The week my body told me to slow down

Week 6. Done.

36% → 52% product completion.

And honestly? This week broke me down and built me back up in ways I wasn't expecting.

Let me walk you through what actually happened.

The body knows

I had this plan. Beautiful plan.

Wake up. 4 hours of movement.

• 1 hour stretches

• 1 hour yoga + movement

• 30 mins pushups

• 30 mins squats

• 1 hour sunlight + walk

Wanted this to be my routine for the next month. Build up intensity. Graduate to even more.

Then my body said: not yet.

While doing pushups, my left elbow started clicking. Every single rep. Snap. Click. Snap.

The muscle tendons in my inner elbow kept getting in the way. Movement wasn't smooth.

Asked GPT what it was. Turns out - muscle imbalance. My left arm isn't as developed as my right.

Here's the thing: I wouldn't have realized this issue existed if I wasn't moving my body daily for the past 60 days.

I would've gone years without knowing. Until maybe it was too late.

So I adjusted.

New plan:

• 1 hour stretches (added hanging upside down - forces breath focus)

• 1 hour yoga

• 1 hour movement + squats (no pushups until arm heals)

• 1 hour walking under the sun

Fix → then move forward.

That's the lesson. When you discover an issue, you don't push through. You fix it. Then you progress.

Same with the product. Same with systems.

Notice. Fix. Keep moving.

The distraction war

This week I faced something I haven't talked about much.

The pull.

The pull to check my phone during my 4-hour morning block.

The pull to go get a joint when reading got hard.

The pull to say yes to social events I don't want to attend because my wife wants to go.

Tuesday (Oct 22) was rough. Really rough.

I wrote in my journal:

Here's what I learned: writing is my reset button.

Every time I felt distracted, confused, or tempted - I came back to my journal. Wrote. Cleared my head.

15 minutes of writing = back to focus.

It's meditation. It's recollection. It's peaceful.

And it's the highest leverage activity I have.

Some days I came back to write 6-7 times. Just clearing the noise.

That's the messy reality nobody shows you. Building isn't just about doing the work. It's about fighting the constant pull to NOT do the work.

What Atomic Habits taught me

Finished the book this week.

Two concepts rewired my brain completely:

1. Environment design

"It is easier to associate a new habit with a new context than to build a new habit in the face of competing cues."

I used to try working in my bedroom. Never worked.

Why? Because my brain associates that room with sleep and relaxation.

When I moved to a different room - just for work - everything clicked.

Working became second nature in that space.

Now I'm applying this everywhere:

• Morning movement = gym only

• Writing = one specific desk

• Reading = different chair

• Work calls = standing desk

Each space = one identity.

2. Identity over goals

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."

I've been focused on "launch the product by November 30."

But that's the wrong question.

The real question: Am I becoming the type of person who builds and launches products?

Every day I read → I'm a reader.

Every day I write → I'm a writer.

Every day I teach through Spaces → I'm a teacher.

The product? Just a byproduct of who I'm becoming.

That shift changed everything.

What actually got done this week

Let me be honest about progress:

Completed:

• Finished Atomic Habits (all 20 chapters)

• Read Building a Second Brain Part 1

• Created Bonus #2: Knowledge Capture System

• Created Bonus #3: 52-Week Content Calendar

• Hosted 2 Spaces (both packed)

• Posted 3 threads

• Launched "Knowledge Athlete" positioning

Product status: 52% complete (up from 36%)

What didn't happen:

• Missed workouts on 2 days (Diwali + body adjustment)

• Got distracted during reading sessions

• Didn't finish as many BASB chapters as planned

• Still figuring out file organization (spent 15 mins looking for one document)

The wins are real. But so are the struggles.

That's building in public.

The file organization disaster

Real talk: I'm still messy with my notes.

Oct 13, Oct 14, Oct 15... files everywhere.

I spent 15 minutes looking for one document mid-week.

Why? Because I wasn't organized.

So I created a new system:

• Monthly folders

• Proper naming: "Oct 19 - Daily Notes"

• Immediate uploads to Claude

• Physical notebook backup

Small fix. Massive impact.

When you're consuming this much information (2 books, multiple frameworks, daily notes, Space prep), organization isn't optional.

It's survival.

The 240 minutes that changed everything

One more thing.

My morning routine: 4 hours. No phone. Just me and my body.

Stretches. Movement. Squats. Walking.

These 240 minutes? The most peaceful part of my day.

They set up everything else.

It's not just exercise. It's meditation. It's recalibration.

I've been doing this for 60 days straight now. And I can feel the difference.

Focus is sharper. Mood is better. Resistance to distractions is stronger.

If you take one thing from this newsletter:

Protect your mornings. Fiercely.

No phone. No people. Just you.

Next week

Here's what's coming:

• Finish Building a Second Brain

• Read Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

• Create 2 more bonuses (#4 and #5)

• Start Module 6 of the product

• Host 3 Spaces (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

• Keep fighting the distraction war

Goal: Hit 65% by end of next week.

38 days until launch.

Real talk:

This week wasn't perfect. I got distracted. I struggled. I had to adjust plans.

But I showed up. Every single day.

That's the game.

Not perfection. Consistency.

See you next week.

— Vaibhav

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