From Time Bubbles to Day Themes: Building My Personal OS

The Tyranny of the To-Do List

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been at war with the to-do list. Standard task management just doesn’t work for my brain. A single list with my personal life, freelance work, and startup ideas all mixed together is a recipe for overwhelm. The context-switching is exhausting, and my rapidly changing interests mean the list is often outdated before I even begin.

I’ve tried different methods. I love the analog feel of writing in a notebook, so I made several enthusiastic attempts at bullet journaling, only to lose interest each time. It felt like another failure, another system that wasn’t built for me.

A Small Breakthrough: Time Bubbles

My first real insight came when I realized the problem wasn’t the tasks themselves, but the time. It doesn’t matter what’s on a to-do list if I don’t allocate time and energy to that direction.

So, I created a system I called “time bubbles.” A time bubble is just a block of time dedicated to an activity - “take a shower,” “work on client project,” “write content.” I used a notebook and later the ‘Structured’ app to plan my days this way. A typical day might look something like this:

For a few months, it was amazing. But eventually, the micro-management of blocking out every part of my day became its own chore, and I lost interest again.

The Evolution: Day Themes

I needed to zoom out. Instead of managing hours, I needed to manage intention.

This led me to my latest experiment: Day Themes. Instead of a detailed schedule, I now have a simple “menu” of themes for my days. Each morning, I choose one Primary Theme as my main focus, and sometimes an optional Secondary Theme.

I built out this ‘Personal OS’ in Notion, where I can see all the themes in one place and link them to my daily log.

The menu has themes for every area of my life:

• 🔋 Recharge Day: For actively restoring my physical and mental energy by doing things like cooking a nourishing meal, journaling, or just spending focused time with my cat.
• 🏰 Sanctuary Day: Not about chores, but about building and maintaining my personal fortress of comfort by cleaning, organizing, or fixing something small.
• ⚙️ Life Admin Day: For the high-stakes tasks like paying bills, dealing with paperwork, or taking my cat to the vet.
• 🚀 Founder Day: For building my future. This is dedicated CEO time for my startup, from coding the MVP to strategizing the business model.
• 🎨 Create Day: For making art for its own sake, with no goal or client in mind.
• 🧠 Decompress Day: For guilt-free rest with low-demand, high-dopamine activities like playing video games or watching a series. This is not rot; it’s essential rest.

Why This Works: Rule Zero

The most important part of this system is what I call Rule Zero: This is a guide, not a cage. I am the CEO of my day, and I can change the plan based on my real-time energy and interest levels.

This system works where others have failed because it’s built on a foundation of flexibility and self-trust. It’s not a list of things I must do. It’s a menu of possibilities that helps me align my limited energy with what matters most to me today. And for a brain like mine, that makes all the difference.