Explore all emails from Ali Abdaal

Hey friends, Hope your Easter’s been better than ours 😢 On Friday, we got hacked by (what we think are) Russian crypto scammers. They targeted our website (aliabdaal.com) and our email list, and exploited a vulnerability in a third-party plugin to send 3 emails to our email list promoting a scammy “crypto token drop”. We realised what was happening within a few minutes, and locked down our email and website systems to prevent further damage. And we’ve spent the past few days working with our website and email service providers to figure out what happened and stop it from happening again. In this email, I’ll talk you through the details of what we know, what we’ve done about it, and what it means for you. ------------- What happened ------------- On 3 April 2026, we discovered that an unauthorised third party gained access to the server hosting aliabdaal.com ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwkmkp73sghk6vn0ds7hnz48rx2t8h4lw6v/dphehmue69gn2xsl/aHR0cDovL2FsaWFiZGFhbC5jb20= ), by exploiting a vulnerability in a third-party plugin we were using. The attacker was able to access our website's backend systems, including the connection between our site and our email platform. They used this access to send 3 scam emails to our mailing list promoting a fake cryptocurrency "airdrop" - some of you may have gotten one of these emails, or they (hopefully) ended up in your spam folders. ----------------------------- What information was affected ----------------------------- Based on our investigation, we believe the attacker likely had access to subscriber information held on our mailing list. This includes your email address, and if you provided it, your first name. It may also include metadata such as when you subscribed and which topics you signed up for (eg: productivity, creator stuff, business topics). We have no evidence that passwords, payment details, or any financial information were accessed - we don’t store this type of data on our mailing list. In fact, we don’t store payment information anywhere: that’s all held securely by Stripe with bank-grade security, rather than being on our own servers. --------------- What we've done --------------- As soon as we discovered the breach (within a few minutes of the first email being sent), we took the following steps: * Took the website offline and removed the attacker's access and all malicious code from our server, including completely removing the integration with our email provider * Revoked all API credentials and security keys * Forced password resets for all website accounts * Disconnected and re-secured our email platform integration * Engaged with our email service provider to investigate the full extent of access to subscriber data We’ve now reported the incident to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), completed a full security audit of our systems, and begun migrating to a new, hardened hosting environment. ------------------ What you should do ------------------ If you got a suspicious email from us on or around 3rd April - particularly one mentioning a cryptocurrency airdrop, token claim, or asking you to connect a wallet - please do not click any links in it. Delete it ideally. If you did interact with any links or connect a cryptocurrency wallet, please check your crypto wallet for unauthorised transactions immediately. Beyond that, as a precaution, please be wary of any follow-up emails that reference this incident and ask you to click links or provide information - we’ll never ask for passwords or financial details by email, nor will we ever promote a cryptocurrency offer like this via email (or any other means). – You've been kind enough to let me send emails straight to your inbox, and I don't take that lightly. Having random (but annoyingly quite sophisticated) Russian hackers abuse that trust and use it to try to scam you is genuinely awful, and I'm sorry it happened. We caught it within minutes, we've done a full audit, and we're rebuilding our entire web infrastructure to make sure it can't happen again. Thanks for your patience while we sort it. Hope the rest of your week involves zero Russian hackers 🙂 Ali xx PS: If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to data@aliabdaal.com ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/wvuwkmkp73sghk6vn0ds7hnz48rx2t8h4lw6v/e0hph0u7v3godxi7/bWFpbHRvOmRhdGFAYWxpYWJkYWFsLmNvbQ== ) - we’ve set this email up specifically for questions about this. ​Unsubscribe ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/wvuwkmkp73sghk6vn0ds7hnz48rx2t8h4lw6v ) | Update your profile ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/wvuwkmkp73sghk6vn0ds7hnz48rx2t8h4lw6v ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, Hope your Easter’s been better than ours 😢 On Friday, we got hacked by (what we think are) Russian crypto scammers. They targeted our website (aliabdaal.com) and our email list, and exploited a vulnerability in a third-party plugin to send 3 emails to our email list promoting a scammy “crypto token drop”. We realised what was happening within a few minutes, and locked down our email and website systems to prevent further damage. And we’ve spent the past few days working with our website and email service providers to figure out what happened and stop it from happening again. In this email, I’ll talk you through the details of what we know, what we’ve done about it, and what it means for you. ------------- What happened ------------- On 3 April 2026, we discovered that an unauthorised third party gained access to the server hosting aliabdaal.com ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/r8ux9g9o5nfoh3zv37za2hdn9g05ob7hmo436/6qhehoulr8d0voi9/aHR0cDovL2FsaWFiZGFhbC5jb20= ), by exploiting a vulnerability in a third-party plugin we were using. The attacker was able to access our website's backend systems, including the connection between our site and our email platform. They used this access to send 3 scam emails to our mailing list promoting a fake cryptocurrency "airdrop" - some of you may have gotten one of these emails, or they (hopefully) ended up in your spam folders. ----------------------------- What information was affected ----------------------------- Based on our investigation, we believe the attacker likely had access to subscriber information held on our mailing list. This includes your email address, and if you provided it, your first name. It may also include metadata such as when you subscribed and which topics you signed up for (eg: productivity, creator stuff, business topics). We have no evidence that passwords, payment details, or any financial information were accessed - we don’t store this type of data on our mailing list. In fact, we don’t store payment information anywhere: that’s all held securely by Stripe with bank-grade security, rather than being on our own servers. --------------- What we've done --------------- As soon as we discovered the breach (within a few minutes of the first email being sent), we took the following steps: * Took the website offline and removed the attacker's access and all malicious code from our server, including completely removing the integration with our email provider * Revoked all API credentials and security keys * Forced password resets for all website accounts * Disconnected and re-secured our email platform integration * Engaged with our email service provider to investigate the full extent of access to subscriber data We’ve now reported the incident to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), completed a full security audit of our systems, and begun migrating to a new, hardened hosting environment. ------------------ What you should do ------------------ If you got a suspicious email from us on or around 3rd April - particularly one mentioning a cryptocurrency airdrop, token claim, or asking you to connect a wallet - please do not click any links in it. Delete it ideally. If you did interact with any links or connect a cryptocurrency wallet, please check your crypto wallet for unauthorised transactions immediately. Beyond that, as a precaution, please be wary of any follow-up emails that reference this incident and ask you to click links or provide information - we’ll never ask for passwords or financial details by email, nor will we ever promote a cryptocurrency offer like this via email (or any other means). – You've been kind enough to let me send emails straight to your inbox, and I don't take that lightly. Having random (but annoyingly quite sophisticated) Russian hackers abuse that trust and use it to try to scam you is genuinely awful, and I'm sorry it happened. We caught it within minutes, we've done a full audit, and we're rebuilding our entire web infrastructure to make sure it can't happen again. Thanks for your patience while we sort it. Hope the rest of your week involves zero Russian hackers 🙂 Ali xx PS: If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to data@aliabdaal.com ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/r8ux9g9o5nfoh3zv37za2hdn9g05ob7hmo436/kkhmh2unw034g4uk/bWFpbHRvOmRhdGFAYWxpYWJkYWFsLmNvbQ== ) - we’ve set this email up specifically for questions about this. ​Unsubscribe ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/r8ux9g9o5nfoh3zv37za2hdn9g05ob7hmo436 ) | Update your profile ( https://preferences.kit-mail3.com/r8ux9g9o5nfoh3zv37za2hdn9g05ob7hmo436 ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey , You may have just received an email apparently from me with the subject line “Solana Creator Token (Free Airdrop)”. Please ignore this message and do not click on any links within the email. This was not sent by us and we're actively investigating. Very sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Ali P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4p47qmulh8dpzv5zi4h8opl6/08hwhgu2ermqwqap/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 Whenever you're ready, here are some other ways I can help you: 🎬 Part-Time YouTuber Academy ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4p47qmulh8dpzv5zi4h8opl6/8ghqh3uodngkpwal/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3BhcnQtdGltZS15b3V0dWJlci1hY2FkZW15P3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1mb290ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWxpZmVub3Rlcw== ): 8+ years of YouTube experienced condensed into a self-paced course that teaches you everything you need to know to grow on YouTube. 🧭 LifeOS ( https://844e968a.click.kit-mail3.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4p47qmulh8dpzv5zi4h8opl6/l2heh6ul27owv2sg/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL2xpZmVvcz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249Zm9vdGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1saWZlbm90ZXM= ): Design your own productivity system to help you take action, beat procrastination, and work towards your goals. Thanks for being part of LifeNotes - you can update your email preferences here ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.kit-mail3.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4p47qmulh8dpzv5zi4h8opl6 ) at any time | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, Quick thing before we start - we’re looking to hire a Growth / Content Marketing Lead for our latest productivity app. If you (or someone you know) are interested in a high autonomy, high equity role at a very fast growing startup, we’d love to hear from you here ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/7qh7h2u9q9qxppa9/aHR0cHM6Ly9kb2NzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20vZm9ybXMvZC9lLzFGQUlwUUxTZVRTM2NpeWU1X0hmMC1vRnVlb3gyS2E2WGM2SlpaMVE2dGJGNHpQU0dleUNfLXFnL3ZpZXdmb3Jt ). Anyway, big thank you to everyone who replied to last week’s issue - a bunch of you said that you quite enjoy it when I send emails with recommendations for stuff I’ve been reading, watching, playing around with etc, so I thought this week we’d do a roundup of My Favourite Things from Feb 2026 :) 1 - AI Tool: OpenClaw ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/owhkhwuwpwp0l7bq/aHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuY2xhdy5haS8= ) - I’ve been hearing about this new ClawdBot AI thing (now renamed to OpenClaw) on Twitter for the past few weeks, but after a glowing endorsement from my brother, and then the same day, another equally glowing endorsement from one of my entrepreneur friends in Hong Kong, I decided to give it a whirl and see what all the fuss was about. And man… the future is here. I’ve been obsessed with this thing for the past 48h pretty much non-stop, and know it’s going to be a major major part of my life productivity system for literally everything moving forward. If you’ve been hearing about it for a few weeks and like me, were putting off playing around with it, consider this another piece of data that “yes this is amazing” and “yes you should give it a go”. Along with “yes you should take the security settings seriously” and “yes it’ll take some tinkering to get it to work but it’s worth it”. 2 - Book: Backwards with Purpose ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/p8hehqu4m4mp59tr/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFuZmljdGlvbi5uZXQvcy80MTAxNjUwLzEvQmFja3dhcmQtV2l0aC1QdXJwb3NlLVBhcnQtSS1BbHdheXMtYW5kLUFsd2F5cw== ) - This is a 2-part Harry Potter fan fiction series that I finished a couple of weeks ago. It’s incredible. It’s set in an alternate universe where our heroes defeat Voldemort in book 7… but… okay you know how in the “proper” / “canon” Deathly Hallows, there’s the Battle of Hogwarts at the end and basically all the good guys (minus a few sad exceptions) survive and live happily ever after… well, in this fan fiction, the good guys do still defeat Voldemort, but it’s just Harry, Ginny and Ron that survive. Everyone else dies during the battle, including Hermione, the rest of the Weasleys, pretty much everyone else at Hogwarts etc. So then Harry, Ron and Ginny are super depressed… and so they attempt to travel back in time 7 years to fix things. To defeat Voldemort without all the sacrifices. So they travel back to when they were 10/11 years old, except they retain all their memories and skills, and that’s the premise. It’s really really well done, it’s really clever, it handles time travel in a really interesting way, I loved it and couldn’t put it down for weeks. 3 - AI Tool: Claude Code / CoWork ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/x0hph3ueoeo4dwag/aHR0cHM6Ly9jb2RlLmNsYXVkZS5jb20v ) - Yep, it’s another hyped AI tool. This is another one I’ve been sleeping on, but for like 6+ months rather than a few weeks. I thought I was pretty pro at using AI because I’m always chatting to Claude, I’ve got loads of projects on the go etc, but my powers have levelled up like 10x since I discovered Claude Code. The key realisation was: “wait a minute, you can do WAY more than just coding with Claude Code”. If you find the thought of using a terminal user-interface daunting (like I did until recently), Claude Cowork is 100% worth exploring too - it’s basically Claude Code but in a more accessible interface. I won’t go into the technical details here, but just in case you’re anything like me and you’ve been hearing about Claude Code/CoWork but haven’t tried them out… this might be your sign to give them a go. Or not - I don’t want to add to the “I’m behind with AI” feeling that we all perpetually have these days… but still… 4 - Podcast: Jason Fried x David Senra ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/6qhehoulzlz36ls9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_c2k9c0NXZHVmdlRaQkk2Vy1mYSZ2PUJkREN0TUExZ1N3 ) - Absolutely loved this conversation. Jason Fried has been a long-time hero of mine, I’ve read all his books and love his approach to entrepreneurship, which has very much inspired my own “Lifestyle Business” philosophy. His whole vibe is: “look, a business doesn’t need to be this huge massive thing that’s always growing and that takes over your life. It can totally be a small(ish) thing that you enjoy working on, with a small team of people you like hanging out with, building cool product(s) for a small(ish) number of customers who get a lot for value from them”. Have a great week! Ali xx PS: I’m the headline speaker at a free 6-hour long online summit on Thursday 26th Feb, all about content creation and entrepreneurship in the world of AI. It’s hosted by my friend Joe Gannon, and features some other great speakers, and it’s totally free. If you’d like to check it out and see me spiel about this stuff, you can register here ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/kkhmh2unrnro26ck/aHR0cHM6Ly9iaXQubHkvNHFGM1NGUw== ) (it’s recorded too). P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/25h2h9u3636q0nh8/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 If you're enjoying this newsletter, you might also want to check out my two other newsletters: 1️⃣ ProductiveNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/x0hg38x0a3ueoeo4dkfg/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3Byb2Rub3Rlcw== ): Weekly actionable productivity tips to help you do more of what matters. 2️⃣ CreatorNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/25hgxw3lu9u3636q06i8/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP2NyZWF0b3Jub3Rlcw== ): Weekly tips for aspiring creators to create more consistent and high-value content. YouTube ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/9qhzhdud0d0e3wbz/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vYWxpYWJkYWFs ) | Blog ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/3ohphdu3030k9gtp/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIv ) | Podcast ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/n2hohquvmvml5pa0/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQERlZXBEaXZld2l0aEFsaUFiZGFhbC92aWRlb3M= ) | Instagram ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v/48hvh7umvmv7qduq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9hbGlhYmRhYWwv ) | Update Your Email Preferences ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/d0umkvkz6dt0hovnlmqtdfz2q2r9pilhogk0v ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve sent an issue of this newsletter. Feels like I need to come up with an interesting insight or something and these days with life settling into a “regular” rhythm it feels like I’m having insights about life a lot less than I used to. I guess a few years ago, I’d spend all my spare time reading personal development books, and learning all these new things about how to manage my time, how to change my mindset, how to approach business building. These days, I don’t spend much of my spare time reading personal development books… instead, I finish work by 6:30pm, hang out with my wife and baby, go for a run, then spend the evening on the sofa reading Harry Potter Fan Fiction while my wife watches Bridgerton. With this sort of pedestrian life setup, I often get to the weekend thinking: “hmm I should kinda be writing an issue of LifeNotes… but I feel like I just don’t have anything useful or interesting to share lol” I guess I always have interesting things to say about business growth, especially now that our Lifestyle Business Academy ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/owhkhwuwpl87x3sq/aHR0cHM6Ly9saWZlc3R5bGVidXNpbmVzcy5jb20vbGJhLXdhaXRsaXN0Lz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZXZlcmdyZWVuJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PWJ1enpfZGlzc2FzdGlzZmFjdGlvbiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9bGlmZW5vdGVz ) is well underway, with 100+ students, and I’m running workshops every week, making changes to the curriculum all the time, and working directly with students to help them figure out their businesses. But… there’s very little that comes out of that that isn’t super specific to the world of starting an online business, which judging from what I hear in the replies to these emails, isn’t something particularly interesting to most of you. (Btw, if you ARE in fact interested in those things, we write about them in FreedomNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/z2hgh7uenrd854hz/aHR0cHM6Ly9saWZlc3R5bGVidXNpbmVzcy5jb20vZnJlZWRvbS1ub3Rlcy8_bG0tZ2E= ), our dedicated “business” newsletter). Anyway, with those lamentations aside, there is something I did want to share this week. Not sure how useful or interesting it is but oh well... One of the things you learn in meditation is becoming more aware of your own thoughts and feelings. When you’re meditating, you “observe” your thoughts, feelings and sensations, and then… don’t do anything at all. You just “observe” that a thought or feeling arises, and sit there as the “passive witnessing”, and then observe as it passes. I’m not particularly consistent with my meditation practice but I’ve done it enough over the years on-and-off to have gotten better at recognising my own thoughts and feelings as I go through day-to-day life, and generally doing a good job of not getting “caught up” in them. At least that’s what I thought. Until I caught myself many times in the past few weeks feeling… dissatisfied for some reason. Here’s what tended to happen: it’s an evening, I’m hanging with the wife +/- baby (depending on what time it is), reading some Harry Potter Fan Fiction. We start getting ready for bed. I use the toilet, turn on my phone, check Slack and see a bunch of notifications for work-themed stuff, with various things that need my input, or that seem to be going wrong, or that could be optimised. I then think “cool, all that can wait until tomorrow”, and start getting ready for bed. But as I’m getting ready for bed, I feel a subtle undercurrent of… dissatisfaction… colouring my mood, and my experience of the moment. It’s like an internal “buzzing” of sorts… and then I think “huh, why do I feel weirdly discontent even though life is awesome”, and I examine the feeling, and realise that there’s a subtle energy of “uh oh the business is going to crumble, we gotta hustle harder” beneath it. And then I’m like “huh that’s interesting, even though I thought I put the Slack messages out of my mind, they’re actually still there under the surface, and they seem to have triggered this pattern of energy that’s fearful and anxious about whether the business is going to die”. And then I’m like: “huh that’s interesting…” and then I sort-of “smile” at the feeling, in a “thank you for looking out for me, we don’t need to worry about this right now” and focus on enjoying the peace and serenity of getting ready for bed. I realised recently that I’ve been telling myself a story of “I’m pretty good at not getting caught up in my thoughts and feelings” that’s only partly true. Yes I was good at noticing the loud, obvious stuff, but the lower-level anxiety that was presenting as a hum of background noise was still totally there, I just wasn’t aware of it. My friend Alok said once that meditation is like peeling back the layers of an onion - there are always more layers. Guess I’ll have to do more meditation to find more and more of these layers. The more I’ve noticed this feeling, the more I’ve realised how often it’s there, this persistent, low-level hum of “there are Problems to solve in the business, we should Figure Them Out”. But all it takes for the spell to break (at least temporarily) is to just notice it’s there. If any of this resonates, I’d love to know. What’s been your experience of the subtle buzz of dissatisfaction? Feel free to hit reply and let me know :) Have a great week! Ali xx ​💫 80,000 Hours: Find Work That Truly Matters ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/p8hehqu4m57lr2ar/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== )​ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Most career advice focuses on pretty surface-level stuff - salary, work-life balance, whether you’ve got nice colleagues or not, stuff like that. And don’t get me wrong, these things are all important to some degree, but I find there’s always something missing. How can you find a career that’s both fulfilling and genuinely impactful? Well, that’s the question 80,000 Hours ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/p8hehqu4m57lr2ar/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ) tries to figure out. They’re a non-profit organisation that’s spent over a decade researching how you can find a career that makes a positive difference in the world, asking big questions like: * What are humanity’s most pressing problems right now? * Which skills should I be focusing on learning? * What can I do today to start planning a more meaningful career? I’ve been reading their stuff since I was in medical school, so I’m a big fan of what they do, and they’ve got everything from in-depth career guides to a job board with hundreds of open positions in high-impact roles, 1-1 career advising, and a brilliant podcast where they interview experts about humanity’s biggest challenges. Even better, everything they provide is totally free. So whether you’re just starting out or halfway through your career wondering “is this it?”, I’d highly recommend checking them out. Click the link here ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/p8hehqu4m57lr2ar/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ). Thanks to 80,000 Hours ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/p8hehqu4m57lr2ar/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ) for sponsoring this issue of LifeNotes 🙏 P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/x0hph3ueod7lkzig/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 Whenever you're ready, here are some other ways I can help you: 🎬 Part-Time YouTuber Academy ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/6qhehoulz62dx6u9/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3BhcnQtdGltZS15b3V0dWJlci1hY2FkZW15P3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1mb290ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWxpZmVub3Rlcw== ): 8+ years of YouTube experienced condensed into a self-paced course that teaches you everything you need to know to grow on YouTube. 🧭 LifeOS ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/kkhmh2unr293z3bk/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL2xpZmVvcz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249Zm9vdGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1saWZlbm90ZXM= ): Design your own productivity system to help you take action, beat procrastination, and work towards your goals. YouTube ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/58hvh8ugqo9z39t7/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vYWxpYWJkYWFs ) | Blog ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/25h2h9u360oel7t8/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIv ) | Podcast ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/qvh8h8udz260erfg/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQERlZXBEaXZld2l0aEFsaUFiZGFhbC92aWRlb3M= ) | Instagram ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/g3hnhwumrozkgmt3/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9hbGlhYmRhYWwv ) | Update Your Email Preferences ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l ) | Unsubscribe from LifeNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/38ugd8dve2skh20zd0vfnf4ppzpnnf7h6x45l/7qhoo8zdu2u9qp4mdwu9/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3NvcnJ5LXRvLXNlZS15b3UtZ28_bGlmZW5vdGVz ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, A couple weeks ago, I was interviewed ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/kkhmh2unz2qg6vck/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj02Z2tvalNLXzZBRQ== ) on my friend and former coach Corey’s podcast. One topic we talked about was the backstory behind why and how I decided to build an online business school ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/58hvh8ug3o8pk8h7/aHR0cHM6Ly9saWZlc3R5bGVidXNpbmVzcy5jb20v ) this year. One interesting tidbit (or so listeners to that episode tell me) was that I kept the project a secret from my team for 6 months…not because I didn’t trust them obviously, but because I’ve hopefully (finally) learned an important lesson about running a business (that I think also applies to our personal lives): that a business, once established, is more likely to die of overeating than of starvation. I watched an interview where Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) was talking about this (paraphrased): I’m an ideas guy - if you put me in front of a whiteboard and I can come up with 100 ideas in half an hour. But early in Amazon’s history, Jeff Wilke (one of my executives and mentors) came up to me and said: “Jeff, you have enough ideas per minute, per day, per week, to destroy Amazon”. And this was such a shocking idea for me… I said: “What do you mean?” He said: “You have to release the work at the right rate that the organisation can accept it”. Wilke explained that every time I released a new idea, I was creating a backlog, a queue, of work in process, and because it was just stacking up, it was adding no value. In fact, it was creating distraction. And so Wilke said: “You have to figure out when to release the ideas at a rate that the organisation can accept”. And this sounds so obvious, but it wasn’t obvious to me at the time. And this was a profound insight for me: so I started prioritising ideas better, keeping a list of them, keeping them to myself, until the organisation was ready for the ideas. When I heard this, it immediately resonated. Our business is obviously way smaller than Amazon, but even at our scale (with around 15 team members), I’ve been guilty of this exact thing: throwing ideas into the business at a faster rate than the organisation can handle them. In the early days of the business and YouTube channel, I could pivot on a whim. New video series? Great let’s try it tomorrow. Launch a brand new course? Easy, we can do that in a week. Switch website platforms? Sure why not. The cost of a failed experiment was basically zero. But now our expenses are $2m+ per year, with team salaries making up the bulk of that. We have people whose livelihoods depend on executing well on the things we’ve already committed to. If I get onto a team Zoom meeting and say “Hey, I’ve got this exciting new idea for an online business school!”, suddenly everyone’s focus shifts. The other projects get deprioritised, energy gets scattered, the stuff we’re already doing starts to suffer. Even if I preface it with “but this is just an idea at this stage guys, don’t worry about it, I’m just throwing it out there for a discussion”, it’s way too easy for the team to think: “okay but what does that mean for all the stuff we’re already doing… wait a minute, maybe we shouldn’t be investing in project X or Y because this new thing seems to be exciting”. This is all well and good if we end up actually pursuing the new thing, but I’ve often changed my mind on exciting new ideas just as fast as I’ve suggested them to the team, which creates “organisational whiplash” and is a total nightmare to deal with (or so I’m told when I ask team members to give me feedback…) Maybe this is something you can relate to if you’ve ever had a manager or a boss who considers themselves “an ideas guy” - they have dozens of new ideas every month, but end up sticking to very few of them, which means you end up wasting a tonne of time, energy and mental bandwidth changing direction. Not fun. So anyway, this time with this online business school thing, I tried my best to NOT introduce the idea to the team until I felt (a) I was solid in actually wanting to do it, and (b) I’d spoken to a bunch of friends and mentors about it, and (c) we’d validated it with a lower-lift experiment. This ended up taking like 9 months: around September 2024 was when I was chatting to one of my mentors, Olly, and said: “hey I think I really want to build an online business school”. Then a few months passed, I noodled on the idea a bit, I signed up to some online courses from other people doing similar things to see if I was still interested in it, I tried out some YouTube videos talking about “how to build an online business” to see if it would be fun. Last summer, we also ran a “$1k Challenge” as an experiment: a 6-week bootcamp that would help people earn their first $1,000 online. That turned out to be quite fun to run, and students got a lot of value out of it, so it was good validation for the idea that would ultimately become the Lifestyle Business Academy ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/58hvh8ug3o8pk8h7/aHR0cHM6Ly9saWZlc3R5bGVidXNpbmVzcy5jb20v ). But there’s another thing I’ve noticed especially in the new year, when we’re all about reinventing ourselves and setting goals etc… we get our journals out, decide to learn Spanish, decide to start a podcast, decide to go to the gym more regularly, run a marathon, do a hyrox (whatever that means), read 50 books this year, and so much more. And then we wonder why, by February, we feel overwhelmed and haven’t made meaningful progress towards any of these goals. Just like a business (even one at the scale of Amazon) can only work on a finite number of things at once, the same is true for us as individuals. Our time, energy, focus, attention and motivation are all finite resources. And trying to do lots of things in parallel is often a recipe for burnout and overwhelm. So the same Bezos principle applies to our personal lives: instead of introducing new goals and habits into your life at an overwhelming rate, it’s probably better to drip-feed new ideas at a rate that we can actually handle sustainably. I’ve started asking myself a question whenever I feel the urge to start something new: “What am I already doing that this would compete with?” Every new commitment takes bandwidth. And bandwidth is finite. So if I’m honest with myself, I can only really make meaningful progress on 1-3 things at any given time. Maybe less lol. This is why I often preach the idea of setting a primary “Quarterly Quest” for work and for life - the ONE THING, in each of these areas, that if you did in the next 90 days, would have the biggest impact. If you’ve read this far in this email, you’re probably like me - lots of ideas, lots of things you want to work on, very good-looking etc. The problem with people like us is that rather than screwing up our lives due to laziness and sloth, we’re actually much more likely to burn ourselves into the ground through ambition, lack of balance, and a failure to show restraint when setting goals. Have a great week! Ali xx PS: This week we were working on a bunch of features in our new productivity platform to help solve this exact issue. If you’d like to hear more when it’s ready, I’d love to invite you to join the waitlist ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/qvh8h8ude25go9sg/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3VwZXJvcy5tZS8= ) :) ​⏰ 80,000 Hours: The Time You Spend At Work ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/g3hnhwumgo576qt3/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== )​ ----------------------------------------------------------------- This might sound a tad scary, but the average person spends about 80,000 hours working across their lifetime. That’s 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 40 years. When you think about it like that, your career isn’t just about paying the bills or climbing the corporate ladder - it’s probably your biggest opportunity to actually make a positive difference in the world, which is a pretty big deal. And that’s where 80,000 Hours ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/g3hnhwumgo576qt3/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ) comes in - they’re a fantastic non-profit organisation that’s been researching which careers actually have the most impact for over a decade, using proper evidence-based methods. ​80,000 Hours ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/g3hnhwumgo576qt3/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ) looks at which problems are most pressing and neglected, and where your specific skills could make the biggest difference in the world. So one thing that keeps coming up a lot lately is AI safety. As AI systems get more and more powerful, making sure they’re aligned with human values is super important and there’s huge potential for impact even if you’re not a hardcore computer scientist. They’ve got a ridiculously in-depth career guide, 1-1 career advising, a job board with currently open roles in high-impact fields, and a brilliant podcast. Oh and everything they provide is completely free because they’re a nonprofit. So if any of that resonates with you, it’s definitely worth checking out by clicking the link here ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/g3hnhwumgo576qt3/aHR0cDovLzgwMDAwaG91cnMub3JnL2xpZmVub3Rlcw== ). Thanks to 80,000 Hours for sponsoring this issue of LifeNotes 🙏 P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/9qhzhdud43mkzebz/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 Whenever you're ready, here are some other (free) resources you can check out: 1️⃣ Learn to focus better ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/3ohphdu3x9l648up/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tLzctZGF5LWZvY3VzLWNyYXNoLWNvdXJzZS8= ): My free 7-day email course where I’ll teach you how to improve your focus and concentration with evidence-based techniques. 2️⃣ YouTube Growth Scorecard ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/n2hohquv25pw6db0/aHR0cHM6Ly9wbGF5LmFsaWFiZGFhbC5jb20veW91dHViZS1ncm93dGgtcG90ZW50aWFs ): Take my quiz to get customised advice on how to grow your YouTube channel. YouTube ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/48hvh7umwqezgzbq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vYWxpYWJkYWFs ) | Blog ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/wnh2h6uqmvp9g5al/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIv ) | Podcast ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/reh8h9umkvr9x3u6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQERlZXBEaXZld2l0aEFsaUFiZGFhbC92aWRlb3M= ) | Instagram ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/08hwhgu2nw50zxfp/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9hbGlhYmRhYWwv ) | Update Your Email Preferences ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9 ) | Unsubscribe from LifeNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/4zu9e5exn2fehpwk050srf6kd8l77a5h6gnw9/58hww87qc8ug3o8p7ot7/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3NvcnJ5LXRvLXNlZS15b3UtZ28_bGlmZW5vdGVz ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, Last week we hosted Spark 2026, our free annual workshop where me and some guest speakers walked participants through reflecting on 2025, figuring out where there life’s going, and setting goals for 2026. Big thank you to everyone who attended: I had a great time running it, and I hope you got some value out of it :) The event was very focused around Goals. So this week’s email is going to be about Goals. But before we get started, I’d like to talk about a video game. You see, the other day I was reclining on the couch playing God of War (2018) on the PS5. I’m a few hours into the game, and I found myself at a crossroads (literally and metaphorically). I could choose to row my boat LEFT, and progress the main storyline. Or I could choose to row my boat RIGHT, and do a side quest that seemed interesting but that wouldn’t progress the main story. I noticed my default thought process was: “well, we’ve gotta go LEFT, because that’ll get us moving through the storyline faster”. But then I stopped and noticed that thought. I was like: “hmm that’s interesting… I’m playing a video game here… why do I feel the need to play it efficiently? Why did my first thought go to: what’s the fastest way to progress through the game?” After some thinking, I landed on the question: “What’s actually the point of playing this video game?” And the answer came pretty quickly: “The point is simply to enjoy the journey of playing it”. There’s no cosmic significance to my playing God of War. It isn’t an exercise in “self improvement”. The “points” or “levels” I earn in the game have less than zero impact on my life. It’s simply an arbitrary video game, I’m playing at an arbitrary difficulty level (hard, but not ultra-hard), purely for the purposes of passing the time doing something enjoyable. So I decided to turn right, and take the more scenic route, doing the side quest that had no bearing on the main storyline, but enjoying myself, and playing in a relaxed fashion with the attitude of “leaning back, relaxing and enjoying the challenge of this arbitrary video game”. The following morning, I was in the office with the team, and working on some designs for our new productivity app ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/g3hnhwumx2z0p6u3/aHR0cHM6Ly9zdXBlcm9zLm1l ). I found myself feeling a tad on-edge with how little time I had available to work on it: just a few hours of deep work before the next meeting, and then it’s lunchtime, and then my afternoon’s packed with gym followed by a couple more meetings with the dev team. I found myself approaching the designs with an air of franticness, an air of feeling like I was running out of time, and therefore had to make progress on this quickly. But then I remembered the feeling when playing God of War. The feeling of trying to do things “efficiently”. So I asked myself that question again: “What’s actually the point of us building this productivity app?” Sure, if the app does well, it’ll mean more money for the business. And sure, it would be cool to be building an app that lots of people around the world use and enjoy that helps them manage their time and achieve their goals. But in the grand scheme of things… a few decades from now (if not way sooner), the app will be forgotten. A few more decades from now (hopefully a lot longer), me and the dev team will be dead, and no one will particularly care about this app that we spent a few years building in the 2020s on planet Earth. This app has zero cosmic significance. So what’s the point? I realised that much like a video game, the point is primarily to “enjoy the experience of building this thing”. If we build it well, it’ll hopefully have a little more impact on our lives than literally spending those hours playing more video games. But not that much more, on a cosmic scale. In many ways, the journey of building an app is much like the journey of playing a video game: it’s an arbitrary goal, with an arbitrary level of difficulty (how complex and full-featured do we want to make it?), played for the primary purpose of “building something cool” and “enjoying the journey of building it”. So I thought, “huh, if the point of building this app is actually primarily to enjoy the journey of building this app, what if I approached it like I approached playing God of War… what if instead of approaching it with an attitude of franticness or stress, I instead leaned back, relaxed, and enjoyed the challenge?” So I tried it. I took a breath, I leaned back, I relaxed, and I remembered that building the app is an arbitrary video game, where the primary goal is to simply enjoy the challenge. And you know what… I had a great time. For the next few hours, I had my Study with Me Spotify playlist playing through my headphones. I took breaks every now and then to get a coffee and use the loo. I chatted to the team a bit while waiting for Lovable to mock up designs. And while approaching it in this “relaxed” fashion, I made a load of progress, came up with a bunch of cool new ideas, and felt great. The very first chapter of Feel-Good Productivity ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/9qhzhdudn82e99iz/aHR0cHM6Ly9nby5mZWVsZ29vZHByb2R1Y3Rpdml0eS5jb20vYW1hem9u ) is titled Play. The whole thesis of the entire book is that when we approach our work in the spirit of play, treating it with a little more lightness than we’re used to, we actually become more productive, more creative, and less stressed. AND on top of that, the work ends up generating rather than draining our energy. But even though I’ve written that chapter, and I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of taking a more “playful” approach to work, I still find myself defaulting to the mode of “this is a Serious Thing that Needs To Be Done Quickly and Productively and Efficiently”. Over time, I’ve gotten better at catching myself when I do this, and deliberately switching over to “play mode”. But it still isn’t my default. I’d love for it to be, so that my approach to practically every goal or project, in work and in life, is to treat it with an attitude of lightness, ease and sincerity, rather than Heaviness and Seriousness. Zooming out even more, I’ve found myself wondering this: What if every goal we’re working towards, in our work, our health, our relationships, our home life… What if all those goals are “merely” arbitrary video games, played on an arbitrary level of difficulty, where the primary purpose is to enjoy the journey of playing them? What if… the journey is in fact, the destination? Dammit, after all that, we’ve landed on a cliche. Have a great week! Ali xx PS: My friend and former coach Dr Corey Wilks (clinical psychologist who helps creators and entrepreneurs overcome psychological barriers) has just opened up enrolment for his Alchemy of Fear ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/3ohphdu3v8dkzvsp/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY3JlYXRvcmFsY2hlbXkuY29tL2FsY2hlbXktb2YtZmVhci1wcm9ncmFt ) live 6-week program starting in a few weeks. Me and my team have taken the program, we love it. If you want to check it out, Corey’s offering $400 off for our audience: you can use the coupon ALI400 to get the discount. FYI: There’s no affiliate arrangement here, I get no kickback etc, I just love Corey’s work and think his program’s awesome, and he’s kindly offered a no-strings discount for our audience 😊 PPS: I just recorded a mega 2h20m long episode with Corey for his Creator Alchemy podcast. If you’d like to hear me yap for 2 hours, you might like to check it out ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/48hvh7umk327gvcq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj02Z2tvalNLXzZBRQ== ). P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/wnh2h6uq8dolg7cl/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 Whenever you're ready, here are some other ways I can help you: 🎬 Part-Time YouTuber Academy ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/reh8h9umnp5oxza6/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3BhcnQtdGltZS15b3V0dWJlci1hY2FkZW15P3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1mb290ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWxpZmVub3Rlcw== ): 8+ years of YouTube experienced condensed into a self-paced course that teaches you everything you need to know to grow on YouTube. 🧭 LifeOS ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/08hwhgu2q47pz5up/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL2xpZmVvcz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249Zm9vdGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1saWZlbm90ZXM= ): Design your own productivity system to help you take action, beat procrastination, and work towards your goals. YouTube ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/8ghqh3uok85796fl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vYWxpYWJkYWFs ) | Blog ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/vqh3hmuo86kqgztw/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIv ) | Podcast ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/l2heh6ulwpkdrxcg/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQERlZXBEaXZld2l0aEFsaUFiZGFhbC92aWRlb3M= ) | Instagram ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/dphehmuerx725xcl/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9hbGlhYmRhYWwv ) | Update Your Email Preferences ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6 ) | Unsubscribe from LifeNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/qdu2g5gvk6f7h4e65eqc8f82pvrkki4h8opl6/3oh44md9bdu3v8dkzwbp/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3NvcnJ5LXRvLXNlZS15b3UtZ28_bGlmZW5vdGVz ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY

Hey friends, Happy New Year! Quick thing before we start - in case you haven’t heard, I’m hosting a totally free 2-day workshop this weekend (Sat and Sun 3rd + 4th January) called Spark 2026. It’s the 2nd year we’re doing this: a free series of “Annual Planning, Goal Setting and Reflection” workshops to help you make 2026 the best year of your life :) 65,000 people registered so far from all over the world, would be great to see you there. You can find out more here if you like ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/6qhehoul0x97pxa9/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3NwYXJrLTIwMjYvP3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1zcGsyNiZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1taWRuaWdodF9zY3JvbGxpbmdfMiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9bGlmZW5vdGVz ) 😊 Anyway, while I was lying in bed last night, I made the mistake of clicking on a notification from Twitter/X. Can’t remember what it was, but it was intriguing and I clicked on it. And then without realising it, I found myself scrolling the feed for over an hour. And it wasn’t just that I was scrolling for over an hour - it was that I found myself feeling a sense of “falling behind” while doing it. My Instagram feed these days is quite wholesome: relationship content, baby content, some desk setups, some music stuff, some health stuff. Ie: broadly wholesome things I’m interested in. So even though I try not to make a habit of it, I don’t feel too bad when I scroll through Instagram. But…my Twitter feed has none of that. Instead, it’s almost 100% AI + tech startup stuff, with every other post talking about how you’re falling behind if you’re not using Claude Code, or Google’s new Antigravity, or this-or-that new app or model. And how you’re falling behind if you’re not using these hot new marketing tactics that so-and-so app used to get to $100m in revenue in just 6 months! Or how if you’re an entrepreneur and you haven’t yet replaced your entire team with AI agents, wtf are you even doing. And so on. I started seeing some of these while scrolling and initially, I was like: “ooh maybe I DO need to try out this specific Claude Code workflow to boost my productivity”. But then I saw another. And another. And more. And before I knew it - instead of seeing any individual post as a source of inspiration, I fell into the “doom scroll” of continuing to scroll, not getting any inspiration or motivation from it, and instead feeling a sense of dread that I was truly falling behind and that my business is going to crumble around me. Now, I like to think of myself as more enlightened than to fall into this trap. It’s just… so basic. I’m supposed to be a productivity expert for goodness sake. It’s such basic-ass advice to (a) not have your phone next to you in bed, (b) to block social media apps after 9pm, and (c) even if you do feel like scrolling, make sure you’re being intentional about it and actually getting value that’s improving your life. For many years, I didn’t have my phone next to my bedside. For many years, I had app blocking active after 9pm. But then… one of the apps stopped working a few months ago, and I didn’t bother figuring out why. I thought: “meh I can totally control myself, I don’t need this stuff”. And then, I left my extra phone charger behind somewhere while travelling, and thought: “you know what, I don’t need to charge my phone in a different room, I can totally charge it on my bedside table, I’m not one of those degenerates that needs to put these systems in place to NOT use my phone for goodness sake”. And so thanks to my hubris of thinking that me as a sole individual can reliably beat the thousands of well-paid engineers working for social media companies, who’s literal job it is to hijack my brain into continuing to scroll… thanks to me thinking I was above it all, I ended up wasting time and energy, and also feeling bad about my life, at midnight last night. So consider this email a (semi) public commitment that: * I’m setting up app blocking again (on Superfocus ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/25h2h9u3nlm27wt8/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcHBzLmFwcGxlLmNvbS9nYi9hcHAvc3VwZXJmb2N1cy1lZmZvcnRsZXNzLWZsb3cvaWQ2NzM4ODQ1NjEz )) so that from 10pm to 8am, I can’t access Twitter, Instagram, Reddit or YouTube. * My phone will charge on my desk in a separate room overnight, rather than on my bedside table. I’m going back to having the only device on my nightstand be my Kindle. If you’d like to join me in doing these sorts of drastic actions, you’re very welcome to. Have a great week! Ali xx ----------------------------------------------------------------- ​🔮 Stan: A Year To Chase Your Dream ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/qvh8h8udqekr85hg/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXJldG9kcmVhbS5zdGFuLnN0b3JlLz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZGFyZXRvZHJlYW0yNiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWFsaWFiZGFhbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXI= )​ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Quick question before we finish today’s email: If your salary and rent were covered for an entire year, what would you actually do with that time? Not in a fantasy or “winning the lottery” kinda way, but genuinely, what’s the one thing that you’d finally give yourself permission to try? Start a YouTube channel? Build an online course? Launch your own lifestyle business that you can never quite find the time for? This is the question that Stan ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/g3hnhwumxgq3e8t3/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2luLnN0YW4uc3RvcmUvYWxpYWJkYWFs ) is asking right now - an awesome platform and toolkit for creators and solopreneurs where you can basically set up a beautiful digital storefront to sell literally anything you create (courses, digital downloads, coaching calls, stuff like that). And the team at Stan ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/g3hnhwumxgq3e8t3/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2luLnN0YW4uc3RvcmUvYWxpYWJkYWFs ) are backing up this question with something pretty epic in 2026 - they’re giving away $100K USD to help one person go all-in on their dream, which is your salary and cost of living covered for a full year. Why? Because not everyone has a safety net that lets them explore creative paths or take the leap into entrepreneurship, and having that runway changes everything. Beyond the $100K you’ll also get Lifetime access to Stan Pro and Stanley (their AI companion for Instagram that helps you grow), coaching and mentorship to guide you along the way, and exposure across Stan’s socials. So if you’ve been sitting on an idea for a while, this could be your shot to make it happen and all you need to do is the following: 1️⃣ Sign up for Stanley (which is free) 2️⃣ Post a video (2 mins or less) on a public TikTok or Instagram page sharing your story, your dream, and how you plan to bring it to life using the hashtag #standaretodream26 and tagging @stanforcreators. 3️⃣ Fill out the submission form to make sure you’re eligible.That’s literally it and they started accepting submissions on 1st of January 2026. Oh and btw, you don’t need a massive following to enter and you don’t need to already have a business up and running - all you need is an idea and the willingness to share it. You can find more information here ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/qvh8h8udqekr85hg/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXJldG9kcmVhbS5zdGFuLnN0b3JlLz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZGFyZXRvZHJlYW0yNiZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWFsaWFiZGFhbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXI= ). ​Thanks to Stan for sponsoring this issue of LifeNotes 🙏 ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/g3hnhwumxgq3e8t3/aHR0cHM6Ly9qb2luLnN0YW4uc3RvcmUvYWxpYWJkYWFs )​ P.S. Do you mind taking 50 seconds to answer a few questions ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/9qhzhdudn45pgoiz/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXItc2lnbi11cC10aGFuay15b3UvP3N1cnZleQ== ) so that I can send the most helpful content possible? Thanks in advance 🙂 Whenever you're ready, here are some other ways I can help you: 🎬 Part-Time YouTuber Academy ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/3ohphdu3vxp7qpbp/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3BhcnQtdGltZS15b3V0dWJlci1hY2FkZW15P3V0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1mb290ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWxpZmVub3Rlcw== ): 8+ years of YouTube experienced condensed into a self-paced course that teaches you everything you need to know to grow on YouTube. 🧭 LifeOS ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/n2hohquve273nlf0/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL2xpZmVvcz91dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249Zm9vdGVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1saWZlbm90ZXM= ): Design your own productivity system to help you take action, beat procrastination, and work towards your goals. YouTube ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/48hvh7umkwxr03bq/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vYWxpYWJkYWFs ) | Blog ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/wnh2h6uq8m0wrzal/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIv ) | Podcast ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/reh8h9umnk6009u6/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vQERlZXBEaXZld2l0aEFsaUFiZGFhbC92aWRlb3M= ) | Instagram ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/08hwhgu2qnlddofp/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9hbGlhYmRhYWwv ) | Update Your Email Preferences ( https://844e968a.unsubscribe.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l ) | Unsubscribe from LifeNotes ( https://844e968a.click.convertkit-mail2.com/0vu59m9rp3h9h9n0dgphkfvze4k55hnh95n7l/58hww87qc8ugl36mmnf7/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGlhYmRhYWwuY29tL3NvcnJ5LXRvLXNlZS15b3UtZ28_bGlmZW5vdGVz ) | 48 George Street, Floor 2, London, W1U 7DY