come in this category.

Interactions with others is a broad category by itself. The way you interact with friends is different from how you interact with family, which is different from co-workers interactions, which is different from how you behave with your partner, which is different from how you talk to strangers etc etc.

Over time, you’ve probably already developed an understanding of the people around you and how not to rub them the wrong way. But it never hurts to understand people’s psyche even more, re-evaluate stereotypes, and refine your techniques.

A lot of experiments have been done to understand human interactions, and, depending on the usefulness of these experiments, we can find these results and their implications neatly summarized in books. The art of persuasion, understanding flirting and body language, spotting a liar, knowing how to present— or just talk — to an audience, and maybe even clothing. The application of this science in real life could be something like what is appropriate to gift the host of a dinner you’ve been invited to, or what to wear for such an occasion that’s “just right”.

Accumulating mental models and having systems for these interactions would make decisions much less stressful, and makes you less likely to make a misstep when you talk to someone.

I’m of the opinion that money is important. Sure, there’s wisdom out there that says at the end of the day nothing really matters, it’s the experiences etc. I do get that part as well. But, money matters.

As one accumulates wealth, one is given all sorts of advice on how to grow it. They don’t really teach this when you’re a kid at school (although you may be given subtle hints — “pfft, I’ll never apply concepts of Interest in real life”). If you’re lucky, then your parents would’ve given you a Money 101 lesson through pocket money. But while that teaches you budgeting and saving money, it doesn’t touch upon growing it.

This category is about understanding how money works, and how you can leverage the financial system to grow your wealth outside of work. It helps you answer questions related to what you should invest in, how much should you invest, and what sort of returns will you see. It allows you to also question conventional wisdom (is it *really* worth buying a house?). We need to learn to look out for opportunities so they don’t go flying by, and we need to understand the risks involved. We might only see the fruit of our actions decades later, but that’s the point.

While the other aspects are targeted at specific aspects of life, this one is more nebulous. The theme is that as we grow, we start understanding that we contribute to the world in some way, and this contribution is defined by the knowledge and skill-set you currently possess. For example, my contribution right now is in the technology industry and pushing for better computation abilities in the future. But this itself is subject to change as everything evolves around us.

It is therefore our responsibility to keep evolving as well by updating ourselves with what’s happening in the world, and by gaining, developing, and using new knowledge and skills. Or else we risk becoming vestigial. Perhaps some political or social uprising could mean I get jerked out of my current life and put elsewhere. If I do need to be prepared for that, what should I do today?

Essentially, this is about updating that toy universe inside your head, running the latest version of the simulator, and ensuring you can still meaningfully contribute to that universe. Plenty of people are also involved in the same pursuit and are willing to share the knowledge that they painfully gain.

It could be things like developing an understanding for rocket science and finding that you can update your skill-set to contribute to a new age space race. Or as simple as finding a new feature in the computer language you use at work which makes your coding more efficient. The important thing is to keep developing yourself.

…

As I shape these aspects of my life, I will do my best to document the models, systems, habits, principles that I develop and my reasoning behind them. Should a reader be interested in them, I’ll update this area with the best way to filter through the posts to find what you want.

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