Where I Drifted This Week
Chaos & Clarity — Issue #1
I didn’t plan to launch anything. I just needed to stop drifting.
But then life did what it usually does: it got loud, fast, and blurry.
And somewhere in the middle of it, I drifted.
Not a dramatic drift.
Not a “sell everything and move to the woods” drift.
Just the subtle kind — the kind that sneaks in through:
too many tabs
too many notifications
too many people needing something
and not enough oxygen between tasks
The kind of drift you only notice when your brain goes,
“Why am I doing this instead of the thing I actually need to be doing?”
Classic me.
The Moment It Hit Me
At one point this week, I realized I wasn’t making decisions — I was reacting.
Ping → respond.
Email → fix.
Problem → solve.
New problem → solve again.
Kid question → half-answer.
Slack message → oh look, another thing I didn’t plan for.
It wasn’t burnout.
It wasn’t crisis.
It was just… drift.
This creeping sense of being pulled off-heading by a thousand tiny forces I didn’t register until the end of the day, when my head finally said, “Enough.”
So I Made One Small Correction
Not a life overhaul.
Not a new system.
Not a 27-step “optimize your life” routine.
I closed every single window on my screen except the one thing that actually mattered.
That’s it.
Ten seconds.
One correction.
And I swear my nervous system exhaled like it had been holding its breath since Monday.
It didn’t fix everything.
But it fixed enough for the day.
This Is Why I’m Writing
I’m not writing because I have it all figured out.
I’m writing because I don’t — and because the space between chaos and clarity is where my actual life happens.
Some weeks I’m laser-focused.
Other weeks I’m basically a human browser with 72 tabs open, 14 of which are frozen, and one playing music I can’t locate.
If you get it, you get it.
This newsletter is where I’ll capture:
where I drifted
what I corrected
what actually helped
and what clarity looked like on the other side
One human trying to slow down long enough to notice the course corrections that actually matter.
This Week’s Clarity
Clarity doesn’t show up with trumpets.
It doesn’t arrive fully formed.
It doesn’t require a retreat, a perfect routine, or a new app (though I’m not above trying all of those).
Most of the time, clarity is just the moment you stop, breathe, and ask:
“What’s the smallest correction I can make right now?”
That’s what I’m chasing.
That’s what I’m practicing.
And that’s what Chaos & Clarity will be — a snapshot of the little adjustments that keep the bigger picture sane.
Thanks for reading the first one.
Let’s drift a little less this week.
— Jack
If this resonated and you want to follow along as I keep figuring this out in real time, you can subscribe to Chaos & Clarity here:
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What a beautifully honest and clear essay about one moment of self awareness and realization…on the long journey of life and business. Bravo!!! 🙌