i don't wake up to chase the day

My sleep schedule and lifestyle are no longer about

productivity hacks,

or self-help guru discipline.

It’s about authenticity.

Making meaning.

Rhythm over routine.

Mood over metric.

Truth and kindness over time management.

I’m up when the night is still,

but my heart rattles and my mind

wanders its way into a

notebook,

a song I love,

or a voicemail I refuse to delete.

I don’t go to sleep.

I collapse into it.

I wake up later and ask,

“What’s the world feel like today?”

Not,

“What do I have to do?”

Black coffee. Black shirt.

Blank page and a pen.

Read one page—something meaningful, interesting, beautiful,

or strange.

Wash my face like it’s a baptism.

Look in the mirror and say,

“No one owns me. I start today as a free man.”

Then hit the gym.

Wander somewhere with a story.

Communicate to connect, not offload.

Go home. Sort out projects. Try to have fun.

That’s enough.

—C.H.