How I budget every dollar (and stop wasting time)

Between balancing my career and personal projects, writing has been coming back into full swing!

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how easy it is to fall into "autopilot"—going through the motions and feeling like precious free time is slipping away. To counter this, I’ve been practicing radical intentionality across every area of my life: committing to a powerlifting meet on November 14, making better use of my evenings, and being intentional with my finances.

Being productive doesn’t mean cutting out downtime; it’s about aligning your habits with your goals. If you want to scroll on your phone or play a game, try doing it while walking on the treadmill or riding a stationary bike. Have meals without a screen running. Small shifts add up.

🌎 Curated Content & Practical Insights

💰 Finance: How I Personally Budget My Dollars

Last week, I published my complete guide on Zero-Based Budgeting.

Switching to a zero-based system—where every single dollar is assigned a specific job—completely shifted my financial clarity. If you decide to try it, make sure to start with a deep financial audit and account for variable expenses or sneaky subscriptions.

👉 Read the Full Zero-Based Budgeting Guide Here (Includes Free Budget Tracker)

Within the post, you'll find a link to a free budget tracker I built. Combining this tracker with light automation has given me genuine peace of mind about my personal finances.

📚 Book / Media

I recently finished book two of the Licanius trilogy by James Islington. Coming off Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, the faster pacing has been refreshing.

I’ve also started reading industry news daily for 10 minutes and mapping out how market trends impact my day-to-day role. Connecting macro news to daily execution has significantly deepened my professional understanding.

✍ Quote of the Week

From Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill:

"Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE TO WIN, essential to success."

My Take: If you aren’t willing to make sacrifices for what you want, what you want becomes the sacrifice. Burn the boats and eliminate retreat as an option.

🛠 Tool / Product

AI is here, and leveraging it purposefully puts you ahead of the curve. However, don't let it do all the critical thinking for you—always audit its output by asking, "Does this actually make sense?"

Tool Spotlight: NotebookLM is currently one of the most effective tools for synthesizing dense documents and accelerating study or research workflows.

⏭ Upcoming Content

Here is what’s cooking behind the scenes:

1. Powerlifting & Home Gym Blueprint (Setting up a basement setup that works)
2. My Readwise + Notion Knowledge System

Thank you all for reading! As always, feel free to reply directly to this email with questions or topics you'd like me to cover.