If you’ve been reading my emails for a while, you know I have a deep frustration with rom-coms these days.
And if you haven’t—buckle up.
Because today, I’m talking about 2 things that should’ve been outlawed in romantic movies decades ago.
First, the lipstick kiss.
The woman’s lips are painted a perfect red, they lean in, and then… passionate exchange of saliva.
Except… how? Is he just inhaling her lipstick? Swallowing a full meal of chemicals? No smudging, no mess, just an immaculate kiss?
Lies.
Second, the dip kiss.
The guy swoops her down in a dramatic backbend and plants one effortless, knee-weakening kiss on her lips.
But how is he not trembling under the weight of another human being? How is she not actively fearing for her life? How can he possibly enjoy the romance of the moment when he’s using all his core strength to not DROP THE PERSON HE’S TRYING TO SEDUCE?
And more importantly—WHO IS ACTUALLY KISSING LIKE THIS?
Again, lies.
And while it’s so easy to laugh at these ridiculous moments…
You know what’s even more ridiculous?
The fact that we think we need to do the same thing with self-care.
There’s this cognitive distortion called all-or-nothing thinking—where if something isn’t done perfectly, it feels like it doesn’t count at all.
You can’t just rest. No, no. You need a curated, optimised, aesthetic experience.
And if you can’t have that, well… what’s the point?
Why bother meditating for 2 minutes if you can’t do a full 60-minute session complete with a guided visualisation, Tibetan sound bowls, and a journal prompt about your inner child?
Why just take a deep breath when you could be engaging in a full nervous system recalibration using breathwork techniques developed by monks who literally lived in caves?
Why take a simple break (like some low-effort, non-growth-oriented human) when you could be tracking your heart rate variability, stacking nootropics, and monitoring your dopamine response in real-time using an overpriced wearable that beeps at you like a disapproving robot nanny?
Sheesh. Better to just go back to staring at your laptop and phone, right?
Right.
If that makes you happy.
It’s your life, after all and you haven’t given me permission to tell you what to do.
But if you’re curious what I think…
I think messy self-care is still self-care.
I think grabbing a snack instead of a perfectly balanced meal counts. I think closing your eyes for 5 minutes instead of a full power nap counts. I think walking around your room instead of hitting the gym also counts sometimes.
So today, Yosi Anderson, in her divine power, officially grants you permission to roll your eyes at those ridiculous rom-com scenes…
…and do the sloppy, lipstick-smudged version of self-care instead…
But if you’re still feeling stuck after all that ‘self-care’…
Well, that’s what the Productivity Hotline is for.
It’s kinda like a red London telephone box.
Except instead of a payphone, it’s your inbox.
Instead of a regular coin… you’re dropping in one AYAPY Coin.
And instead of a robotic, script-reading customer service rep who couldn’t care less about you feeling stuck, you get me—ready to help you find and dismantle your momentum killer so you can get unstuck and start moving forward.
More info here: www.yosianderson.com
Tp. Tp.
There’s more where that came from!
See, I’ve been writing daily productivity emails for online business owners since November 2024.
And what you just read is barely a scratch on the surface.
The real gems… The fun, insightful, and occasionally absurd behind-the-scenes stories… My best offers… The kind of stuff that makes you go:
“Wait… did that REALLY happen?”
I don’t blast those out to the whole internet.
(Some things… should be kept private.)
But if you want to snoop around… if you want to see what really happens in AYAPYLand…
There’s a door.
And it’s open.
For now.