The Clouds Don’t Care About Your To-Do List

When did you last do something with absolutely no purpose other than it felt good?

I ask because I’ve just come back from a few weeks off, and I’ve been turning that question over the whole drive home.

Watch Out for the “Shoulds”

I feel like I should apologise for going quiet. Fewer emails, a series left half finished. There’s a voice that says you should always be delivering, always be “on,” always be producing something useful for someone else.

I’m going to gently push back on that voice. Not just for me. For you too.

What a Big Sky Taught Me About Small Worries

We spent time near Lake Annecy in France. Swimming, cycling, paddleboarding, some running and reading on my own (I’m making my way through Liu Cixin’s Three-Body Problem trilogy, which is its own kind of self-compassion if you ask me).

But the thing that actually stuck with me was driving across the middle of France and watching the clouds move across a sky that felt enormous. It sounds like nothing. But there’s something about seeing how big the world is, and how small you are within it, that puts your worries into proportion. They’re still there. They still matter. But they’re also temporary, moving across the sky like everything else, and there will always be new ones behind them.

It’s very hard to get that perspective when you’re stuck in your own head, in your own inbox, in your own to-do list.

The Gap Was the Lesson

Going quiet for a few weeks wasn’t a failure to keep up. It turned out to be the point.

I’m also aware I’m not entirely sure where all of this is heading professionally right now. Some interesting opportunities have come up, and things feel a bit unclear in terms of exactly how they’ll evolve. But this community matters to me, and I’ll keep doing this work regardless of the shape it takes.

I expect the next few months will bring more clarity. What’s different from six years ago, from the “what the hell is going on in my life” moments, is that I’m a lot calmer about not knowing yet.

Why This Connects to Everything Else I Write About

Underneath the different topics, whether it’s testosterone, sleep, ADHD traits, midlife identity, or loneliness, it all comes back to the same handful of things: sleep, movement, stress, food, connection, purpose. Simple to list. Genuinely hard to live.

Self-compassion isn’t separate from that list. It’s the thing that lets you actually do the list without turning it into another set of shoulds.

What’s Next

I’m stepping back from the structured series for now and going back to writing weekly, whatever feels most useful or true that week. Starting with this.

Change One Thing

Give yourself some space this week. Time alone, some quiet, a bit of meditation, whatever that looks like for you.

When is yours this week? I’d love to hear, write to me here – ed@mensmindgp.com. I read all replies.