Man Balances Work and Life by Scheduling Both to the Point of Collapse

Colin believes in structure. Every week begins with a ritual: a color-coded Notion dashboard, a motivational playlist titled “Flow Mode,” and a four-hour block labeled “Soft Start / Inner Work.”

He’s booked for 96% of his waking hours.

To the outside world, it looks impressive — a man actively designing his life. But look closer, and you’ll find Tuesday lunch is double-booked with “creative reset” and “deep outreach.” Thursday’s breathwork overlaps with a Slack standup and his therapist. The only time he doesn’t feel overwhelmed is when Google Calendar crashes.

“I’m not stressed,” he insists. “I’m architecting my purpose.”
He has six productivity apps. He’s currently beta testing two others.

Lex Linkedman explains: “Modern men don’t spiral. We ‘reprioritize in real time.’ It’s burnout, but with elegant user interface.”

Colin says he’s trying to live intentionally. His idea of balance is a hyper-optimized see-saw — always shifting, always accounted for, never still. He tracks his screen time, his sleep, and his bowel movements, but hasn’t had an unscheduled moment of joy since April.

His girlfriend once tried to surprise him with a picnic. He asked if she had sent a calendar invite.

Still, he insists it’s working. “I feel aligned. I feel like I’m managing things well.”
At time of reporting, he had 17 unread texts from friends labeled “optional social time,” and a recurring task titled “remember to feel.”