🧭 The Boxing Day subtract
Fly lighter, steer better: remove one thing for seven days and give your week back its margin.
🧭 Welcome to this week’s issue of The Shift from Mindset Rebuild, where we update your inner map so that next week moves more easily.
✌️ One gentle pivot you can actually feel by Friday.
🙌 Rename one thing today and watch what changes.
🫶 Fridays are free. Upgrade for Wednesday build notes + copy-ready cards.
Some weeks don’t need a rename. They need a removal.
Boxing Day carries that energy. You see the pile, keep what matters, and carry one box out.
Not a purge; just enough subtraction to let the good stuff breathe.
Today I’m borrowing a line from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944), the French aviator and writer who balanced poetry with flight plans.
He’s credited with a design rule I return to when my week feels crowded:
Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
I don’t need perfection. I need a week that steers.
the subtraction test (takes two minutes)
Look at your coming week. Ask three plain questions:
What do I keep that still earns its place?
What looks useful but quietly blocks momentum?
What would I never start today—if it didn’t already exist?
No judgment.
You’re not cleaning house; you’re clearing one square foot of counter.
where subtraction helps most
Skip the sacred cows; start small where friction is loudest:
a standing update that never changes anyone’s mind
a report no one reads, kept “just in case”
a task label that spawns debate every time you use it
a meeting segment (not the whole meeting) that eats the first 15 minutes
Pick one. Remove exactly that.
Don’t replace it yet.
Saint-Ex in the cockpit
Saint-Exupéry flew mail planes across the Andes and the Sahara before writing at night.
Flying forced a pragmatic aesthetic: every extra bolt has a cost; every gauge must earn its spot.
He didn’t worship minimalism; he respected load.
In the air and at work, excess weight erodes margin.
Subtraction is not an aesthetic choice; it’s how you make room for control.
That’s the spirit here: not a vibe, a margin.
the Boxing Day move (how to do it kindly)
Write a single line where the work lives:
“For the next 7 days, we’re removing [one element] from [place]. If anything breaks, we’ll restore it and note the evidence. Review date: [next Friday].”
Then—important—add one sentence of care:
“If you relied on this, tell me once and I’ll either restore it or show you the better path.”
You’re not yanking rugs. You’re testing weight.
a small example (lightly disguised)
A team’s Monday stand-up always starts with “round-the-room wins.”
It’s sweet, but it burns 15 minutes and makes the real decisions rushed.
They post:
Remove: the “wins” round from Monday stand-up for 7 days
Why: create margin for deciding the week
Care: wins go in #celebrate; PM will pull two into Friday
Friday’s review shows fewer rush items, clearer assignments, and more wins posted, because people share them when they happen.
The team keeps the change and adds a monthly “long wins” meeting that doesn’t steal Monday.
if you’re nervous, make it reversible
Archive, don’t delete (docs, labels, reports)
Pause, don’t cancel (recurring segments)
Silent mode, not off (notifications you suspect are noise)
You’ll quickly determine whether the item was load-bearing.
If it was, put it back with dignity and a tiny note about why it matters.
If it wasn’t, enjoy the space you just gave the week.
what to ship today (tiny receipts)
Do these two things, and you’ll feel the floor firm up:
Post the removal line where the click happens.
Save one receipt that proves either “nothing broke” or “this needed restoring.”
Next Friday, keep whichever story is true.
You’re not trying to be clever. You’re trying to be honest with the weight your week can carry.
why this matters now
Renames (last week) point the attention. Removals return margin.
In holiday weeks, when calendars are weird and energy is mixed, margin beats ambition.
Saint-Ex would approve: fly lighter, steer better.
With a kinder pace,
~Warren
P.S.
Want a calm 90 minutes to pick the one thing to remove (without denting trust)? The Clarity Sprint is open. Not sure if it fits? Reply with one sentence about the knot, and I’ll point you to the smallest move.