Oversaturated, overwhelmed, over… well, all of it.
I think connection might be overrated.
Maybe.
I’m not saying it’s always a bad thing, but I am saying that it’s not always a good thing. Know what I mean? I guess it sort of depends on what it costs you.
First off, connecting with someone or something is a choice; and those choices can stack up pretty quick. Without quite realizing it, you can find yourself tangled up in an interconnected, jumbled mess of things to which you’re tethered.
And maybe it’s that I grew up with the seasonality of a New England climate, but this particular time of year—the September/October crescendo—feels like it tends to amplify everything on my plate riggght before a big, giant freeze that sets in for the holidays and sort of just creeps its way right on through to the end of the year.
That, uh… that can’t just be me, right??
Read the backstory on the Monthly Dispatch.
And, in case you missed it, here’s August’s.
So, what's happening?
September 2026 edition:
- Checking your connection.
- The latest from Unobstructed.
- Life after the MAP Year Project.
1. Checking your connection.
Last I checked, I’m a finite resource. And I’m pretty sure you are too, but who am I to judge?
For me, I like thinking of all the stuff I’m connected to like independent dials on a mixing board. It helps. Something about visualizing it like that lets me separate everything. But I also know plenty of folks who prefer to think of it more like a battery, where their connections all cost them a certain percentage of their charge. Then there are others, still, who opt for the “slices of pie” metaphor.
Pick whichever fills your cup.
Going from September to October, I like to slow my roll a bit and check in on all the things I’m connected to. For those of us who tend to intermittently discover we’ve become oversaturated, overwhelmed, and over… well, all of it, maybe it’s time to check your connection.
I found these to be helpful reminders. Perhaps you might as well:
2. The latest from Unobstructed.
Essays on identity, creativity, relationships, work, and adventure.
“Maybe Time Travel Really Is The Answer To Being Human”
Or, what if we just, you know, unplug everything...?
Long before there was social media, smartphones, or AI, it seems like people more or less had this “being human” thing figured out.
Simultaneously, I’m seeing a rise in notebooks, typewriters, websites, blogs and all things anti-social-media but pro-productivity. Folks are flocking to analog ways of organizing their thoughts in the hope of feeling lighter and finding some clarity.
Is it working?
Have they cracked the code?
Keep reading.
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From Kickturn, a daily column on pivots and new perspectives:
“Tons To Examine”
For the times they are a-changin’.
I’ve long wrestled with feeling like too much.
I’m a recovering people pleaser… I’ve taken many a path that twisted, doubled-back, or ended abruptly in search of finding my place and connecting with “my people” (whatever that means). It’s not something I expected to come up today while taking a lunch walk around the block, though. But I’m crunching my way along the gravel and listening to an episode of Armchair Expert, where Angela Duckworth is talking about all the shit people get wrong about grit, willpower, and making changes that stick, when I hear:
“The best way to change yourself is to change your environment.”
Ahhh shit.
Keep reading.
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From Breaking Trail, a monthly column on trying new things:
Please join me in congratulating Caleb Walker and his wife on welcoming a very happy and healthy baby girl into their family!!
Breaking Trail will return next month. In the meantime, check out last month’s column, “You’re Right To Push Back On That” if you haven’t already.
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From The Unobstructed Podcast, conversations about navigating daily life with more agency and clarity:
"Loneliness Isn’t ‘Male,’ So What’s The Problem?"
It can’t be all social media’s fault, either..png?width=700&height=368&name=ep036%20unobstructed%20pod%20thumbnail%20(1200%20x%20630%20px).png)
Why does the conversation about the male loneliness epidemic completely skip over the part where experiencing loneliness has nothing to do with, well… being male?
In fact, I don’t think loneliness is even the actual problem.
A byproduct, sure, but not the core issue.
So I asked Caleb Walker.
Listen to the episode via Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.
3. Life after The MAP Year Project.
It turns out that I really like the “me” who writes every day.
Even after a full year of doing it.
Which is exactly why I’ve kept writing my daily column even though the project ended. You can subscribe directly to Kickturn so you get the new ones in your email inbox daily, if you’re into that sort of thing.
If not, theunobstructed.com got a pretty major upgrade that might be more your speed. I recently rebuilt it into a more intuitive space (hopefully) to enjoy all that we publish. That was the goal, anyway. I think we did it and I hope you do, too. But if you don’t, please let me know so we can do something about it!
So, is unplugging really the answer or what?
Who knows.
Well, ok… being too plugged in, too hyper-connected—that’s overrated.
It doesn’t help you get ahead and it certainly doesn’t create reliable support systems, either. Not in my experience, anyway. When I’m tethered to too many things, my connection gets reaaal spotty. And, in those situations, that’s best case scenario. Worst case, the whole thing short-circuits.
Happy connecting! Ya know, or not.
Toodles.
onward.
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