Sharper thinking, future-proof skills, productive chaos

🌱 HEALTHY

Creatine Isn't Just For Muscles

Brain health is becoming mainstream in 2026. Not just mental health, but cognitive function. Memory, focus, processing speed.

Creatine, the supplement athletes have used for decades to build muscle, is now getting attention for what it does to your brain.

Research published in 2024 shows creatine supplementation significantly improves memory, with moderate benefits for working memory and executive function.

Working memory is task-oriented memory. Like remembering a phone number long enough to dial it. Executive function is your ability to focus, plan, and filter out distractions.

Both decline when you're sleep-deprived, stressed, or dealing with constant time zone changes.

How it works:

Your brain needs massive amounts of energy to function. Creatine acts as a shuttle, transporting energy from where it's made to where it's needed.

One study had participants take a single high dose of creatine during sleep deprivation. Three hours later, their brain metabolism improved and they performed better on cognitive tests. Especially processing speed and short-term memory.

The effect peaked at four hours but lasted over nine hours.

Why this matters for nomads:

Changing time zones messes with your sleep. New cities mean constant cognitive load. Navigating unfamiliar places, processing new information, adapting to different routines.

Creatine might help buffer some of that cognitive fatigue.

It's particularly effective for vegetarians and vegans who don't get dietary creatine from meat and seafood. But anyone dealing with inconsistent sleep, travel stress, or high mental demands could benefit.

The most studied form is creatine monohydrate. Standard dose is 5g per day. No loading phase needed, though some people do it.

Studies show it's safe for healthy adults. People worry it damages kidneys, but research doesn't support that unless you already have kidney issues.

Takeaway: If you're dealing with jet lag, irregular sleep, or constant mental demands while traveling, try creatine monohydrate. 5g daily for at least 4 weeks. Track whether your focus and memory improve during high-stress periods.

🪙 WEALTHY

Don’t Build On Unstable Ground

AI website builders can now generate full layouts, design, images, and copy in minutes from a short description.

WordPress isn't disappearing, but it's adding AI layers everywhere - automated layouts, AI-generated copy, built-in AI builders.

If you're spending months learning manual WordPress workflows right now, you're building skills on shifting ground.

The execution work - configuring themes, installing plugins, tweaking CSS - is getting automated. Fast.

That doesn't mean technical skills are worthless. It means the leverage is moving.

What still matters:

• Original ideas and positioning

• Building an actual audience

• Creating offers that solve real problems

• Knowing how to use AI tools instead of fighting them

The implementation work is becoming commoditized. The strategic work isn't.

If you're learning new skills right now, pick the ones that compound regardless of which tools end up dominating.

What you refuse to learn matters as much as what you commit to.

Takeaway: Look at what you're learning this month. Is it execution work that's being automated, or strategic skills that compound over time? Adjust accordingly.

📚 AND WISE

Nobody's Success Story Felt Calm

Phil Knight's quote from building Nike: "My life was out of balance, sure, but I didn't care. In fact, I wanted even more imbalance. I wanted to dedicate every minute of every day to Blue Ribbon."

He worked six days a week at his accounting job, then poured early mornings, late nights, weekends, and vacations into Nike. No friends, no exercise, no social life for stretches.

His reasoning: "If my life was to be all work and no play, I wanted my work to be play."

He wasn't suffering. He wanted more imbalance because the thing consuming his time actually mattered to him.

This pattern shows up everywhere you look. Founders, artists, athletes who make big leaps tend to go through lopsided seasons where one thing dominates for a while.

The common advice is to allocate time neatly across work, health, relationships, hobbies, and rest every week. But that's not how meaningful progress actually happens.

People make progress when they treat life as phases. A 3-6 month block where one goal is clearly first and others are in maintenance mode.

Maybe work gets priority and fitness stays at "good enough." Or fitness becomes the focus and social life runs on baseline.

Research on goal achievement calls this "goal shielding" - you actively protect a key goal by reducing conflicting commitments and distractions.

Trying to push everything forward at the same speed creates more stress than progress. You're switching contexts constantly and feeling guilty instead of going deep on anything.

Focus means choosing what doesn't matter right now.

Not everything deserves equal time. Not everything needs your energy this quarter.

The chaos that's worth it beats the balance that keeps you stuck.

Takeaway: Look at your calendar this week. What are you trying to balance that doesn't need balancing? What could you push harder on if you stopped trying to optimize everything else simultaneously?