Module 09 · lifeWhat "rich" actually means here
Money is the lever, not the goal. The point is: more time for the things that matter (Carole, the network of decade-long collaborators, real research, walking the cottage trails), less time stuck in admin. This page is the operating manual.
Daily — the non-negotiables
Anchor the day
- Open this page + /plan/
- Pick 1 money task · 1 client task · 1 build task
- 15-min walk before screens (CC trails, HS bench loops)
- One cup of water before coffee
Close the loop
- Trigger the
session-closeskill in Claude - Confirm 6-leg push fired
- One-sentence journal in lifelog (or paper)
- Phone out of bedroom
Weekly review (Sundays, 30 min)
| Module | Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| /cut-expenses/ | Any new charges? Any kills landed? | Catches the slow leak before it's a flood |
| /income/ | What came in this week? Any invoice unpaid 14+ days? | Cash flow only works if you watch it |
| /customers/ | One follow-up email to a warm lead | Pipeline dies in silence |
| /renters/ | Cross-check tenants.html vs portal | The hospitalized-tenant near-miss |
| /contacts/ | Add anyone new from the week | Network compounds — but only if logged |
| /skills/ | One artifact: case study line, testimonial, post | The storefront needs proof to convert |
| /life/ (this page) | Honest self-grade: did you walk daily? | Habit drift is the early warning |
Deep-work blocks
Claude Code is the highest-leverage tool Paul has. It rewards focused, multi-hour sessions where context stays warm and skills compound. Anti-patterns:
- Tiny 10-min sessions across the day — context cache cold every time, $$ + slower
- Letting interruptions kill a session you'll have to restart from scratch
- Skipping
session-close— work doesn't make it to all 6 backup legs
Block one 2-3 hour window each weekday. Treat it like Carole has the room.
Mind & body — the floor
Walk daily
Lake trail (CC) or downtown bench loop (HS). 25-40 min. The point is "every day," not "long."
Same bedtime ±30 min
10:30 PM target. The Limitless pendant data shows you can tell which days you didn't.
30 min, non-screen
Barney's autobiography (writing the 4th edition), Steinbeck, biographies. Not articles. Not Twitter.
Carole · weekly cousins call
The Ebsworth-cousin network — Christmas-in-STL crowd. Schedule one real call per week.
One thing learned
End the day with one new fact, technique, or quote in lifelog. Forces the day to be more than admin.
External brain hygiene
The dementia diagnosis means MEMORY.md is the thinking partner. Trust the file system. Don't try to hold state in your head.