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By Colby Kultgen

An Exercise You Should Do Every Month, 29 Tips to Organize Your Life, and A Couple Apps Everyone Should Try

Read online / Read time: 4 minutes

Hello friends!

Welcome to 1% Better.

The newsletter where I share my 5 favorite ideas, lessons, and discoveries of the week—no fluff, just the good stuff.

Let's get right into it.

An exercise I do at least once every month

Scott nailed it here.

Most people don't realize just how draining these "open loops" really are.

Just because you're not consciously thinking about them doesn't mean they're not costing you energy.

- Bills you haven’t paid
- Messages you meant to reply to
- Projects you started and didn’t finish
- Conversations you’ve been avoiding

It’s the mental equivalent of having 47 tabs open in your brain.

Every time you try to focus, those background processes slow you down.

It's the exact reason I set aside 30 minutes at least once a month to close as many of my "open loops" as possible.

Here’s what it looks like:

Usually, about 70% of what you list can probably be dropped completely.

The remaining 30% should be done or delegated within the next two weeks.

If a task requires multiple steps, identify the first one and put it in your calendar immediately.

Your challenge: Take 30 minutes this week to identify and close the open loops in your life.

An underrated hack for decision-making

Why is this so true?

When a friend comes to us with a problem, we're able to give sound, logical advice.

"Oh, that guy who cheated on you three times? Yeah, you should probably break up with him."

It's obvious. We see it clearly.

But when it comes to our own life, our judgment is clouded by emotion.

We come up with excuses. We rationalize. Our emotions override our ability to think straight.

That's why the George Mack hack above is actually genius.

Creating distance from yourself, even just imagining what someone else would do in your situation, forces you into a more logical state of mind. Suddenly you see what you actually need to do.

Bonus: I saw a great question from James Clear which taps into the same idea.

My #1 productivity tool of 2025
​Sponsored

​Wispr Flow might be my favorite discovery of 2025.

It's a voice-powered AI keyboard that turns whatever you say into clean, well-punctuated text. It works in Slack, Gmail, Notes, and anywhere else you write.

Why I love it:

• No filler words or awkward transcriptions
• Learns your go-to phrases, names, acronyms
• Quiet mode = no awkward stares when you’re dictating in public
• Syncs with your computer for easy note-taking

And the best part: Flow is now available on iPhone.

​​Try it out for free right now.

An app I think is brilliant

Speaking of apps I love (this one’s not sponsored, BTW).

Timeleft is one of the coolest social experiments I’ve seen in years.

It’s an app that matches you with 5 strangers for dinner at a local restaurant.

I've done it 3 times now, and it's a blast. Met some genuinely amazing people I never would’ve crossed paths with otherwise.

These are the kinds of apps we need more of.

Ones that use tech to create human connection instead of replacing it.

Note: it’s not available in every city yet, but if it is in yours, I highly recommend giving it a try!

A list of 29 organization tips to get your sh*t together - How to be organized in 2025

Brilliant article from Anna Newton with a ton of actionable tips.

As a generally unorganized person, I found this incredibly helpful.

A few of my favorites:

Read the full list here.

😂

Have a great week!

P.S. Reply telling me what resonated most this week!

(I read and respond to them all)

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