Letter #40 – ✍️ Writing in Seattle 🌲

This week’s newsletter:

• The milestone year 2016

• How freedom in time has come to mean for me

Hi friends and fam, ♥️

Happy Lunar New Year 🐎🧧

The new year always invites reflection. Lately I’ve been thinking about who I was in my 20s.

2016 was a milestone year for me. It’s when I started building habits that became my anchors. The habits that shaped what freedom truly means to me.

I had so much energy back then. Youth ⚡️

Out after work until 1 AM
Joined friends at midnight to watch meteor showers and wish on every shooting star 💫
Running up hills to catch the sunrise 🌅

I went on solo dates. Took solo trips. Organized gatherings. Planned weekend hikes. Went skydiving (though I’m terrified of heights).

All I wanted was fun. New experiences. Quality time. Say yes to everything.

It was a whirlwind. 🌪️

And one day I realized I needed solid ground. Too often I felt like I was walking on floating wooden planks.

So 2016 became the year I got serious about self-discovery 🧐

The year I started meditating 🧘🏻‍♀️ without fully understanding what I was doing.
The year I forced myself to read. 📚 From 0 books the year before to 24 by year end.

And I discovered morning routines. 🌞

Not just the concept. The power behind it.

I made a promise to myself:

The first few hours of my day, when my mind is clearest and calmest, are for investing in myself.

I’ve gone through hundreds of routine versions. None ever took less than two hours.

These days, my mornings look like:

• 🧘‍♀️ 1 hour meditation

• 💪 30 to 60 minutes of exercise

• 📝 1 hour of thought dumping, journaling, and planning

• 📖 A short read

• 🚿 Getting ready for the day

Yep, it’s a 3 to 4 hour routine. 😅

I’ve designed my life around it.

• When I commuted, I woke up before sunrise.

• When I had early remote meetings, I split the routine between calls.

• When traveling, I kept it simple: one hour of meditation and that’s enough.

And 9 years later, I can confidently say it has been worth every ounce of effort. It’s one of the highest forms of self-compassion for me.

Here’s another truth.

Time freedom is not just about having more hours. It’s about having energy ⚡️

More time means nothing if you feel depleted.

And that's how freedom in time has come to mean for me:

✨ Winning the day before it begins
🎯 Choice in how we spend our days
😌 Most importantly, no rush, the ability to truly take my time

Time freedom and self-growth are not accidents. They are built, quietly, in the mornings no one sees.

If you’re in a season of chaos right now, start small. Anchor your day. Protect your energy. The rest compounds. 💪

And bring that same discipline into your finances 😉

That’s it for today!

Happy New Year again. May the Year of the Fire Horse 🔥🐎 fuel your ambition to protect what matters most: peace, health, and time.

Hope it's helpful for your journey to Freedom 🙏 

Love you to freedom and back, 🫰

Angie & Tyler

New-ish on YouTube 📹

Filmed this EOY reflection on Dec 31, 2025…

Took forever to edit…

And finally posted it to close out the Year of the Snake 🐍

Didn’t realize after filming it that this turned out to be such a sweet way to look back on our 2025 highlights. Grateful we captured the memories. 💛

Things We are Loving Right Now ❤️‍🔥

• 📚 A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping: Didn't expect to love this since it's not my usual genre, but every page was so sweet, funny, and quirky!

• 👩🏻‍🍳 Most used cookbook: Quick, easy recipes but the dishes came out 💣🤤.