I just got back from taking (American) Thanksgiving off and spending a few days in Mexico City. I ate EVERYTHING, averaged around 20,000 steps a day and had an absolutely fantastic time.

While I was packing, I was dickering - should I take my laptop? Should I try to leave it at home? Honestly, I knew if I left it, something would come up, so into the bag it went. I checked emails for 20 minutes every day, and I did a tiny bit of work.

Before we left, a few people told me, “You don’t need to work on your vacation! Enjoy your time off.” This was especially lovely coming from my clients, and knowing they were all in a good enough Run State (see what I did there) for me to be offline for a few days.

In reality, I actually relax more when I can open my laptop for 20 minutes, clear a few things, make sure everyone is taken care of, and then go back to my vacation fully unbothered.

So I’ve stopped feeling guilty about it.
A little check-in each day makes the rest of the day peaceful.

This is basically the vacation version of doing a daily cycle count instead of a once-a-year warehouse audit.

If you check inventory daily:

If you wait months and then attempt a full audit? It takes a very long time, it’s harder to track down the root cause of a problem, and things spiral out of control.
My inbox is the same. A small, quick daily check keeps things flowing.

There are so many rules about how we’re “supposed” to rest, work, exercise, decompress, grow, schedule, and live.

But sometimes?
The thing that works for you looks nothing like the thing that works for everyone else.

So here’s your permission slip to do what actually helps your nervous system instead of what Instagram thinks is healthy.

This got me thinking - what other popular advice doesn’t actually work for me? And what advice may you be following, even though it feels hard, and like it’s going against the grain of what you’d rather be doing? For example..

1. Working out in the evening instead of the morning
People swear mornings are “best,” but I find it’s too much for my nervous system to have a lot of activity first thing. I prefer working out between the end of my workday, as a transition into my evening.

2. Keeping your phone on during deep work
I KNOW I’m supposed to be muting all my emails and notifications when I’m doing deep work, but it makes me more stressed out. I keep notifications on and let myself get distracted for a few minutes at a time.

3. Planning weekends instead of keeping them wide open
Your girl has GOT TO HAVE A PLAN to feel relaxed. Wow, what a theme here.

4. Eating the same lunch every day
Routine can free mental bandwidth, even if it sounds boring to others. This is fun for Chris when I suddenly decide to switch lunches and he has to change his whole grocery list.

5. Starting projects before you feel mentally “ready”
Some of us think better once momentum starts - clarity follows action, not the other way around. Remember my last newsletter? Sometime you have to start with a very rough first draft.

Your version might be totally different, but here’s the challenge for this week:

Notice one thing you do “your way,” even if it’s unconventional - and see if it’s actually one of your strengths instead of something to correct.

The whole point of rest, and work, is to make your life feel better, not to win at some imaginary rulebook.

So whether you’re checking emails in Mexico or ignoring your inbox for a week straight, the only real question is:

Does it help you enjoy your life more?

If it does, it’s the right choice.