Output > Input
A rare missed deadline at 6K+ feet, my operating system to FOCUS, and costs of context switching
Greetings from a beaten-up body after 10 days of snowboarding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Sun Valley, Idaho.
Today’s newsletter: Altitude brain at 6,000+ feet, humility and grace under self-imposed deadlines, and the no-bathroom/bedroom phone boundary we all need. Plus Zeitgeist-y!
You may (or may not) have noticed…I didn’t send a letter last Friday.
I rarely miss my publishing deadlines—to my recollection it’s only happened once in the 2 years since I started writing weekly.
And that was the time I left my ex for good on a Friday morning, and that afternoon saw me physically having to remove the rest of my things from a shared condo.
If I ever miss a writing deadline, then you’ll know it’s because of something pretty major; a personal or physically cataclysmic, unforeseen circumstance that requires my immediate attention.
Heck I even sent a letter the week I had the flu.
Of course you could say, “Well why don’t you write and schedule your letters in advance,” to which I say, “I wish I could be that organized and sometimes I am that organized, but most weeks I’m deadline-driven and will wrap this thing up the same mornings or early afternoons before publishing that day.”
What can I say, the pressure of time-sensitive, same-day deadlines excites me.
But it’s not sustainable for longer term productivity or planning.
Last week, I was juggling concurrent client work and food writing.
I’m grateful and lucky that I have wonderful clients who trust me to deliver, but this also means I manage a lot of self-imposed deadlines.
By the end of shipping that work, I was mentally and physically fatigued.
Turns out the combo of jet lag and the altitude shift at 6,000+ feet impacted my brain and body so much I couldn’t see the letter over the finish line.
I debated sending it a day late, then two days late, and then just decided to give myself grace and let it lapse entirely.
So I’ve jotted down a little reminder for next time, which I’ll expand on when I write up my travel recaps: when moving to higher elevations and different time zones, give myself time to adjust and rest before taking on too many simultaneous deadlines and physically strenuous activities.
Which also brings me to today’s primary focus: Output > Input.
I’d love to be able to queue up letters, weeks and months ahead.
This requires a lot of focused writing time, which admittedly, lately I haven’t been good at.
Focused writing is a priority for me this year.
It’s not like I’ve never done this before; I’m a published and self-published author of 3 books, so I know what it takes to write 60K+ words over the course of several months.
I’ve written and edited endlessly for clients for major content projects and articles.
I think it’s because I’m finding it a lot easier to get distracted…and I don’t think I’m the only one.
I’ve found lately, more than ever, I have to remind myself to put down the phone, to close the other tabs, to focus & finish the single thing I’m working on.
I’m Shindy. I sold my financial content company and now I write this weekly Substack. I’m a journalist and bestselling author featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Bankrate, Cheddar TV, and HuffPost. If you haven’t yet and would like to join more than 6,480 people on the internet who follow my discerning culture, money, and lifestyle tips then tap this button:
Appmakers and advertisers will continue to outdo themselves to keep your eyeballs fixed on what they’re offering, which means I also need to exercise more restraint and take more control over where my time and attention go.
There’s a lot of merit in this.
Every time you context switch from one task to another, from doing a thing and then being interrupted by another thing, only to try to get back to the first thing—it costs you time.
For example, you’re deep in writing or editing, you hear your phone ping or your dog bark, you pick it (or your dog) up, open your email, answer an email…
Worse, if you pick up your phone and linger to check other things like social media, and before you know it, a half hour or more has passed.
Through a combo of digital marketing trickery and invasive algorithmic prowess, if you’re finding it increasingly harder to PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE or TURN AWAY FROM A SCREEN, then perhaps these tactics can help you get back to focusing on the task at hand:
Output > Input
In the morning especially, as I’m waking up, I’m trying to preserve my brainspace before the onslaught of social media, news (aka entertainment aka politics/sports), and music.
I tried hard and fast rules like, “No phone within an hour after waking up,” but it became clear how much we succumb our brains to and consume so early on, letting noise gatecrash our peaceful mornings.
My goal: Before I let anything sway my day or thoughts, I’ll focus on output of personal, individual thoughts or physical exertion before allowing the input of everything else, like media consumption.
Output examples
I’ll write down my priorities for the day and map out what I’m getting to, and when, and for how long
I’ll visualize/plan the week or month ahead; I’ll evaluate any deadlines
I’ll prepare warm water with a lemon squeeze and elderberry, and make a pourover coffee
I’ll go out on a silent walk with Mr. Bean. No phone, no podcasts, no music
Anything that requires me to think/do/execute on something before and without the invasion of other inputs and noise.
Other ways to control distracting inputs
No phones in bathroom or bedroom
You know you’re guilty of this—I am, too.
But ew, this is kinda gross from a sanitation standpoint. That text, email, show, reel, TikTok can wait.
Let’s all go back to relaxing or analogue reading of magazines or backs of hand soap and shampoo bottles during our daily ablutions.
Let’s stop bringing our phones to the bathroom.
And if you’re doing this to escape whoever or whatever’s outside of it, then there’s probably a bigger issue there, like setting better boundaries for when you can use your phone happily and freely without judgment or interruptions.
As for the bedroom, I leave my phone charging outside of it at night.
This eliminates any attempts at sneak doomscrolling or streaming or exposing myself to blue light or whatever else is really just not as important as getting to sleep.
No badge counts, no social media notifications
I’m an iPhone user, and you know those little red numbers that count how many emails or new messages you have?
I turned those off.
The result has been absolutely freeing.
I no longer feel “something’s new and I have to check it now.”
Same with social media notifications and badge counts. Off.
Nothing is that urgent or important and I’ll check messages when I get to them, not the other way around.
The benefit to my anxiety has been priceless.
Time limits and cutoffs
I set one-hour deadlines for daily social media use. And even that’s probably too much.
Some apps like Instagram have features that remind you when you’re nearing or over your limit, which I appreciate.
I exceed the limit sometimes because I’m human and also when I have to post food-writing or promotional stuff, but at least I’m alerted and aware of how much time I’m spending on my phone.
What about you? What are the ways you’re cutting your smartphone or technology addictions?
📺 I’m watching:
Love Story, FX and Hulu
I love the soundtrack, I love the actors, I love late ‘90s New York, and I love the Camelot romance. If someone (in this case Ryan Murphy) reimagined and recreated you without your knowledge or approval, then you’d hope they’d get it right. But this is entertainment and we’ll never know the truth because the late JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (the latter of whom never gave public interviews) didn’t live to see this romanticized portrayal of their lives together. Perhaps this drama can fill the ache of tragedy and the lingering ‘what could have been…’
Love is Blind, Netflix
Yeeesh, and then there’s this real-life anthropological look at modern romance, egos, traumas, miscommunications, and misunderstandings. I have a suspicion one of the men is closeted, but am also curious who makes it to the altar and leaves actually married.
📚 I’m reading:
Unreasonable Hospitality, Will Guidara
I listened to the first several chapters of this while on a roadtrip from Wyoming through Idaho. So far, I’ve gathered a few key leadership insights, from the guy who helped chef Daniel Humm get Eleven Madison Park named as the leading restaurant in the world. So far: Require team members to do a little public speaking in front of peers and colleagues, which changes their confidence and the way they carry themselves for the better (like grown-up show & tell). Assign people with ownership over certain tasks or projects and let them surprise you. I’m excited to finish this!
**
Until next time,
Shindy
On Instagram + TikTok
***
Like it
Did you enjoy this newsletter?
Please like it by clicking on the ❤️ at the very top or bottom of this post. This really helps get this newsletter recommended to Substack’s recommended shortlists.
Or, if you enjoyed this, learned something new, and it will help you in any way, then you can also show your appreciation by buying me a coffee:
Share it, tell someone else about it
When you share my newsletter with others, that is the greatest compliment.
This letter is free to all subscribers
My Substack is free for all subscribers. But paid subscriptions at $5 monthly and $4 per month charged annually are so, so appreciated. You can manage or upgrade your subscription here:
