Life is not a checklist.
Deep down, each one of us knows we are the hero of our own story. Yet we often find ourselves running the same race as our peers and operating on society’s timeline.
Here are a few things that help me clear away the clutter, do work that matters to me, and live the life I want.
Make your bed.
You know those elaborate morning routine posts?
Wake up at 5 a.m., meditate for 20 minutes, journal for 10, work out, make a green smoothie, read for 30 minutes...
Sigh. It stresses me out just thinking about it.
I worked too hard to gain freedom from the clock to chain myself to another rigid schedule.
If those routines energize you, that's fantastic. Keep going.
But if you prefer something a little less hustle culture, just make your bed.
That’s it! You’ve already won the first decision of your day. Everything else builds from there.
Go do awesome stuff. Connect with others. Take care of yourself.
Control the scroll.
You know that feeling when you open Instagram to check one message and suddenly an hour disappears?
I'm not going to tell you to delete social media. It connects us to people we care about and helps us find communities we'd never discover otherwise.
The key is owning your relationship with it.
Here’s what works for me:
I use social media almost exclusively from my computer. On mobile, I moved the apps to a folder on my phone’s last screen. These small friction points ensure I’m choosing to engage, not just falling into a habit.
When you scroll, do it intentionally. Set aside the time and enjoy it!
And here’s a Facebook hack:
Use the Feeds page instead of the default one on the main page. I bookmarked it so I can go directly there. Here I can engage with just my friends and groups without recommended posts. Also, I see fewer ads.
Inbox zero.
You may work in an environment where how much email you get and how often you check it aren’t under your control, but take back what you can.
Get rid of everything you're not actually reading.
Those daily emails from companies you bought from once? Unsubscribe.
The list you joined to get a free ebook? Gone.
Decision fatigue is real. Every email requires mental capacity to respond, save, or delete. Use that energy on work that matters.
I subscribe to only a handful of newsletters that I read from start to finish, take notes on in Notion, and then delete. This keeps my reading short and intentional.
Subscription emails get deleted at the end of the week, read or not.
Receipts and travel documents get sorted automatically using inbox rules.
Do you have thousands of unread emails? Pick a date and delete everything older. It could be 30 days, 90 days, or even a year. Then work backwards from there to clear the clutter. You'll be surprised how freeing it feels.
Focus, focus, focus.
Focus time helps 10x productivity.
Multitasking isn’t a real thing. Activity switching means that you need 23 minutes to re-engage with your original task, longer if it's complex work.
I like mid-morning focus time that runs until noon. Then, I do the same thing again in the afternoon.
How much time you devote to deep work is up to you.
The key is protecting this time. There are no meetings, no phone calls, and no “quick questions.” It’s you and your most important work.
This is where you get into flow and complete substantial projects instead of just checking things off a “to-do” list.
Get Present.
How much mental energy do you waste regretting past mistakes and worrying about the future?
When you catch yourself spiraling into “I should have” and “what if,” remember that the present is the only place where you can create or change anything.
You owe it to yourself and those around you to be fully present right now.
Keep it simple.
Everything I'm talking about comes down to two principles:
Be intentional.
Simplify your life.
Keep what brings value to your life and work.
You're building a business and a life that works for you.
What's one thing you could simplify this week? Hit reply and let me know. I read every response.
Until next week,
Tanya Holden
Nomadic Income