God. I'm sitting here at 11:43 PM on a Tuesday night, wondering why I'm even writing this when I could be watching another episode of that show I've already seen four times. You know the one.

Life's funny that way. We all know what we should be doing, but somehow Netflix always wins. My friend Jake texted me last week: "How do you actually get shit done?" His timing was impeccable—I'd just spent 2 hours scrolling through Instagram while my to-do list collected digital dust.

Here's teh truth: most of us are sleepwalking. We're playing life like it's somebody else's game.

The Wi-Fi Survival Trap

You weren't born to hit snooze four times, scroll through your phone until your eyes hurt, pay bills that make you wince, and then fall asleep watching reruns while your dreams collect dust in the corner.

That's not living. That's just surviving with better technology.

Back in 2018, I had this moment where I realized I could name every character in three different TV shows but couldn't remember the last time I'd done something that made me feel alive. Poor me. I was breathing but not really living.

What if you wrote terrible poetry every Thursday? What if you spent Sundays working on that weird app idea? What if you took photos of random puddles because they looked like tiny universes?

I'm not saying you need to become some productivity robot. The goal isn't just escaping poverty.

The goal is knowing who the hell you are when you turn 40.

Why "I'll Do It Later" Is Killing Your Dreams

"I'll do it later" might as well be tattooed on most people's foreheads.

Listen. Vague intentions are dream-killers. They're worse than actual failure.

"I want to write more." Great. My neighbor's cat probably wants to write more too.

"I'll start exercising next week." No. You absolutely will not.

Instead, try this:

I will finish one embarrassingly bad short story by the 15th.

I will cook three meals this week that aren't just pasta with a side of existential dread.

I will apply to five jobs by Friday, even if I feel completely unqualified.

Your brain loves easy goals with zero pressure. That's why you can watch a 20-minute YouTube video about productivity and forget everything you learned before the video even ends.

The 100×100 Formula That Actually Works

Forget that 10,000 hours nonsense. Unless you're trying to become the next Yo-Yo Ma, you don't need that kind of commitment to get good at something.

Try this instead: 100 minutes a day. For 100 days.

That's it. Do that, and you'll be better than 90% of the "someday" people.

You don't need talent. You need a timer and fewer excuses.

Write. Paint. Code. Make those awful TikTok dances until they become slightly less awful.

In 100 days, you won't recognize yourself. You'll be one of those annoying people who actually finish things.

And let's be honest—100 minutes is less time than you currently waste doomscrolling and waiting for your life to magically transform.

8+8+8: The Math That Nobody Follows

The formula is simple:

8 hours working
8 hours sleeping
8 hours for yourself

If you just snorted with laughter, it's because your current reality looks more like:

10 hours working
5 hours panicking about work
6 hours staring at screens
3 hours of garbage sleep

I spent $4K on therapy to learn what I could've read in any basic health book: rest isn't optional. It's maintenance.

Your brain wasn't designed to run on energy drinks and spite. When you're burned out, everything feels like sandpaper, adn nobody wants to be around you when you're essentially a human cheese grater.

The Boring Secret Successful People Hide

My editor bet me $20 that I wouldn't include this part because it's too honest: successful people don't want to do the work either.

They just do it anyway.

The gym? Boring as hell.

Tracking progress? Mind-numbing.

Daily writing? Often feels like pulling teeth with tweezers.

They build empires on routines that are slightly less exciting than watching paint dry.

What looks like talent is usually just someone outsmarting their own excuses day after day after day.

Purpose Is Overrated. Try Meaning Instead.

"Find your purpose" works great in Disney movies and quarter-life crises.

Most of us don't have ONE big cosmic purpose.

We have Tuesdays. We have boring Wednesdays. We have those weird Sundays that feel like they're 48 hours long.

You create meaning by being present. By paying attention. By doing something—even if that something is terrible at first.

You feel fulfilled when you help someone. When you follow your curiosity down weird rabbit holes.

You don't need some billboard-worthy life mission. Just stuff that makes you feel human instead of like an NPC in someone else's game.

This Isn't Some Grand System

I feel stupid now for even writing this, like I'm pretending to have life figured out. I don't. Not even close.

This isn't a blueprint or some revolutionary system. It's just a few things that work better than pretending your life will organize itself.

Nothing here requires vision boards or personality transplants.

I'm not asking you to wake up at 4 AM, jump in freezing water, or journal your intentions while burning sage.

These are just the quieter habits—the ones that don't look impressive on Instagram but somehow keep your life from completely falling apart.

His response: "This is the kick in the ass I needed."

Maybe it's yours too.

I share thoughts like these every few days in my newsletter. If you found this helpful, you might like those too. Or not. I'm not your boss.