Writing

Notes on breathing, attention, and building a calm thing on purpose.

• Why breathing out is the part that calms you

  Your heart speeds up as you breathe in and slows as you breathe out. Everything useful about slow breathing follows from that one asymmetry.

• Meditation isn't hard. Starting is.

  Most people don't quit because sitting still is difficult. They quit at the signup screen, the subscription, or the broken streak.

• Two minutes between tasks

  Which rhythm to use before a stressful thing, between two tasks, and after a hard conversation — at a desk, without anyone noticing.