Clearing your weekend mind

And bringing in the new. / Issue 1,108

Oh, hi friends! 

A funny thing’s happened while doing these little podcast episodes. I’m absorbing and incorporating other people’s days…into my days. Basically, I’m stealing?

I’m walking more because Laura Belgray walks a lot, and I’m fully enrolled in the Laura Belgray school of life. (Also, so many people have already told me they’re addicted to her writing platform of choice 750words.com!)

I’m reaching out more to people because of the obvious joy Tyrone L. Robinson finds in connecting with collaborators.

I’m moving with more ease and speed on the small things, thanks to Jake Kahana’s focus on deep work and the big picture.

I’m not afraid to schedule interviews back-to-back because I heard from Danielle Friedman how she does it.

I’m repeating “all you have to do is…listen” because that’s what Will Arbery learned in the Succession writers’ room.

And I’m taking Katie Horwitch’s advice to edit “on paper” while I’m writing chapters for my third (!) journal, which is due later this month.

I didn’t know any of that would happen, and I’m curious to see what will happen after 10 more episodes, or 30, or 100. (Cut to five years later and I’m still doing this because I am a dog with a bone…)

Follow your instincts, my friends! Today, this weekend, through September and beyond.

Clear your mind of the processes that no longer feel right or easy or useful. Adopt new ones, even if it’s just for a day or maybe the weekend.

See how they feel.

See how you feel.

See you back here on Tuesday. 

“Then he remembered: A ‘dark energy’ had chased him in his sleep from evening to morning. He just couldn’t figure out what it wanted with him. He rose from bed thinking it would go away, but he couldn’t shake it. So he would count on the day’s routine to settle him — a lit candle; a prayer; a little instrumental music to get him going; some poetry; and then, soon after, a workout. To Majors, everything is expressed as ritual. And this includes not only fending off the moments of darkness, but also acting, of course. ‘No one has the standards that I have,’ he would tell me later.”

I’ve actually never seen a movie Jonathan Majors has been in (?!), but I was drawn to reading this big profile about his life, and it captured me throughout. It was a reminder of the calming powers of ritual — and the powers of holding yourself to your own high standards.

(Bonus: Brother Eric sent me this video of Jonathan sharing with GQ the things he can’t live without, which I also loved. Isn’t it interesting to see the things that other people value most in their lives?)