Doing things the hard way is a dying art.
Online, you can find a “low-effort” hack for everything: low-effort recipes, workouts, skincare routines, outfits, hairstyles, hangouts. Society subtly encourages—and glamorizes—efficiency and time-saving hacks, framing effort as something to be eliminated rather than embraced.
But effort is good. Trying is good. Slowing down to give things the time they deserve is necessary—for growth, meaning, sustainability. As more and more of our daily tasks become automated, our tolerance for discomfort and friction will matter more than ever. If we never practice doing hard things, we’ll quietly lose the ability to.
That’s why May's theme is Effort. We’ve curated a list of activities that welcome slowing down and choosing to do things the harder way—on purpose.
Your first task: Today, before you Google, ask AI, or text a friend for an answer, give yourself five minutes to figure it out on your own. It can be small:
- What should I make for dinner with what's already in my fridge?
- How do I want to word this email?
- What's a gift that person would actually like?
Set a timer if it helps. Sit with the discomfort of not immediately knowing. You might surprise yourself, and even when you don't, the attempt is the point. Deliberate effort creates a stronger sense of accomplishment than any shortcut ever could. Now, slow your scroll and invite effort.
Recreate this Mood Board for yourself:
- Focus on the two things you can control in life
- Reframe nerves as your inner applause
- Honor your invisible effort
- Build out your dream life like it's a college curriculum
- Remind yourself what effort sounds like
- Embrace ‘slowmaxxing’
- Try high maintenance habits to be low maintenance
- Redefine what “ASAP” means
- Archive inspiration instead of passively consuming
Life, unplugged
🗺️ Map your curiosity & find your direction
We often find ourselves overworking because we rarely stop to ask what actually pulls our attention. Open a notebook, set a timer for 10 minutes, and try this curiosity mapping exercise to find out:
Ask yourself:
1. What do you find yourself researching when no one's watching? List five things you've looked up just out of curiosity: how a specific dish is made, the backstory of a public figure who intrigues you, a city you've wanted to visit, etc.
2. What makes you look up and realize an hour has passed? List five things you lose track of time doing: working on a creative hobby, decorating your space, reading a specific genre, etc.
3. What do others seem to think you're good at or knowledgeable about? List five things people ask for your help with: navigating a difficult conversation, making something look better, planning trips or events, etc.
Now look across all three lists. Ask yourself:
- What words or themes show up more than once?
- Is there overlap between what you're curious about and what you're already doing?
- Where's the biggest gap?
Next step: Pick one theme from your map and give it 30 minutes this week. Say “storytelling” keeps showing up; your 30 minutes might look like writing a newsletter, listening to a podcast on content creation, or scheduling a coffee chat with someone at a media company. Curiosity compounds when you feed it, and over time, you’ll find where your effort wants to go.
Familiar comforts
🗣️ Make small talk 1% more meaningful
The weather, traffic, weekend plans—small talk is an important form of social glue. Without intention, it tends to stay on autopilot, rarely turning into real connection. Here are a few ways to add one small layer of presence to make small talk 1% more effective:
1. Swap vague answers for specific ones. When answering, “How are you?” swap the generic “busy” for “busy, but in a good way—lots of back-to-back meetings and I finally got outside for a bit this morning.”
2. Ask slightly better versions of default questions. Try “What was the best part of your weekend?” or “Did anything surprising happen this weekend?”
3. Pick one follow-up question. If someone shares something, resist moving on immediately. Add one follow-up to turn polite exchange into actual conversation:
- “Wait—how did you get into that?”
- “Was that fun or more stressful than expected?”
- “Oh interesting, what was that like for you?”
4. Share one small honest detail. Personal truths can make you more memorable without oversharing:
- “I’ve been oddly into quiet mornings lately.”
- “I can’t tell if I need more or less coffee these days.”
- “I've been taking the long way home recently.”
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Help desk
☕ Turn down your assistance dial
The most familiar parts of our days have become the easiest to sleepwalk through. Here's how to wake them back up with intention:
- Turn your morning coffee into a ritual. Manually grind the beans, heat the water, and use a pour-over cup with a reusable filter.
- Walk somewhere you'd normally drive or take public transportation.
- Use a vintage composition notebook to hand-write something you'd normally type: a to-do list, a note to a friend, a thought you'd usually thumb into your phone.
- Do something that rewards sustained attention over speed: a jigsaw puzzle, a crossword, a game of solitaire.
- Hand-wash something you usually throw in the machine: a sweater, a dish, a knife.
- Shower with an exfoliating soap bar instead of body wash.
- Instead of ordering groceries online, plan a mini shopping trip. Swing by the candle aisle or bakery to remind yourself how sensory the experience can be.
Reader insights
⚽ View your individual effort as part of something bigger
The majority of our audience played sports growing up. We asked how sports influenced the way they navigate the workforce, and many said it taught them soft skills such as teamwork, patience, and resilience.
One respondent said: “My ability to see my individual effort as an important part of a larger team goal is certainly due to sports. Also, as an individual, I believe it gave me a lifelong determination for self-improvement.” Use that athlete mindset in your career:
- Separate output from outcome. A great performance doesn't always mean a win, and a loss doesn't erase the work. Apply the same logic at work: evaluate your effort honestly, independent of results you can't fully control.
- Find your equivalent of practice. Identify one skill you want to sharpen and give it low-stakes repetition: a weekly writing habit, mock presentations, meeting with a mentor.
- Name the moment you want to quit. In sports, you learn to recognize the point where your brain says “stop” before your body actually has to. At work, notice when that voice shows up. Naming it gives you the choice to push through.
- Use rest as part of the work. Elite athletes understand recovery is integral in training. Build in time for rest so your sustained effort doesn't end in burnout.
