Silence, Simplicity, and Focus: 3 Lessons for a More Intentional Life

This month, I'm continuing from the last two months and sharing more of my favourite chapters from "Hell Yeah or No" by Derek Sivers. I hope they encourage you to think about your days differently or to simply disconnect.

Here are three chapters to inspire intention and focus this month:

Silence is a Powerful Canvas For Your Thoughts

When you disconnect from the noise—no updates, no chatter, no notifications—you create space for your mind to breathe. In that quiet, input becomes output. Ideas surface. Focus deepens. The absence of interruption is where creative flow begins. Every platform is fighting for your attention, feeding you endless updates. But if your goal is to create, they’re your biggest obstacles. How do you become successful? Disconnect. Even for a few hours. Unplug. Focus. Write. Practice. Create. That’s what’s rare and valuable today. You don’t get ahead by consuming. You grow by creating.

Change AND to OR

We often set too many conditions before taking action: “I’ll go exercise if I finish work early and I’m in a good mood and the weather is nice.” But what happens when you change those ANDs to ORs: “I’ll go exercise if I finish work early or I’m in a good mood or the weather is nice.” By stacking conditions with AND, we make it harder to follow through. We find more opportunities for excuses and more chances to have a “bad day.” Switching to OR creates more opportunities to act and more ways to make the day a good one.

You Can Do Everything You Want — Just Not All at Once

Many of us have so many interests and ideas pulling at us, and it can feel overwhelming to try to pursue them all at the same time. But when we zoom out and look at life in the long term, we realise there’s no rush. We can choose one or two things to focus on for a few years, and then move on to the next. When we attempt to do everything at once, we often end up paralysed by indecision or decision fatigue—and we don’t get very far with any of them. But when we let go of that urgency, we give ourselves permission to slow down, focus deeply, and build real skill and progress in one area before moving on to the next.

These lessons are a reminder that we grow by creating, not by consuming — and that our best work happens when we remove distractions, act even when conditions aren’t perfect, and give ourselves permission to focus on one thing at a time.

This month, I’m choosing to disconnect more often, say yes to opportunities even when they’re imperfect, and slow down enough to give my full attention to what truly matters.

What about you? Which of these ideas speaks to the season you’re in right now — silence, saying yes more often, or focusing on one thing at a time? 🌸