When I was a spin instructor, I used to start every class the same way. First, I’d ask everyone to set an intention. Sometimes that intention was simple, like just making it to the end of class. Other times it was more ambitious, like hitting a new PR, or letting go of whatever stress or negativity they were carrying from the last 24 hours. The intention didn’t need to be impressive. It just needed to be honest.

This Week’s Mantra: What’s right in front of you?

The second thing I’d tell everyone was to only focus on what was directly in front of them. The immediate challenge. When you’re starting a workout, it’s easy to zoom out too far. You see the full 45 minutes, the 20-mile run, the 16 hill repeats, and suddenly your nervous system wants out. Our brains are incredibly good at compressing future effort into a single overwhelming moment, making everything feel impossible before we’ve even begun.

But when you bring your attention back to one piece at a time, something shifts. One set. One rep. One mile. I’d always remind people of the same thing: the clock will take care of itself. Time keeps moving whether you panic about it or not. If you stay with the moment you’re in, the work gets done along the way.

I still use that mindset today. When I’m in the gym, I start each set with the same quiet agreement with myself: just 8. Get to 8. I’m not thinking about the rest of the workout or how many rounds are left. I’m counting. One. Two. Three. Staying with the next rep, and only the next rep.

I take that same energy into the rest of my life. Into projects, roadmaps, new ideas, and long-term goals. One step at a time. One small effort at a time. When you stop trying to hold the entire distance all at once, momentum has room to build. The distance takes care of itself. The time takes care of itself. And the work gets done because you stayed present with what was right in front of you. That’s real power.

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If this way of thinking resonates, I built a simple productivity system around it. It’s called The Weekly Loop, and it’s a one-time $9 investment in feeling calmer, more organized, and more capable each week, without hustle or pressure. It’s the system I use myself to focus on what matters, reset every seven days, and keep moving forward even when life gets messy. If you want something gentle, flexible, and built for real life, you can check it out below.