Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This.

Welcome to Gratitude Driven, a weekly newsletter where I share practical ideas and insights across personal growth, professional development, and the world of AI and data science.

In This Newsletter

• Live AMA Next Week!

• Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This.

• Help Me Beta Test My App!

• What’s the Best Way to Learn ML?

Live AMA Next Week!

The quarterly live AMA for paid subscribers to the newsletter will take place next Friday, June 27th at 9am PT.

Paid subscribers, please be on the lookout for the invitation!

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber to this newsletter, upgrade below to join the AMA and chat with me about your career growth, mindset challenges, fitness… or just say hi!

Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This.

A couple of weeks ago, I was feeling really frazzled. I was wrapping up a big work project, trying to finish this app I've been working on, and of course working on lots of content stuff. On top of that, I'm trying to figure out some big life decisions—whether or not to have kids, when might be the right time to put down my cat who has cancer, how to tackle writing a book, and more.

My mind is usually pretty calm and quiet. But it started to feel like when you're at a busy restaurant and you can barely hear the person you're with. The background noise gets loud and chaotic, and it's hard to focus.

All I wanted to do was sit at my desk and work until I finished everything and could finally, hopefully, feel some peace.

But instead, I went on a hike.

This is something I used to do regularly, and I credit the practice with helping me make most of the important decisions in my life (getting into content creation being one of them). But recently I'd fallen out of the habit.

I spent about three hours on a nice, moderate hike alone. No phone or music, just me and my thoughts.

Usually for the first hour or so of these hikes, it's just a pleasant hike. Then something starts to shift, and I get this sense of clarity that was previously eluding me. I do deliberately try to think about the decisions I'm working on or projects I'm in the middle of, but even completely unrelated things come to mind. And I just let them.

By the end of the hike, I had turned the volume down in my head. I had a clear sense of the next steps, which made tackling them feel much more approachable.

One clear takeaway was that I need more quiet time in my life.

I already meditate in the mornings, but now I've started in the evenings, too. I've tried driving to appointments without listening to a podcast. I go on walks alone and just hang out with my thoughts.

I can't say it's cured the restlessness (this may just be a feature of my personality), but it has definitely quieted some of the noise.

Next time you're feeling stressed, or like you don't know the right decision, I'd suggest just being quiet. You might be surprised what you already know if you just give yourself space to listen to yourself.

Help Me Beta Test My App!

I built a simple web app in preparation for a new video I have coming out in the next few weeks.

It’s called ShelfScanner, and the idea is that you can scan a bookshelf at a friend’s house, book store, or library, and the AI will help you figure out which book is the best fit for you.

Since I am brand new to app development, I’d love some help beta testing it. Give it a try and send me an email with the bugs you find! <3

What’s the Best Way to Learn ML?

Or, check out the blog here.

Want to chat 1:1? Book time with me here.

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