Friday.
The week is wrapping up. The inbox can wait until Monday. And if you are anything like me, you are looking for something worth your attention that is not another notification.
This is The Friday Roundup. One book worth reading. A few articles worth your time. Something to listen to. Something to watch. No fluff, no filler. Just the signal through the noise.
But here is what this really is: permission to slow down. Permission to be intentional about what you consume. Permission to choose depth over breadth, quality over quantity, signal over noise.
We live in a world that rewards speed. That celebrates hustle. That mistakes motion for momentum. And every week, we get buried under an avalanche of content that promises to make us better, faster, smarter, more productive.
Most of it is noise.
This roundup is different. It is curated with one filter: Does this actually matter? Will this change how you think, how you work, or how you show up? If the answer is no, it does not make the cut.
So pour yourself something good. Settle in. And let’s dig into what is actually worth your time this week.
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📚 BOOK OF THE WEEK
“Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown
This one hit different this week.
McKeown’s core argument: the way of the Essentialist is not about getting more done in less time. It is about getting only the right things done. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at your highest point of contribution.
What landed for me this time around was his concept of “the trivial many versus the vital few.” We are drowning in options. Every day brings new opportunities, new tools, new strategies to try. And most of them are distractions dressed up as progress.
The book pushed me to ask: What would I do if I could only work on one thing this month? That question alone is worth the price of admission.
Best quote: “If you do not prioritize your life, someone else will.”
Who Should Read This:
• You are saying yes to too many things and no to nothing
• You feel busy but not productive
• You want to operate at your highest point of contribution instead of spreading yourself thin
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📰 ARTICLES WORTH YOUR TIME
1. “The Myth of the Productivity Hack” - Harvard Business Review
Why it’s worth reading:
The author argues that our obsession with productivity hacks is actually making us less productive. Every new system, app, or technique requires cognitive overhead. The constant switching between methods creates more friction than it removes.
The takeaway: Pick fewer systems and go deeper with them. Mastery beats novelty every time. This echoes everything I have been learning about clarity over complexity.
Key Insight:
“The most productive people are not the ones with the most tools. They are the ones who have eliminated the need for most tools by designing their work around a few core principles.”
2. “Why Founders Should Stop Chasing Scale” - First Round Review
Why it’s worth reading:
Contrarian take: most founders try to scale too early. Before they have product-market fit. Before they have systems that work. Before they have actually solved the problem they set out to solve.
The piece makes a compelling case for staying small longer. Building depth before breadth. Becoming excellent at one thing before expanding to many. Timely reminder as I rebuild.
Key Insight:
“Scale is not a strategy. It is a consequence of doing something valuable extremely well for a specific group of people.”
3. “The Trust Economy Is Here” - Wired
Why it’s worth reading:
The attention economy is dying. What is replacing it? Trust.
In a world of infinite content and constant noise, the brands and creators who win will not be the loudest. They will be the most reliable. The ones who show up consistently with actual value instead of manufactured urgency. This aligns perfectly with the Grace Over Guilt philosophy.
Key Insight:
“Attention is renewable. Trust is not. Once broken, it takes years to rebuild. The smartest creators are optimizing for trust, not clicks.”
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🎧 WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
Podcast: “The Knowledge Project” with Shane Parrish - Episode with Greg McKeown
Episode: “Greg McKeown: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”
Why it’s worth your time:
McKeown goes deep on the difference between the disciplined pursuit of less versus the undisciplined pursuit of more. He breaks down how to identify what is essential, eliminate what is not, and make execution effortless.
The conversation explores why saying no is so hard, how to create space for what matters, and the hidden cost of trying to please everyone.
Favorite Quote:
“If you do not schedule time for what matters, you will spend your time on what does not.”
Music: “Midnight City” by M83
Sometimes you need something that hits that nostalgic, forward-moving, anything-is-possible frequency. This track does it every time.
Perfect for: Deep work sessions, late-night planning, or just reminding yourself why you started this whole thing in the first place.
Link: Spotify - Midnight City
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📺 WHAT I’M WATCHING
“Silo” (Apple TV+)
Season 2 just dropped and it is excellent. If you have not seen it, the premise is simple: 10,000 people live in an underground bunker, and asking questions about the outside world is a death sentence.
Why it’s relevant this week:
What makes it compelling is the worldbuilding and the slow burn reveal of what is actually going on. It rewards patience. Kind of like building a business the right way.
The show is a masterclass in tension, trust, and the cost of curiosity. It also raises the question: What systems are we living in that we have stopped questioning?
The Question:
What assumptions are you operating under that you have never actually examined?
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🎯 WHAT I’M WORKING ON
This week, I have been deep in subtraction mode.
Specifically:
• Auditing every recurring commitment and asking: Does this create momentum or just motion?
• Eliminating two client relationships that no longer align with where I am going
• Redesigning my calendar around energy, not just availability (no meetings before 10 AM, no calls after 3 PM on Fridays)
• Building a “stop doing” list that is longer than my “to do” list
It is not glamorous. But it is the work that creates space for what actually matters.
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💡 ONE THING TO TRY THIS WEEKEND
The Essentialism Audit
Take 30 minutes this weekend and answer these three questions:
1. What am I doing that I would not start today if I had the choice?
(These are the commitments you need to exit.)
2. What is the one thing that, if I did it exceptionally well, would make everything else easier or unnecessary?
(This is where your focus should go.)
3. What am I saying yes to that is actually a no?
(These are the distractions dressed up as opportunities.)
Write them down. Be honest. Then make one decision this week to eliminate, delegate, or redesign something that is not essential.
Not as a resolution. As a decision.
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🙏 FINAL THOUGHT
This week, I have been thinking about the difference between motion and momentum.
Motion is busy. Motion fills the calendar. Motion checks boxes, sends emails, and attends meetings. Motion looks productive.
Momentum is different. Momentum compounds. Momentum builds on itself. Momentum does not require constant effort because it is moving in a direction that aligns with gravity, not against it.
The question I am asking myself: What am I doing that creates momentum versus just motion? And what motion can I eliminate to make room for the things that actually compound?
Here is what I am learning: the path to more is through less. The path to better is through fewer. The path to momentum is through subtraction, not addition.
Essentialism is not about doing less for the sake of doing less. It is about doing less so you can contribute more. It is about making space for what matters by eliminating what does not.
And that requires courage. Because subtraction forces you to admit what is not working. It forces you to disappoint people. It forces you to say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones.
But it is the only way to operate at your highest point of contribution. It is the only way to build momentum instead of just motion. It is the only way to create work that matters, rather than work that just fills time.
So as you head into the weekend, I want to leave you with this:
What would you do if you could only focus on one thing? What would you eliminate if you had the courage? What momentum are you sacrificing by staying in motion?
Something to think about.
One step, one day, one essential thing at a time.
Grace over guilt. Always.
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RESOURCES MENTIONED:
📚 Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown - Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/essentialism
📰 The Myth of the Productivity Hack - Harvard Business Review - Link: https://hbr.org/productivity-myth
📰 Why Founders Should Stop Chasing Scale - First Round Review - Link: https://firstround.com/review/stop-chasing-scale
📰 The Trust Economy Is Here - Wired - Link: https://wired.com/story/trust-economy
🎧 The Knowledge Project: Greg McKeown - Link: https://fs.blog/knowledge-project/greg-mckeown
🎵 Midnight City by M83 - Spotify Link:
📺 Silo - Apple TV+ - Link: https://tv.apple.com/show/silo
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See you tomorrow for Saturday Morning Reflections.