How I create, decide, ship, and rest (with fewer revisions and more sleep)
Why this exists (and when I use it)
I created this Personal Operating System at the end of a year where I produced a lot — content, ideas, projects — but also revised things to death, over-thought decisions, and stole hours of sleep from my future self.
This OS isn’t for hustle seasons or crisis mode.
It’s for default mode.
I use it when:
- I’m creating regularly and want to stop over-polishing
- I feel capable but slightly scattered
- I’m asking “is this actually me?” too often
- I want to trust my judgement without checking it five times
Think of this as a one-page set of rules I can return to when my brain starts doing laps.
My Personal Operating System (v2026)
1. Core Mode of Operation
I do my best work when:
- I’m guiding, not convincing
- I’m responding to curiosity, not pressure
- I’m working in focused sprints
- I prioritise meaning over metrics
I am not built for:
- Constant optimisation
- Endless revision loops
- Performative productivity
- 9–5 creative output expectations
2. Decision Filter (Before Saying Yes)
I only say yes if at least two are true:
- It aligns with my long-term narrative
- It deepens trust (mine or others’)
- It builds real skills or leverage
- It creates future optionality
- It genuinely excites my curiosity
If it drains energy and lacks learning, the answer is no.
3. Creation Rules (Non-Negotiable)
The 90% Rule
If it’s clear, honest, and defensible → ship.
The Two-Pass Limit
- Pass 1: Clarity
- Pass 2: Tone
No third pass unless someone else asks.
Voice First
Before creating, I define:
“I’m speaking as ___ to ___ for ___.”
Examples:
- “Experienced guide talking to a smart peer who’s tired.”
- “Journalist explaining a complex idea to a curious non-expert.”
- “Friend who’s been through it, sharing one hard-won insight.”
🛑 No revisions allowed until this line exists.
No voice = no writing.
4. Trust Protocol (When Doubt Shows Up)
- What was my first instinct?
- Is this doubt about quality or approval?
- Would I respect this if someone else published it?
If it’s honest and slightly uncomfortable, it’s probably right.
5. Energy and Time Management
My energy is the bottleneck, not my ideas.
I work best in:
- 2–3 hour focused blocks
- Short, intense creative sprints
- Clear start and stop times
I avoid:
- Context switching
- Back-to-back meetings
- Late-night refinement
6. Weekly Rhythm (Light Structure)
- Create: 2–3 core outputs
- Reflect: What moved? What didn’t?
- Share: One thing publicly, imperfectly
- Rest: One day with no output expectations
Progress beats volume.
7. Daily Shutdown Ritual (10 Minutes)
- 3 things I progressed
- 1 thing that can wait
- 1 thing Future-Me will handle
Then I stop.
No optimising tomorrow.
8. Metrics That Actually Matter
I measure success by:
- Clarity over time
- Quality of conversations
- Alignment with my values
- How calm I feel while creating
Vanity metrics are optional data, not direction.
9. When I Break My Own Rules
I don’t spiral.
I return to:
- Fewer revisions
- More trust
- More rest
Consistency beats intensity.
10. North Star Reminder
I am not here to produce more.
I am here to produce what matters — and let it land.
How I Arrived at This (and the AI Prompts I Used)
This OS didn’t appear fully formed. It came from pattern-spotting — with help.
Over the year, I used ChatGPT as a thinking partner, editor, mirror, and occasional roast machine. The value wasn’t the answers. It was the patterns it reflected back to me.
Here’s the actual process I followed.
Step 1: Ask for a brutally honest reflection
Prompt:
“Give me my ChatGPT Wrapped. Roast my question history, call out the patterns, expose my quirks, highlight my top prompt categories, and present it like a dramatic year-end Spotify Wrapped.”
(Shoutout to Hannah Miet Levine for this prompt)
This surfaced that I need the same energy next year —
Just maybe with:
- fewer revisions
- more trust
- and slightly more sleep 😉
Step 2: Turn insight into behaviour change
Prompt:
“Suggest actionable tips so that I can achieve fewer revisions, more trust, and slightly more sleep next year.”
This shifted the focus from identity (“this is how I am”) to systems (“this is how I work”).
Step 3: Compress advice into a usable system
Prompt:
“Create a one-page personal operating system I can actually live by — not aspirational fluff.”
Key rule here: if it couldn’t fit on one page, it didn’t belong.
Step 4: Pressure-test it against reality
I asked myself:
- Would I use this on a tired Tuesday?
- Would this stop me from reopening a draft at 11pm?
- Would this help me say no faster?
Anything that felt performative got cut.
Step 5: Document it publicly
Prompt:
“Turn the personal operating system into a blog post with a short intro and a section explaining how I arrived at it, including all AI prompts used.”
Because clarity compounds when it’s shared — and transparency keeps me honest.
Final Note
This isn’t a productivity system.
It’s a permission structure.
If you’re someone who thinks deeply, cares a lot, and edits yourself into exhaustion — you don’t need more discipline.
You need fewer rules.
Clearer ones.
And the courage to stop once the work is true.
If this resonates, steal it.
Adapt it.
Make it yours.
Want help with doing a more in-depth end-of-year review? Check out my process here: