Hello friend,

I hope you are well.

It's been a busy week—one where I have absolutely had to take my own advice about choosing what not to do. How about you?

When things get hectic, I rely heavily on my well-established systems and routines, such as my daily start-up and shut-down and my weekly plan and review. They’ve proved their worth again this week—and it’s prompted me to pull together a simple guide explaining all of my systems. I will share it with you soon.

Here's your digest for this week...

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✏️ Doodle Essays

​This week's doodle essay is about where to start when you want to focus. Most of us start by deciding what we want to focus on—where to put our time and energy. We try to identify the most important task.

But perhaps focus doesn’t start with deciding what to do. Maybe it starts with deciding what not to do. They sound the same, but there's a subtle difference.

📚 Read

Here are some articles from other creators I thought you might enjoy:

• ​This article from Amanda Goetz on Self shares a creative way to think about balance: Character Theory.
• ​This article from Work Brighter is a helpful reminder of why shame-based motivation doesn't work.
• While I appreciate it's a bit off-topic, I loved this illustration of collective nouns from Jono at Sketchplanations.

If you're curious about the books I'm reading, you can see my library in Tana here: Library.

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🧰 Tools

A few people have asked how I've been getting on with my Brick (mobile blocking) device. Take a look at my Screen Time from the first week of using it below. I'll be honest, I was shocked: 81% down!

A few weeks in, I've worked out that the main time I want to "brick" my mobile is in the evening, from around 6 pm onwards. Of course, the novelty has worn off now, so I sometimes forget. Thankfully, Brick has a schedule feature so my phone is now automatically "bricked" from a set time. I've only started using this setting recently, so watch this space for a progress update.

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📺 Watch

​This short film (just over 2 minutes) doesn't have any words, but the message is clear:

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I'm managing a few muscle aches and pains at the moment, which is annoying, but on the plus side, I rediscovered the joy of Yoga with Adrienne:

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🎧 Listen

Here are a few podcast episodes I liked this week:

• ​This episode of the Zoe Science and Nutrition podcast about flavour (linked with overall health and wellbeing) was fascinating. I did have to fast-forward the parts where they tasted things... that's not something I wish to hear! Even so, a great listen.
• ​This short and sweet episode of the Squiggly Careers podcast explains how you don't need a perfect plan to change careers (and what to do instead).

I listen to podcasts in the Snipd app, but you can find shows and episodes I recommend on your preferred podcast platform. Use my referral link to get a month of Snipd Premium for free.

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That's all from me today. Have a great week, and I will be in touch again next weekend.

Best wishes,

Martine

P.S. If you live in Guernsey, I'm working on a personal project that I'd love to tell you about.

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