I am running a little experiment right now. I have decided to hibernate my LinkedIn account. Somewhere along the way, checking in, posting, and scrolling became autopilot for me. More habit than intention. So I pressed pause.

My reason is simple. I want to put more energy, time, and focus into this newsletter and into real conversations with people who actually want to simplify life with me. So if you know of anyone who might benefit from a new perspective, I’d offer you an easy way to share this newsletter with this handy dandy button. Abracadabra!

Ok, thanks for doing that. While I’m not on LinkedIn, the only way I’m able to reach new people with this newsletter is with your help. Which is why I intend to try so hard to offer the most value I can. But I digress.

The concept of autopilot, and specifically autopilot gone wrong, reminded me of course of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Wall-E, but also got me thinking about the Jetsons. George lived in a world of flying cars and robot maids. Everything worked at the push of a button, which was wonderful until the button jammed or did the wrong thing. Then you had the privilege of being both lazy and annoyed.

This week we are talking about overhauling autopilot.

Sometimes it is the technology that promises ease but delivers comedy. Sometimes it is us, marching through routines that no one actually asked us to do in the first place.

The Jetsons promised us a future where machines solved everything. Rosie the Robot vacuumed, Judy shopped without leaving the house, and Elroy’s school ride floated through the sky without traffic.

George should have been the most relaxed man in the galaxy. Instead he spent most episodes stressed, confused, and yelling about Spacely Sprockets. The problem with autopilot is that when you stop paying attention, you end up somewhere you never meant to go. Often late.

Think about modern tech autopilot. The GPS that nobly guides you to the middle of a cornfield. The password manager that forgets your password better than you do. Tools meant to free us that instead become elaborate ways to trap us in extra steps.

And further…they never quite seem to give you more time or happiness as promised.

Autopilot isn’t just about machines. We also run ourselves on default settings. These are the small motions of life that feel necessary only because we never questioned them.

My LinkedIn experiment is one example. I was checking notifications as if they contained life-changing updates, when in truth they mostly contained reminders that someone I once met liked a post about leadership quotes. It looked productive. It was not. By stepping away, I created more space for connecting more with you, which feels like energy well spent.

You may have your own version.

The meetings that should have been emails. The emails that should have been nothing. The endless cycle of saying yes to things you would not miss if they vanished tomorrow. The issue is not that autopilot exists.

The issue is that we rarely ask who programmed it in the first place. We get really efficient at doing something that may not even be necessary or useful.

In this section every week, I’ll give step by step instructions on how to tackle one project. It could be something simple and small like this week’s assignment, or it could be more involved. Once you take on a few of these, you’ll learn some of the common strategies that can be applied to just about anything.

My hope for this newsletter is to make it feel like a mini-coaching session with me.

So now, it’s time to…

Do a quick two-part check today:

If it helps, keep it.

If it drains you, swap it for something smaller or lighter.

Then let the new version run on conscious autopilot until it feels natural.

Even in a world of flying cars and robot maids, George Jetson still ended most days exhausted. Machines cannot fix what we do not question.

The real upgrade is noticing which routines deserve autopilot and which deserve to be turned off altogether.

For me, that means fewer notifications and more conversations here.

This newsletter and my individual coaching is where I am putting my reclaimed energy, time, and focus. If you want to connect, just hit reply.