Skip to content

Category: Living Well

Disorganized Time

Published on December 4, 2025

A quote I uploaded yesterday that I’ve been thinking about a lot:

“Because work has temporal structure, we unconsciously associate leisure with temporal disorganization. And over this deadening rhythm is played, again and again, the same psychological bolero: Monday, the Day of Wrath; Tuesday and Wednesday, the grind; weary Thursday, across whose fallowness Friday, a prostitute-goddess of inexplicably renewable freshness, beckons with a promise of unspecified fulfillment. This promise is based on the lie that human nature, unfulfilled by work, can be fulfilled by leisure. Of course the promise is never kept; we spend Saturday and Sunday consecrating the week’s successes and failures to oblivion, in deepening dread of the Monday to come.”

Robert Grudin, Time And The Art Of Living

I hadn’t really thought about it like this before, but I do feel this strange urge to be anti-temporal-structure when off work.

I still usually get done main priorities (i.e. workout, chores, errands, etc)—but definitely in a more disorderly way. I usually sleep in later… Am on my phone longer… Give into cravings more…

And while it’s true that it’s precisely this that gives leisure time at least some of its pleasure, I oftentimes feel like I finish those same days feeling less good about the day overall… Like it was mostly wasted…

And while, yes, we need this temporal disorganization space as a sort of Yin to the Yang of work, I also think we need to be more mindful than ever of what we’re choosing to do during “disorganized time…” Are we passive-entertainment-binging or casually reading? Are we TikTok-ing or hobbying? Are we actively living or screen vegetating?

Something to think about…

Books And Blogs

Published on December 1, 2025

On weekday afternoons, as I’m sipping my coffee, I’ll read some insightful content from books and blogs.

Three of the books I’ll check out are page-a-days that feature one focused idea for each day of the year and there are maybe 5-10 blogs I’ll digest in the same way—a short insight sent out either daily or weekly.

What I’ve been feeling lately, however, is that it’s too much jumping around.

…I’ll read maybe 5-10 pages of content in total, but it’s like each page is authored by another person… and I’m noticing that I’m not retaining the ideas as well because I have to context switch so frequently.

What I want to shift to is 5-10 pages from a single content source/person and then rotate who I read from daily. This allows me to keep the context straight and read more seamlessly one idea to the next.

I feel similarly with social media.

I’ll watch video shorts for an hour and feel like some of the stuff is really great—but can’t remember any of it when I’m done. When I watch long-form videos, however, I usually leave with at least a few take-aways.

This is a shift that more of us need to make in our lives.

…Away from shorter, shorter, shorter… and find ways to move towards the opposite. Because one minute of math, one minute of social studies, and one minute of science taught in rotation for 60 rotations is NOT the same as 60 minutes of math, 60 minutes of social studies, and 60 minutes of science taught straight up.

…When do you feel like you retain what you consume the best?

“Please, Help Yourself”

Published on December 1, 2025

While dropping off flyers at houses for the door-to-door food drive, one house had a box of snacks on the porch with a sign that read, “Please, help yourself :)”

This came in stark contrast to just about every other house that had “Beware of Dog” posters, “You’re Being Recorded” warnings, “No Soliciting” notices, “Protected by Whatever Security System” signs, bolt locked storm doors, barking dogs, extra fences, etc.

It was a brief window into the life of a mail/delivery person and how cold and hostile it can feel going onto people’s property… not that there’s anything wrong with anything listed above… but what a nice gesture at one of the busiest, most stressful times of the year for their line of work.

Flashing Your Life Before Your Eyes

Published on November 26, 2025

The benefit to having your life “flash before your eyes” is that you get it back… after those terrifying moments of feeling like it was lost.

…And the gratitude that comes with it is unmatched.

I had my life flash before my eyes recently and unmatched gratitude was slapped into my perspective in a way that’s hard to achieve through gratitude journaling.

And what came from it wasn’t just a few moments of contentment, but an overall slower pace… a more undivided attention throughout the day… more carefully placed actions and words with each interaction…

I hope you don’t experience a terrifying moment. But, I do hope you’re able to flash your life before your eyes and really elicit the power of the unmatched gratitude that accompanies it.

It really is unbelievable that we’re here…

What Lessons Do You Take Out Of Martial Arts Into The World?

Published on November 19, 2025

…Is one of the questions I fought over yesterday. My answers came quick and felt surprisingly solid once written. Each borrowed from another great human who came before… being shared with you today so you might borrow and share them into other corners of the world.

1. Be the change you wish to see in the world. This is a lesson drilled into me by the head master himself. He preaches constantly how important it is to lead the lifestyle you’re promoting. If you’re teaching discipline, be disciplined. If you’re teaching health and fitness, be healthy and fit. If you’re teaching respect, be respectful. And so on. We need to be who we want our students to become.

    2. Never underestimate the power of a small group to make change—for it’s the only thing that ever has. Helping one student with a single martial move can be discouraging when we hear about influencers influencing millions from a single post… but, it’s only because the perspective is wrong. It’s not about comparison, it’s about gift giving. It’s about doing what good you can with what you have. It’s about starting somewhere and committing.

    3. Life grows in proportion to courage—be bold. I’ve stepped onto some of the biggest sport martial arts stages in the U.S.—and I nearly crapped my pants each time. Which is precisely what courage is: feeling fear and doing the thing anyway. So many doors have opened for me since then. The same with the courage it has taken to publish these writings daily or speak publicly or do something insane physically. Life grew for me after each step taken into the realm of fear.

    Going From Reading To Riffing In A Public Speaking Setting

    Published on November 17, 2025

    Most of my part-time martial arts instructors, at the end of a class they teach, will read a typed out “Mat-Chat” to the class as a way to connect the physical training to the mental/character development.

    Some of the more senior instructors and masters will look at the “Mat Chat” topic and then riff on it based on what comes to mind for them in those moments and from their extensive experience.

    How does one get to the point of being able to “riff” on topics, off-the-cuff, and do it in a professional setting to paying clients in a way that’s confident, yet concise and provides a high enough value?

    Simple: by investing enough time, energy, and effort into the topic. Eventually you’ll absorb enough of the key points and ideas that you’ll be able to speak freely about them without the prompt of the pre-written words.

    If you want to be able to do better than just regurgitating what’s on the paper, you’ll have to do deeper dives that extend beyond the paper itself. If you only ever read the paper, of course that’s all you’ll be able to talk about because that’s the only source you’ll have to pull from.

    …You have to expand your sources. You have to interact and examine more closely the material. You’ll have to be more curious and intentional with the topics at hand. You’ll have to do more inner work that’ll allow you to unpack and relate personal experiences. You’ll have to go above and beyond.

    …That is, if you want to be able to do something that’s above and beyond what the rest can/would do.

    Being Busy Is A Choice

    Published on November 17, 2025

    Dear busy person,

    It’s good to remember that being busy is a choice. And that you don’t have to do everything during the day that you do…

    …When, in fact, you choose to do it all because each task outweighs the consequences of not doing it (otherwise, why do it?).

    …And if that’s true, then why do it all with resentment? With anger? With upset? With anxiety? With rage?

    …If it’s true that doing each task is your top choice for things to do in that moment because it outweighs the consequences of not… why not do it with joy? With presence? With humor? With care? With grace?

    Why not try to really enjoy your busyness rather than try to hastily get to the busyness finish line (is there even such a thing)? Don’t you think busyness is precisely what life is made up of? If not that, then what? And if life isn’t experienced in the bulk of the everyday, then when?

    …Something to reflect on throughout your day today. :)