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Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.

Today at a Glance:

• Doing Nothing With Your Favorite People Is Really, Really Good for You

• The Stuff That Actually Matters

• How AI Shaves an Hour Off My Daily Reading Routine

Doing Nothing With Your Favorite People Is Really, Really Good for You
Lauren Mazzo

Lights, Camera, ...
Some of the best moments in life happen when nothing’s planned—just lingering at a kitchen table after dinner, flopping on the couch with friends, or chatting while making a simple meal. Yet unstructured time with friends and loved ones is disappearing, replaced by packed schedules, phone distractions, and meetups with set start and end times. Experts say this “lost art” matters: hanging out with no agenda lowers stress, sparks creativity, deepens trust, and fosters the kind of authentic connections that boost happiness, health, and longevity. It’s not the “doing nothing” that’s magic—it’s doing nothing with the people you feel safest with.

Action!

1. Get comfortable with the awkwardness. Expect unstructured time to feel strange at first if you’re used to being busy. Notice any anxiety or guilt about “not doing enough,” then let it go. Stay present, resist checking your phone, and focus on the people around you. The more you practice, the easier it becomes.

2. Put phones completely out of sight. Agree on a no-phones zone for your hangout—place them in a drawer, basket, or “Mac stack” pile. Even seeing a phone can reduce connection, so model screen-free behavior to encourage others to join in.

3. Invite people with no set agenda. Say things like, “Come over and hang out” or “Drop by anytime—I have no plans.” Keep the focus on being together, not ticking off activities, and let the time unfold naturally.

4. Share everyday tasks. Turn ordinary moments into connection—cook with whatever’s in the fridge, walk the dog together, browse a store for fun, or try a silly dance challenge. Simple, low-pressure activities often create the best memories.

The Stuff That Actually Matters
Aadam

Lights, Camera, ...
The wellness industry loves to convince you that health means obsessively optimizing every detail of your life—but the truth is far simpler. A handful of core habits make up the bulk of what actually matters for long-term health and longevity, and they’re backed by solid evidence rather than flashy trends. These habits aren’t extreme, complicated, or expensive, but they do touch on the big levers that influence your risk of disease, your quality of life, and even how long you live. Get these fundamentals right, and you can skip most of the noise, gimmicks, and fads entirely.

Action!

1. Maintain a healthy body composition. Aim for a body fat percentage that supports long-term health (around 22% for men, 35% for women) rather than obsessing over extreme leanness, and build or preserve muscle mass through resistance training to lower disease risk and maintain strength with age.

2. Avoid being too sedentary. Limit sedentary time to under 10 hours a day and include regular light activity (e.g., walking, chores) or at least 24 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise daily. Strive for 7,000–9,000 steps per day for maximum health benefits.

3. Eat fairly healthy most of the time. Focus on balanced protein intake, plenty of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, legumes, and appropriate fiber. Limit added sugars and aim for a variety of foods that keep you satisfied without excess calories.

4. Keep alcohol intake low. Stay below 25 g/day for women and 45 g/day for men to minimize health risks, knowing that even low levels offer no proven mortality benefit and higher intake increases risk significantly.

5. Prioritize sleep duration and consistency. Aim for 7–9 hours per night and keep your bedtime and wake time within a consistent 1-hour window. If sleep is limited, maintain regular physical activity to help offset some negative effects.

How AI Shaves an Hour Off My Daily Reading Routine
Darius Foroux

Lights, Camera, ...
In a world where information moves faster than ever, it’s easy to spend more time consuming than actually using what you’ve learned. The challenge isn’t just finding valuable content—it’s cutting through the noise without losing hours each day. That’s where AI tools can step in. By automating the search, filtering, and summarizing process, they act like a personal assistant who delivers only what matters most to you, in the format you prefer, and on the schedule you choose. The result? Less time chasing information and more time applying it where it counts.

Action!

1. Set up AI to work for you. Use ChatGPT with scheduled tasks enabled to automate updates, summaries, and habit prompts.

2. Automate recurring updates. Get timely, targeted updates on topics you care about (e.g., news, trends, books). Use prompts like:

   1. “Summarize economic news in [your region] every Saturday at 10 AM.”

   2. “Give me a rundown of [topic] news every morning at 9 AM.”

   3. “Share a monthly list of the latest [niche] books with at least 100 reviews.”

3. Curate content from specific sources. Stay up to date with favorite authors, creators, or experts.

   1. Request a “Weekly summary of new articles or ideas from [names]” and ask for only actionable insights or takeaways.

4. Build daily habit and motivation boosts. Get AI to guide workouts, inspire you, or start your day strong.

   1. “Give me a short motivational quote, a recommended exercise for my [routine], a relevant YouTube workout, and a high-energy song.”

   2. Adjust focus (strength, cardio, quick beginner workouts, playlists for running/lifting).

5. Apply AI to personal interests. Let AI handle the searching and planning for hobbies or skills you want to develop.

   1. Cooking: “Three quick, healthy recipes to try this week.”

   2. Learning: Summarize books, articles, or videos into key lessons.

   3. Language: Send daily vocabulary, grammar tips, and practice sentences.

6. Make your AI tasks efficient. Get exactly what you need without overload.

   1. Be specific in requests—define content, frequency, and format.

   2. Schedule strategically—assign certain days for certain themes (e.g., Monday = trends, Wednesday = curated articles, Friday = reviews).

   3. Keep it minimal—start with a few high-value tasks and add more only if needed.

TOOL TIP

Library Extension: When searching for a book on Amazon this browser extension can tell you if there's a book available for free at your public library.

FUN FACT

You can yo-yo in space. In 2012, NASA astronaut Don Pettit took a yo-yo on board the International Space Station and demonstrated several tricks. It works because a yo-yo mainly relies on the laws of conservation of angular momentum to perform tricks, which, provided you keep the string taut, apply in microgravity too.

If you’ve found value in what I share, buying me a coffee is a great way to say “thanks” and help me keep doing what I love. Every bit of support helps me spend more time creating useful, thoughtful content for you. Thanks for being here—it means a lot! 🙏

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.