field-notes

Most people don’t lack discipline. They lack containment. They say yes too often. They adjust too late. They let weeks decide for them instead of deciding the week. So effort leaks everywhere. Discipline isn’t about forcing yourself to do hard things. It’s about reducing how often you

Most people don’t need a breakthrough. They need orientation. They’re not lazy. They’re not unmotivated. They’re not incapable. They’re just pointing their effort in too many directions at once. When everything feels important, nothing moves. When everything is urgent, nothing is directional. So energy gets

Most people don’t need more effort. They need fewer directions. Energy gets wasted when it’s split across too many ideas, too many goals, too many “shoulds.” Intensity feels productive, but it scatters quickly. Direction does something quieter. It narrows. It removes. It gives effort somewhere to land. Progress

There’s a particular kind of tired that comes from holding it together for too long. Not the kind that sleep fixes. Not the kind that disappears after a day off. It’s the tired that comes from being the steady one. The capable one. The person who keeps things

Nothing is actually wrong. You’re just tired. This is the hour your brain starts auditioning for a reality show: • burn it down • reinvent yourself • rewrite the plan • question every life choice since 2009 Hard pass. You are allowed to: • pause without quitting • stop without failing • go to bed without

Starting over is usually procrastination in better packaging. It feels productive. It feels clean. It feels like this time will be different. But most of the time, nothing actually needed restarting. Continuing is quieter. Less dramatic. Far more effective. Momentum doesn’t come from fresh beginnings. It comes from returning

Somewhere along the way, some of us put on an invisible costume that says: If I look busy enough, it must be working. Tabs open. Notes everywhere. Coffee reheated three times. Zero actual movement. It’s wild how convincing fake productivity can feel when you’re wearing it. The costume

There is a very specific phase of life where you believe a fresh notebook will fix everything. You buy it. You protect it. You write neatly for three days. You reorganize your life in your head. You feel powerful. You feel reborn. By Day Four: • You missed one thing • The

What Fireweed Is