Hello [Name],
There is a word that shapes many of our days, and most of the time we don’t even notice how much power it has!
That word is should.
It appears in small, almost invisible ways.
You wake up and think, "I should get up earlier."
You sit down at your desk and think, "I should already be further along."
You pass someone at work or scroll past a photo online and think, "I should be doing more, trying harder, becoming better."
Each thought feels minor in isolation, but over the course of a week those “shoulds” begin to stack on top of one another until they form a kind of invisible load that you carry everywhere. You may not be able to point to a single source of stress, yet you feel behind, as if life is grading you on a standard you never agreed to.
Today, try an exercise that brings those hidden pressures into view.
Take a blank page and divide it into three columns. At the top of the first column write “Working On.” At the top of the second write “Should Be Working On.” At the top of the third write “Want To Be Working On.”
In the first column, list the things that are currently receiving your time and energy, whether you like it or not.
In the second column, write the tasks and expectations that linger in the background of your mind, the ones that make you feel slightly guilty even when you are busy.
In the third column, write what genuinely interests you, what feels meaningful, what you would choose if you were guided by curiosity rather than comparison.
When the page is full, pause and study the middle column.
For each item under “Should Be Working On,” ask yourself what would truly happen if you never did it.
Would your life fall apart?
Or would everything probably still be fine?
As you move through the list, you'll find that some items lose their authority once they are examined closely. Crossing one out can feel surprisingly physical, like you just set down a bag you didn’t realize you were even carrying.
Too many people believe they feel scattered because they lack discipline. But usually, they feel scattered because they are trying to serve too many masters at once. Until you question the “shoulds,” your planning will always feel crowded.
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