We live in a world engineered to pull you in a thousand different directions, and then we wonder why we feel scattered, inconsistent, and stuck. You try to focus, but your brain is already halfway to the next thing. You try to eat better, but convenience wins. You tell yourself you’ll lock in tomorrow.

Tomorrow keeps moving.

This week’s newsletter is about taking your control back, at the level that actually matters.

Not with some dramatic life overhaul. Not with a new productivity system you’ll abandon in a week. But by tightening the screws on three things that quietly run your life:

I recently read Range by David Epstein - a book about how history shows generalists winning over time in a world so obsessed with specializing. And as reading has it, I took away a side-bar point that has nothing to do with the overall aim of the book, but one that certainly struck me as interesting.

In Range, David makes a point that should make us a little uncomfortable. That is this idea that distraction isn’t just something that happens to you, it’s something you train yourself to expect.

He explains that over time, your brain builds an internal rhythm. Check. Switch. Scroll. Repeat. Do it enough, and that rhythm doesn’t need your phone anymore. It runs on autopilot.

So you sit down to focus. Phone in another room. Notifications off. And somehow… you still feel the itch. The urge to check something. Anything.

That’s not mental weakness he argues. That’s conditioning.

These were his supporting points that stuck with me:

The Real Cost

This isn’t just about getting more done.

It’s about how shallow your thinking becomes when your attention is constantly fractured. You stop connecting ideas. You stop questioning things. You default to reacting instead of actually thinking.

You’re busy all day, but nothing meaningful sticks.

And eventually, that spills over into everything - your work, your conversations, even how present you are with people you care about.

So what do you do about it?

Luckily you don’t need some elaborate system. You need to reset your baseline.

Start with this: 30 minutes a day, no distractions.

No phone. Not “face down” - out of the room. No bouncing between tabs. One task. That’s it.

And when it starts to feel uncomfortable (and it will) that’s the point.

That restless, itchy feeling? That’s your brain coming off its dopamine drip. Most people run from it. Don’t. Sit there. Let it suck for a bit. Because on the other side of that discomfort is something most people don’t have anymore:

The ability to actually think.

Every once in a while I venture away from my chicken and rice to try a new recipe from Instagram, and every once in a while one sticks. Not because it’s fancy, but because it checks every box: easy, filling, tastes incredible, and actually supports how I want to feel.

For the past few weeks, this has been that meal for me and Allison:

Seasoned ground beef + roasted sweet potato + avocado + cottage cheese + hot honey.

It sounds a little chaotic. It’s not. It’s elite. It’s what of those meals that allows you stay in a calorie deficit, make a big dent in your daily protein goal, and leave you feeling actually full and satisfied.

And the best part? You can prep it in under 20 minutes and batch it for the entire week.

What’s in it:

You’re hitting protein, carbs, and fats in one bowl without overthinking it.

Macro Breakdown (approximate per serving):

It’s one of those meals where you feel full, energized, and not immediately hunting for snacks an hour later.

How we prep it (so it actually sticks):

When it’s time to eat, you’re just assembling, not cooking.

How to build your bowl:

That’s it.

This is the kind of meal that removes friction. No decision fatigue. No complicated recipes. Just real food that tastes good and fuels your day. We’ll probably have it 4–5 times this week, and I can tell you I won’t get tired of it.

That’s usually how you know you’ve found a keeper. Turn the cutting brain on autopilot with a few recipes like this one.

At the beginning of the year I discussed how I wanted to hone my focus in on books that I knew would prompt me to think the way I want to be thinking, and to actually take action. That is a combination of a small variety of new books, but more importantly, diving deeper into the ones I have already read.

If The Obstacle Is the Way (book one in this series) teaches us how to handle adversity, Discipline Is Destiny is about what you do when things are quiet, when no one’s watching, when nothing is forcing your hand, when it’s just you and your habits.

Holiday pulls from Stoic philosophy and real historical figures to make the overarching point clear: discipline isn’t punishment, it’s power. It’s the ability to govern yourself when it would be easier not to.

Here are five ideas from my re-read that stuck out to me this time around:

1. “Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.”
Discipline isn’t about restriction, it’s about control over your reactions, your impulses, your direction.

2. “The body should be treated more rigorously than the mind.”
Holiday consistently emphasizes physical discipline as the foundation. If you can’t control your body, you won’t control much else.

3. “The person who is disciplined in small things can be trusted with big things.”
Your standards don’t rise in big moments, they reveal themselves.

4. “Pleasure can be a distraction from purpose.”
Not all rewards are equal. Some pull you further from who you’re trying to become.

5. “Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, whether you feel like it or not.”
This is the whole game. Feelings are optional. Action isn’t.

The Single Most Actionable Idea from the Book: Build a ‘non-negotiable’ list

If you try to be disciplined everywhere, you’ll fail. The key is to be disciplined in a few critical areas that anchor everything else.

Pick 3–5 daily non-negotiables:

These aren’t goals. They’re standards. You don’t debate them. You don’t negotiate with them. You just execute. Discipline isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being consistent when it would be easier not to be.