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Hey friend,
A few days ago, I got a text from my uncle asking if I wanted to come visit them in Vietnam next month.
He’ll be there for Tết (Vietnamese New Year), along with my Vietnamese aunt and new baby cousin who I haven’t met yet 😁
I thought about his question briefly.
“Sounds good!” I replied.
“I’ll book my flight this weekend.”
Now, I won’t pretend I’m not capable of spontaneous travel decisions. I’ve even booked flights within 24 hours of takeoff before lol.
But this felt different.
It wasn’t adrenaline or impulse or excitement-driven urgency.
It was a calm decision.
Almost boring (in a good way).
For a long time, even good opportunities felt heavy, mainly because every “yes” came with internal math:
Work obligations
Deadlines
Money
Timing
The opportunity could’ve been great.
But the truth was, my life had very little margin. And when there’s no margin, even good things feel heavy.
And that’s why over these past few weeks, I’ve been trying to intentionally create more space in my schedule.
Saying no to lower-value work, being more selective about what gets my best energy… basically letting my days be less crowded.
I’m still busier than I’d like to be, and sometimes more rushed than I’d like to be.
But through this process of deliberately protecting my time and attention, I’ve noticed something in a very real way:
Decisions have been feeling lighter.
That’s something I want more of this year.
Before you go…
What’s one thing you’d like to make more room for this year? And what’s one thing you might need to say “no” to to create it?
Hit reply and LMK,
Joshua
📱 OneSec: Creating space between impulse and intention
One small tool that’s genuinely helped me protect my attention is an app called OneSec.
This app does something very simple:
It adds a short pause before you open distracting apps like Instagram, X, Threads, YouTube, etc.
I know it might sound less effective than a strict app blocker (like Opal), but here’s what I’ve found in practice:
When I used hard blockers, I’d often turn them off because I needed social media for work… and then forget to turn them back on 🙃
OneSec doesn’t block anything.
It just interrupts the autopilot and makes the decision to use social media (or any app, really) conscious again.
If you’re trying to protect your attention a bit more in 2026, you can check out the app here:
(That’s an affiliate link. I only share tools I actually use and like.)
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