12 Sep Get unstuck: Kidlin’s Law + no phone, no brain drain + slow breathing = movement

You read the books, you listen to the podcasts, you gather advice, to-do lists, strategies, frameworks.

And yet, you stay stuck.

Why?

Not because you’re missing something out there. But because you lack access to what’s already in here—the tools and resources hardwired into you.

So if you’ve been circling a specific problem or decision, try the below formula for one week. I guarantee you’ll make progress. If not, get your money back.

Every morning or evening, right after or right before going to bed, block 15-20 minutes and do this:

Step 1 — Kidlin’s Law: write it out

Write out in detail what the problem is. What do you know? What assumptions are you making? You’re not necessarily solving it right away. You’re simply describing it in as much detail as possible. Bringing some order to the chaos in your head.

Very important: pen and paper only.

Then every day, add any new thoughts, ideas, and insights. No editing. No judging. Just write down exactly what comes up.

Step 1b – Keep your phone far away from you

A study testing the “brain drain” hypothesis showed that “the mere presence of your smartphone occupies limited-capacity cognitive resources, thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks.”

In simple terms: when you try to focus and your phone is near you, your brain has to work hard to ignore it. That drains energy you need for clarity.

So it’s not just about “not touching your phone.” Just keep it in another room altogether. Don’t have it in your field of view. When you need to make progress on something important, you need every bit of cognitive horsepower available. It’s so dumb to waste it on our phones.

Step 2 – Slow, nasal breathing

Put down your pen, set a timer (not on your phone, nice try!), and spend 10 minutes slowing your breath.

Count 4 seconds in, 4 seconds out for a few cycles, then let your rhythm settle into something slower and natural. Keep it gentle and light, always through the nose. If 10 minutes feels impossible, start with 5. (Remember the homeostasis effect?)

Here’s why this matters:

Most of us breathe too much, too fast and too shallow. That breathing pattern keeps the nervous system on high alert. You won’t notice this consciously, but your body holding you in fight-or-flight is blocking your ability to think clearly and creatively.

Slow, gentle breathing sends a different message. It tells your nervous system, “We’re safe.” And by safe, I don’t mean whether you’re physically safe. I mean physiological safety. The signal that it’s okay to allocate cognitive and metabolic resources to activities beyond survival.

It’s only from that state that you can access complex cognitive functions like memory, attention, curiosity, and creativity.

And please do not feel as if you’re “wasting time” when you’re sitting there, breathing. Know that the moment you stop forcing focus on anything external, your brain’s Default Mode Network switches on. That’s the network that connects ideas, simulates possibilities, and generates insights outside of your awareness. In other words, when you slow down, your brain speeds up in the background.

Truly, get out of your brain’s way. You’ll be amazed by what it will come up with for you.

So here’s the challenge:

• Pick a question or decision you’ve been circling for months.
• Write it out.
• Keep your phone away.
• Spend 10 minutes breathing slowly.

Trust this process, and stick with this for one week.

Instead of staying stuck in fight-or-flight, you’ll be training your nervous system to create the conditions where clarity, and real progress, naturally emerge.

No app, no subscription, no nothing required except your own incredible brain, breath, and body.