3x3: On Future Problems, Owning Your Time, and Taking Real Breaks

Hi, it’s Tom.

The past few weeks were quite busy for me and as I don’t want to stick to an arbitrary schedule here, I’m only back now with new life-changing ideas to share.

I also wanted to give a warm welcome to all the new people who joined recently! Congratulations on making great decisions 😁 

This week I’m sharing with you:

• How I stopped worrying about problems I don’t even have

• Why our calendar defines our lives

• How short breaks massively changed my energy at the end of the day

Let’s dive in.

1. Stop Solving Problems You Don’t Have

A few months ago, I spotted a sneaky new form of procrastination in my life.

Worrying about future potential problems.

It’s sneaky because at first you convince yourself that you’re saving your ass from very big future troubles.

When in reality, you’re mostly avoiding the work you should be doing right now.

Because if you want to make real progress, you must be solving the problem right in front of you. Not a hypothetical one that might or might not appear in a foreign future.

That is pure procrastination. My grandmother used to tell me a story about it. She’s 95 years old and writes books.

Yes, you read well, she was born pre-WWII and she’s been writing published books for the past 5 years.

Whenever she’s starting to work on a new book, comes a point where she ends up thinking she should repaint her bathroom. Whenever this happens, she knows it’s time to get to work and start writing.

It’s the same for me. Whenever I start focusing on future issues, I know it’s time to do serious work and solve current issues.

This single mindset shift has saved me hours of overthinking and helped me get so much more done than before.

And that’s only one of the benefits. The other one is that you’ll be way less anxious and worried. And you’ll develop your trust in your ability to figure things (shit) out as they come.

Question: Are you focused on immediate issues? Or are you stuck obsessing over problems that don’t exist?

2. Your Time Will Get Filled —But By Whom?

Ever started to dream about a quiet weekend with a run, a book, some sun… and ended up helping a good friend move, running errands, and sitting through a family lunch you didn’t want to attend?

Yeah. Same here!

And the reason is super simple. We don’t plan enough and don’t commit enough to our plans.

Because: If you don’t fill your calendar, someone else will.

Your boss. Your friends. Your family. A delivery guy. Random requests. Even algorithms.

They’re all waiting to jump in and make their priorities, your priority.

The book you meant to read. The project you wanted to finish. The trip you dreamed of taking. They’re all gone.

Sure, it feels good to “go with the flow” sometimes. But only when you truly end up doing what you want.

And giving up your time to help others build their dreams often means you’re not building yours.

There’s a line from a French TV show that hit people hard recently. I’ll translate it for you:

“He wanted to sit for 30 seconds. He ended up sitting down for 20 years.”

Too often we let our dreams slip by, because there seem to be other priorities.

But don’t mix up your priorities with other people’s. It’s very easy and people can be very convincing when it’s about getting extra help to achieve their own dreams.

So, owning your calendar isn’t selfish. It’s actually self-respect.

Question: Does your calendar reflect your priorities, or someone else’s?

3. Real Breaks Beat Long Work Blocks

I always knew breaks were important, yet I never took them seriously.

When you’re young, motivated and in a very competitive environment, you tend not to feel the hard work.

I started my career in Mergers & Acquisitions, worked 80-hour weeks as if it was a 9 to 5. Every now and then I went up to 120 hours. Always available. No real weekends, no vacations, no time off.

I hope you don’t find that impressive? It’s not.

It’s 100% unhealthy on so many levels.

Mainly because when you’re working 16 hours on four hours of sleep, you can’t truly focus properly anymore.

Because fatigue kills focus.

Anyways, I’m telling you all this because I kind of went hard on the “non-stop working method” historically.

And recently, I decided to change that and try incorporating short breaks during the day.

At first, it wasn’t easy. I had nothing to do during these breaks, so I kept getting pulled back to work once I had refilled my water.

But after a few days, I added some small, playful activities to fully disconnect.

Started playing with a bilboquet. Flipping through a dictionary. Tossing a ball.

Nothing big. But it changed everything.

Now I can focus longer, think clearer, and finish the day with way more energy in the tank.

Where I used to want to crash on my bed at 6pm, now I feel like I can still enjoy my evenings.

And if you’re worried short breaks might slow you down, they won’t.

Your focus will get sharper, and you’ll actually end up working less.

Question: What’s one simple activity you could add between work sessions to make your breaks actual breaks?

One Final Thought

• Worrying about fake problems steals energy from real ones

• If you don’t claim your time, someone or something else will

• Focus thrives on recovery, not excess

See you very soon. I’m running my 2nd marathon this Sunday, so I should have new ideas and stories to share!

Unless I get distracted by a problem that doesn’t exist ;)

À la prochaine,

Tom

PS: What’s New For Me This Quarter:

This quarter, I’m upgrading my online boutique so you'll soon be able to choose from a curated set of visuals. But hey, you can already grab my illustrations for your home, office, gym, or even your restroom (won't take offense)!

I’ve also started coaching a few lucky folks, and the results are impressive. I’m working on a full coaching plan that I'll officially launch on my website by the end of the quarter. If you’re interested in taking your organization, productivity, and lifestyle design to the next level, reach out ASAP (reply to this email).

And if you simply want to show some love and support, you can always buy me a book.