“Purpose” and “calling” get soft when we say them too much.
The Sharper version: What’s the point of today?
Not the year. Not your legacy. Just today.
If you can’t answer in one line, the day will answer for you.
A short story about drift
I “worked” a whole Friday with no plan.
Inbox. Notion. Calendar. New tab. Back again.
By 2 PM I’d touched everything and finished nothing.
At 4:30 I opened a fresh “Plan” doc, then spent 20 minutes designing the perfect template. Looked fire. Did nothing.
By 5:12 I closed the laptop tired and blank then scrolled till midnight and swore I’d “lock in next week.”
The sting wasn’t the wasted hours.
It was how drift shrank my appetite.
Small tasks started feeling like meals.
My brain kept chasing dings, not depth.
When I don’t choose the point, the feed chooses for me:
notifications, cheap wins, busywork dressed like progress.
Direction isn’t control.
It’s consent.
It’s deciding who gets a vote.
It’s refusing to outsource your day to the loudest tab.
The working definition
Purpose: the why that survives your mood.
Point (today): the smallest slice of that why you can finish before bed.
Plan: how you protect that slice from everything else.
Tiny framework (7 minutes)
Point (1 line):
“The point of today is ___ because ___.”
Ex: “The point of today is to ship a rough sales page because conversations keep stalling without it.”Proof (1 receipt):
What counts as done? One screenshot, metric, or link.Blocks (2 slots):
Two 45-min blocks. Protect them like meetings.No (1 boundary):
Name one “good” thing you won’t do today (new tool, new research, new outline).Help (1 nudge):
Text: “Point of my day = ___. If I send you a receipt by 4, roast it?”
Thought tools (fast prompts)
Knife test: If I cut it in half, what still counts?
Regret test: Skip it will I care in 3 days, or just feel guilty tonight?
Street test: Could a stranger see proof I did it?
If you keep missing the point
It’s usually one of these:
You picked a noun (“audience”) instead of a verb you can do.
You picked a feeling (“be confident”) instead of a receipt (post, pitch, page).
You left the door open for everyone else’s point.
A tighter reframe
Point → Plan → Proof → Peace.
Peace isn’t a candle. It’s the quiet after you kept your promise.
Do this now
Write your one-line point.
Book two 45-min blocks + 10-min proof buffer.
Send one “help” text.
After block two, ship the smallest version that still tells the truth.
Reader check-in
What was the point of your day? One line.
Drop the receipt (link or screenshot).
If you drifted where did the day outsource you?
PS | For builders who like templates
Copy/paste this into a note and fill it in:
Point: ___ because ___.
Proof (receipt): ___.
Two blocks: __ / __.
One no: ___.
One help: texted ___.
Maxwell Campbell | Ineedthemax