Hi everyone đź‘‹,
🔥 What I have been doing this week
🕸 My main task this week has been buying the domain and setting up hosting for my new website where the main articles will be written and posted.
It is surprising how much time this can take up and sometimes feels a bit like “fake productivity”.
đź“ş I went back and watched the very first episode of Grand Designs on Channel 4 (UK) with a focus to the detail. I will be publishing my lessons learned shortly, but first am navigating the minefield of Copyright.
🎂 We celebrated my daughters first birthday this week, I don’t know where that year has gone. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience but one of the most testing too. Reminds me of the quote “The days are long, but the years are short” by Gretchen Rubin. On to the next one!
đź“ť National Planning Policy Framework
✍️ Quote of the week
This is one of the quickest assessment you can carry out on a plot of land that you may have in mind as a self-build plot. The National Planning Policy Framework guides the decision making process of local councils and their Local Plans that affect their areas. One of the main criteria you have to meet is for it to be a “Sustainable Development”. Sustainable Development is achieved through three objectives – social, economic and environmental.
I’ll be writing an article that digs into more depth on this subject as it is foundational to the planning process. Click subscribe to be informed when this comes out.
đź“– Interesting Things I’ve Read
What I Think Is Going On – Ray Dalio discusses his views on the current relationship between the US and China and the likelihood of war. Best to have a zoomed out view of the larger economics at play because building a house is pretty pointless in a world war environment! I suggest giving Ray a follow as his writing is incredible at explaining how the economic machine works. And if you find his articles good, you’ll love his books.
đź”— Links
Here are links to books and other resources that I may have mentioned above or that I think you might find useful.
Book/Article Snippet
Apps I Use
Readwise – I’ve been paying for Readwise since 2021 and gained access to Readwise Reader Beta in 2022 and find it extremely useful for knowledge retention and research. I pass all my email newsletters through it and whenever I get a spare few minutes I can pick up where I last left off without any friction.
If you sign up using the link you’ll get an extra month free (two in total) so you can really test out the software without it costing you a penny. They don’t advertise widely so it is down to word of mouth like this that gets the tool new users. I find it invaluable.
Monzo – Carefully budgeting my spending is fundamental to being able to save towards the build. Monzo has helped me track and itemise spending for years. I now pay for the Premium account which gives me access to extra features and things like airport lounge access, phone insurance, worldwide travel insurance so it practically pays for itself. If you join using this link we’ll both get ÂŁ5 (which I’ll use towards the build!).
Socials
I’m now on Instagram as @measuretwicebuildonce!
Thanks for reading!
Brendan