#1 Life is not an optimisation problem

5th January 2025 Vibes: Eat a fruit salad and chill <3

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This Week’s Whisper from the Universe

"Your life is not an optimisation problem" Source

Let’s Overthink This

I came across the post above this week, and I don’t know about you, but I really needed to hear it.. Life is hard as it is, and with the new year, Instagram and YouTube are flooded with videos on how to be the “It Girl” or how to perfect your routine in 2025.

Now, I’m not saying that those things are wrong. You don’t have to take an extreme stance against self-improvement, because I’m not doing that either. But it also doesn’t mean you need to go all in and try to perfect every single day. Honestly, that just adds a lot of unnecessary pressure. Some days, you’ll sleep in or miss your morning plans, and it might feel like the day is ruined—but it’s not. The day is still yours to turn into something good, if you choose to make it that way. (For some inspiration, check this out: Even though I can’t exercise or move much right now, I’m choosing to focus on the brighter side.)

Let's dig a bit deeper into this, since 2023 I have tried my best to plan my days, to have everything go right but 2024 none of that worked, Midway through the year, I stopped using my daily planner—lol, life just felt all haphazard, and I got really worked up about the fact that I was not able to to tick off items of my todo list at the same pace, or tick them off at all. While there were good days, the bad ones hit really hard. That’s when I realized I needed a shift—and that’s how my weekly planner approach was born.

I started structuring my days in a way that allowed flexibility. If something didn’t go as planned, I’d have another simple task to fall back on, something easy that still gave me a sense of accomplishment. Because sometimes, all you need is that "little win" to keep going.

Over time, I unknowingly trained my mind to a certain extent to be okay with not making every day a 100%. And hence, my friends, life is not an optimisation problem, you can't plan everything to the last detail, life isn't perfect and sometimes you just have to let it be and not be overpowered by your desire to make it perfect that it eats you up from the inside.

Here are some things I do which you might find useful:

• I prefer using a weekly or undated planner to focus on the big things for the week. Micro-planning every hour/day isn’t for me—it’s just too overwhelming.

• Pick one task that grounds you. It could be skincare, reading, journaling, or anything that brings you joy for at least 20 minutes. Trust me, it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

• I’ve recently started using an app called Structured. It’s been just a few days, but so far, it helps me break my day into larger segments. I’m not a fan of multitasking unless I absolutely have to, so this app helps me block out focused time for specific things and not context switch a lot. I’ll update you on how it goes!

• Build in little rewards for yourself. For me, it’s as simple as watching a movie or ordering some good food. It’s the little joys that make all the difference.

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This Week's Soundtrack

Alaska by Maggie Rogers

Freeze Frame

Flowers make me happy

Nom Nom Nom

I am obsessed with eating fruit salads recently, it's a mix of kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, apple, banana, and some papaya with some pink salt <3

Literary Main Character Moment

I am currently reading "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang, it's a bit brutal as a novel but also so so beautifully written, will let you know how it goes.

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What’s Cooking in Your World?

What’s your ‘main character’ song this week? Slide into my Instagram DM's with recommendations or comment on this post!

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I am trying to make this a bi-weekly newsletter, let's see how that goes, and let me know what you think about the format!

Byeee, Don’t Forget to Hydrate <3