Hi Reader,Last week I told you I was too busy drowning to learn how to swim. This week, I got out of the water. Wednesday, April 2nd was my last day at TD Bank. After two decades in banking, I walked out of a corporate office for the last time. No safety net. No “let me see how the side project goes first.” Done. I’m going all-in on Curio Chat Academy. Why Now You’ve been reading these emails long enough to know I don’t make impulsive decisions. I’m an Architect. I designed the exit before I...
9 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, I spent this week at a mastermind in New York City. Twelve people in a living room. Flip charts. Strong coffee. Real talk. I went there to both to learn and to contribute. I came back with a phrase I can’t stop thinking about: Too busy drowning to learn how to swim. The Room Here’s what I noticed. Practically every person at that room teaches something they occasionally fail to do themselves. The mindset coach who’s struggling with confidence. The boundaries expert who said yes to...
17 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, You might have noticed: no Saturday Reset for two weeks. I could give you reasons. They’d be true. But the real story is simpler — I broke my streak and my restart time was terrible. Which is ironic, because this week Iga Świątek — the former world’s top-ranked tennis player — had her own 73-match opening-round winning streak ended by fellow Polish player Magda Linette at the Miami Open. And the question everyone is asking is the wrong one. They’re asking “what happened?” The right...
24 days ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader, My next edit is late. Not dramatically late. Not crisis late. But late enough that I noticed, felt the familiar tightening, and started doing what I always do: blaming my planning. “I should have estimated better.” “I should have blocked more time.” “I should have known.” Then I caught myself. Because the problem isn’t my planning. The problem is that I’m trying to estimate something that can’t be estimated. Frying vs. Catching Some work is frying a fish. You know the steps. You...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader,[PRODUCTIVITY_TYPE GOES HERE]She kept saying “I’ll restart Monday.” Then Monday came. She wasn’t ready. “Next Monday. Fresh start.” That Monday came too. And passed. By week three, the gap was so big it felt insurmountable. The inbox was full. The commitments were backlogged. The idea of catching up made her want to crawl under her desk. So she kept waiting. For the perfect Monday. For full energy. For the feeling that she could do it. It never came. The Trap Nobody Talks About...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, It’s Valentine’s Day. So let’s talk about the relationship you keep neglecting. Not your partner. Not your kids. Not your friends. The relationship between your productivity and the rest of your life. The Three-Legged Stool Most productivity advice measures one thing: output. Tasks completed. Projects shipped. Goals hit. But output without energy leads to burnout. Output without relationships leads to isolation. Output without opportunity leads to stagnation. I call this Living...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader,Last week I told you about David. Twenty years of discipline. Calendar blocked. Routines honored. His daughter moved 3,000 miles away anyway. David’s system didn’t fail. It succeeded at the wrong thing. Here’s what I didn’t say last week: David’s problem isn’t rare. It’s the default. The Pattern I Keep Seeing Most systems are designed for your best day. Full energy. No interruptions. Perfect conditions. Then life shows up. The system was built for ceiling performance. But you live...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader,David’s system worked perfectly. Calendar blocked. Routines honored. Twenty years of discipline. His daughter moved 3,000 miles away anyway. The System That Worked David did everything the productivity books told him to. Morning routine: 5 AM, journaling, gym, inbox zero by 8. Weekly review every Sunday. Quarterly goals posted on the fridge. His boss loved him. Projects came in early. His calendar was immaculate. But his daughter Emma stopped inviting him to things. His wife started...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader,I caught a nasty bug this week. Not the kind I could debug.🐜 The flu hit hard. I spent most of the week in minimum day mode—doing only what absolutely had to happen and letting everything else slide. Here’s what I learned: my system held. What Minimum Days Look Like I completed 60% of my planned intake calls for the Lab. The other 40% got notified & with their permission, we rescheduled. I didn’t fill the Lab. But I sent every invitation to the lab I planned to send and was in touch...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader,Monday, a few people start a program I’ve spent two years designing. I’m terrified it might actually work. What I Learned Building It The hardest part wasn’t creating content. It was cutting it. I crafted 47 modules (yeah, I know…). I cut it to 12. I wrote a 200-page workbook. I cut it to 40 pages. I perfected “optional deep dives” that were actually “required reading I was too insecure to call required.” I cut those too. Simplification is harder than addition (much harder for an...
3 months ago • 1 min read