In preparation for possibly making it to a conversation tomorrow about quantified impact, I've been thinking about the impact I want my experiments to have and how I might be able to observe and measure them.

I realized that I'm less interested in looking at my impact on the wider world and more interested in looking at the impact on myself. I'm also interested in the impact on my family. This is partly due to the influence of Stoicism's focus on the things that I can control, partly the freedom of not having external performance reviews, and partly an experimental belief that if I take care of my own life and share what I'm learning with others, wider impact will follow. I don't need to seek it prematurely. I can focus instead on having a solid foundation to build on.

If I evaluated impact based on the outcomes for A-, I would leave that too vulnerable to chance (what if A- died unexpectedly?) or conflict (what if A- wanted a different path?). It feels more right to focus on doing my part well, and to evaluate myself accordingly. If other things work out well, that's a nice bonus, and keeping an eye on how those things are going can help me check if I'm on track or drifting.

With that in mind, what kind of impact do l want for my experiments, big and small?

Deeper appreciation of life, meaning: My biggest experiment at the moment is parenting. Based on research, parenting is likely to increase feelings of satisfaction and purpose, and will probably be worth the reduced autonomy and increased vulnerability. It's not so much about pleasure as it is about eudaimonia.

Deeper appreciation of W- and other people: Research is pessimistic on the effect of parenting on marital satisfaction and social connection, but I might be able to counter those effects by paying attention thoughtfully. I've certainly developed a deeper appreciation of W- over the past few years, and I feel like I'm getting to know Toronto better too. Parenting lets me see my family and my in-laws in a new light. I like being able to remember that everyone was a baby once, too, and I like being able to appreciate other people more.

Practice in equanimity: Parenting brings plenty of opportunities to apply philosophy to life. I like wasting less energy on frustration and directing more energy towards paying attention and moving forward. I've been able to keep my cool in varied situations, and now I'm working on being able to respond thoughtfully and creatively in the moment.

Push to learn and grow: I'm taking advantage of my desire to help A- by learning more about child development, early childhood education, health, science, and other things. I'm sure I'll learn about lots of random topics along the way. I'm trading a bit of self-direction for motivation and pushes out of my comfort zone. I could start tracking this by writing down what I'm learning about.

Experiences, empathy: Not only with W- and A-, but with other people too.

Immersion into children's worlds, playfulness, wonder, creativity: Good stuff.

Reduced friction, increased capabilities, increased effects: It's good to deal with constraints like sleep disruption and limited attention, since I can find the rough spots and figure out ways to improve them.

Good boundaries, assertiveness, deliberation: I'm learning more about making decisions, asserting myself, and changing my mind as needed.

Shared notes, possible business ideas, credibility: Other people might benefit from what I'm learning or doing.

Increased Emacs community, learning from each other: I'm glad I can do Emacs News. Looking forward to having more brain space so that I can contribute tweaks too, since playing with Emacs improves my capabilities and tickles my brain.

The book All Joy and No Fun promises to be an interesting summary of the research into the effects of parenting on parents.

If I can be more thoughtful about the effects I want (or need to watch out for) from the various choices I can make, then I might be able to make better decisions or invest a little effort and get even better results. It's fun thinking about these things!