Keeping it clean
Interior design for the mind. Build your space, and keep it clean. If this is not your skillset, ask for help.
Collecting tools based on aesthetics and calling it an advanced workflow
Screen time plagues us, or me at least. I’m logged on for work, farming Strava kudos after a run, binging YouTube for playtime, and talking to my friends and family—logged on, all the time. I thought it would be a good idea to preface this piece by saying I fully support the dumb phone movement. Or the offline granola boyfriend. It’s a good look. Not the mystery of someone being offline necessarily because I think social accountability is good. It’s spending more time being present, not always plugged in, less distracted—this is not groundbreaking I know.
But, here we are trying to leverage another social medium (we love you Substack). And if we are going to be online, it may as well be sick as hell. Think hot girl walk, but online. Only it’s bad for your posture, lacking an $8 coffee, and probably overkill for the little work you do. Our group chat once called it “advanced workflows for doing nothing.”
I have always been weirdly obsessed with finding the right online tools and using them to curate my space. I love it. Collecting the most aesthetic, functional tools available so that when I log on to write or browse, I’m doing it in a way that feels intentional—like an art form. Because care and Quality, as Robert M. Pirsig puts it, “are internal and external aspects of the same thing. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares.”
And I care. About a steady system, a calendar that looks clean, a writing app that feels right. The way you build your online space (whatever it is you’re connecting with beyond your screen), makes or breaks how you engage with it.
Everyone loves a clean room on a Sunday afternoon. It sets the tone for the week—mentally, physically, and spiritually. When the Monday morning alarm fades, you wake up dialed because you were prepared for this moment. I feel that same preparedness in my online space.
Collecting tools based on aesthetics and efficiency may not be something we talk about openly, but you should absolutely do it. It creates consistency in your digital world, a space that is yours and yours alone. A well-kept online space sets the tone for how you engage with the internet, whether for work, learning, or leisure.
The art of curating your digital space
My friends got me into running a few years ago. The game is weekly mileage and long runs. Most people get their long runs in on the weekend. And you never push it off to late Sunday afternoon. Knowing Monday is just around the corner and you still need to get 8 miles in—it’s grim. The same applies to building your space, and to keeping it clean. Procrastination could not be worse here. Get ahead of the systems you fall into. Don’t spend another decade being all messy moving from one device to the other. Have a plan. Keep your space clean. Do not let your little space deteriorate into digital clutter. And whatever you do, do not procrastinate the long run.
Each of us is always going somewhere. If we’re not, we’re stagnant, and we should get moving. When you frequent a place (physical or digital), consider the vibes. If there are no vibes, go elsewhere. If you have no option but to stay and the vibes are bad, bring the vibes. Turn this place into your own, your space I mean.
My home is old, like fall through the floor old, but secure. My office windows are stained glass and overlook Music Row. My gym gets dim and cozy in the evening. My browser though? has 80-foot ceilings and all-natural wood. Music turned up and all my favorite people pop in to say whats up. An online sanctuary, if you will.
I hope everyone is curating their online experience, and we’re just not discussing it. A well-designed digital space is satisfying. It’s feeling known at your favorite dive bar. You step in and know that only a few people around you really appreciate this place for what it is. It’s not tired, but it’s not new either. You’ve been there one too many times, but it’s safe. And always there.
"We're affected by our surroundings, and finding the best environment to create a clear channel is personal and to be tested. It also depends on your intention."
— Rick Rubin
Start somewhere
We’re all online, and if you’re going to be, you may as well do it right. Dim the lights, pick the playlist, hang the artwork, and get comfy. Your space should reflect who you are: your values, your taste, and your sense of order. Build an online sanctuary that works for you and keep it tidy. First, start with a file management plan. We all have layers, and they should be reflected when you log on. I like to follow a version of Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain. Next, tool selection. I have found these tools to work best for me but they will not work for everyone.
Apple Files – File management
Arc – Browsing
Perplexity – Learning
Notion – Project management and writing
Notion Calendar – Scheduling
Notion Inbox – Emailing
Counter-argument: do everything in Markdown. Forget the UX. Caveman-coded simplicity. No reliance on tools, just text and structure. Markdown will outlive us all.
Thanks for reading—have a great week.
The competition for our clicks, attention, and time has never been fiercer. More apps, more news, more of everything. Big Tech has centralized the web, commoditizing our screen time and dictating how we consume information. As our online selves continue to age, how do we ensure we’re truly tuned in—not just absorbing, but thinking critically?
Relay is a collective effort to distill information across tech, politics, and culture. It stands in direct opposition to the hollow drift toward cheap consumption, regrettable minutes, empty engagement, and a distorted understanding of the real world. It’s a refusal to let algorithms erode our ability to think critically—and an invitation to participate meaningfully, despite apathy becoming the social norm.
We’re focused on more signal, less noise. Tag along (it’s free).
