Weekend Wrap 2/08/2026

Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't a deep dive or grand reflection—just a quick review of a handful of things that brought me joy, made me think, or challenged me.

Music

Anyone who knows me in any way knows that I love music. It is an essential part of every day. Given its importance, I wanted to leverage that love of music with my nightly wind-down. I built a playlist in Apple Music with calming, wind-down appropriate music.

Then, I made an iOS shortcut that, when run, will begin playing this playlist on shuffle. Using Google Gemini's Nano Banana Pro to make a nice icon. Then, I put that shortcut on the homepage with the icon I made.

Now, when it is wind-down time, I simply tap the icon on my single homescreen and the playlist begins. It has been a great tool to help me with my evening routine.

Books

I value creativity. I think I always have. I grew up making up stories, drawing and painting, and engaging in many other creative outlets.

Then I became "focused".

I served a mission, went to college, got married, started a family, and went to medical school. That was followed up with the joys of a 6-year surgical residency and then starting a surgical practice from scratch.

My creativity was completely and totally buried.

I am working on dusting it off, digging it out from the cruft that was piled on it over the long years. And Steal Like an Artist gives excellent advice to be creative. It is a quick read, and one I see myself coming back to often.

Refinement

This month's refinement is dialing in a nightly routine. I thought that I would report each week on how things are going.

This first week went well. It wasn't perfect, but I have already seen a benefit. The biggest benefit has been not using my phone in bed. I don't think I had realized how often, either before sleep or before getting up in the morning, I would waste time staring at my phone screen.

I am convinced that, by avoiding my phone while in my bed, I both fall asleep faster and get up and going much more quickly. I am actually really enjoying this small bit of discipline I have introduced.

Quote of the week

I keep coming back to this idea that we need to act the way we want to feel/be. The feelings will come after. This is just another version of "fake it 'til you make it."

There is more validity to that than people give it. Act like the person you want to be, and you are bound to become that person. Think about being that person, and it will always remain a dream.

That doesn't mean planning and thinking aren't important, but they only serve to get us to the point of action. That is what really matters.

Area of improvement

I am so fortunate that my small work environment is awesome. I really enjoy the people I work with.

However.

Outside of that, I continue to find an unceasing stream of frustrations. I need to be more patient. I need to exercise patience. I need to act like a patient person so that I become that person.

Wrapping up

I've found some good approaches to productivity this past week. It has been a positive change, and I look forward to exploring it more.