Earlier this year, I decided to make “restraint” the one-word theme of the year. I wouldn’t call it fun, however there’s no doubt it has made my life richer. Here are five notes on how it’s going:

• Nutrition: I used to drink multiple bubble teas (I’m not calling it boba yet) per week, and now I set a goal to drink one bubble tea per month. I eat less fries than before, ideally also once per month though I’m not sure I adhere to this yet. I eat vegetarian pizzas because meat and cheese are a lot for me. 
• Frugality: This may sound strange to you—I have a hard time spending, to the point where I would often procrastinate on buying things that I know I’ll need in the future. And of course, I don’t have it when I need it because I didn’t buy it… so I decided to restrain my obsession with not spending. Make good systems-level decisions and give consideration/consultation to high impact decisions, and also be ok paying $30 to book an airline seat earlier. I plan to have fun spending my money in the future, so it’s time to start practicing now.
• Perfectionism: I do my best to just show up and do the work. With most things, it’s ok to not have prepared enough, proofread and edit multiple times, be in the right mood, have enough sleep, know exactly how it’s going to turn out, etc. Of course, some things still need that touch—but with this attitude it’s much easier to get started.
• Projects: I do not let my mind run on a whim and just start projects up willy nilly. Sure, I still do some for fun, and I’m really energized by those—but they are the exception. I say no to a lot of things, and it kills me a little bit inside, but it also breathes life into the existing projects that need it.
• Entertainment: I used to always put some form of entertainment on when I ate. That might be a video or a podcast. More often than not now, when I eat, I just eat. There’s nothing fancy about this—I am not necessarily savoring the food, doing food meditation, etc.—however I find that my mind feels refreshed after. I often find good ideas like this.

Some more observations related to restraint:

• Practicing restraint in service of making good work
• Restraining focus, and deciding what not to do, even for the biggest teams
• Restraining ambition in order to have fun, not to win
• Prioritizing being effective