99 Why this simple and overlooked habit makes you wealthy and productive
No. 99 – 8 Dec 2024
Welcome to the 99th edition of the True Progress Newsletter, a weekly newsletter on cultivating inner control and resilience for high performance.
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Insights
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You don't burn out because you're weak or something's wrong with you—you burn out because you overuse your finite energy sources. Every task, decision, and emotion uses your mental, emotional, and physical energy. Without rest, you're just confusing exhaustion for effort.
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Your biggest creative breakthroughs happen when you're not actively working on them. Studies show that downtime allows your unconscious mind to solve complex problems better than conscious effort ever could.
And downtime, like taking walks in the park, lets your focus, a finite resource, recharge. No focus = no concentration = 0 results.
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“Creativity is the residue of time wasted.”
— Albert Einstein
Challenge
When energy is low or focus starts slipping, try this science-backed recharge routine:
Breathe: Take 5 deep belly breaths, inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 4, and exhaling for 4.
Move: Do 30 seconds of light stretching or movement to release tension.
Visualize: Close your eyes and visualize completing your next task successfully and calmly.
Self-Talk: Repeat a positive statement, like “I have the energy to handle what’s next.”
Ground: Spend 1 minute focusing on your surroundings—notice colors, textures, and sounds.
Why it works: Breathing regulates your nervous system, movement boosts circulation, visualization activates your performance state, self-talk rewires negative thinking, and grounding restores presence. Don’t underestimate its power.
Systems
Relationships & the Master To-Do List for Total Clarity
No, I’m not talking about your personal relationships. I’m talking about the connections between your files, folders, projects, and tasks.
It’s easy to feel completely overwhelmed when juggling multiple to-do lists—it’s chaotic, time-wasting, and, frankly, exhausting. Want to regain control and feel more organized? Here’s how:
Consolidate: Merge all your to-do lists into one master list. Having a single source of truth simplifies everything.
Organize with Relationships: Tag each task by its associated project or area. This acts as a quick cue, guiding you to the bigger picture when you need more detail.
Add Key Properties: Enhance your tasks with meaningful details like due dates, “do” dates (when you commit to working on it), and priority levels.
By creating a system that reflects how your projects and tasks interconnect, you’ll stop spinning your wheels and start working with clarity and purpose.
Take control.
Book Recommendation
The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
A classic book that everyone should read if they want to maximize being and enjoying the present moment, rather than letting it slip away. It's a masterclass in managing energy rather than time. It teaches you how to build daily routines that prioritize recovery and enable peak performance.
Till next week,
— Carlos & Stef
