To The Ones Becoming: Structure Will Save Your Life

The year is getting busier. I must say.

This week, I struggled to tick off everything on my list. I thought I had a structure in place. (Screams.😂)

But the good thing is this: I actually do have a structure. And if I didn’t, with how busy the week became, I would have faltered. I would have failed, woefully, not positively, and maybe even given up.

But I prevailed.

So many things tugged at my attention. So many small urgencies tried to scatter me. But I prevailed.

And it’s too late to give up now.

If you haven’t taken one lesson from all the reflections I’ve written so far, let this be the one:

Structure will save your life.
It will guard and shield you.

This week showed me something important. The year is getting busier. So my structure cannot remain fragile. It has to evolve.

For example, with my community, I currently facilitate a weekly finance-focused check-in. That is good. It helps the community grow. But I realized something: I can speed up growth by being more intentional about the hours I dedicate to researching, reading, learning, and structuring for it.

This is not me adding new tactics that will burn me out. It’s not pressure to do more. It’s simply the realization that I can be more deliberate. I can give more depth, not just more effort.

This week brought a lot of data. Data about my structure. My goals. My execution. My attitude toward execution. And what I can do better.

Because if forever is the deal with habits, then quitting cannot be an option in being intentional.

And truly, I am diving deeper into what the book calls the valley of despair.

I read chapters 4 and 5 of Deep Work by Cal Newport this week, and it exposed a lot about how I currently work and live.

Deep work says 24 hours is enough. I believe that. But my reality sometimes says otherwise.

I sleep late almost every day.
I don’t always have a defined finishing time.
I engage in shallow activities.
And I keep telling myself it’s because I have so much to do.

But if I’m honest, I’ve been veering closer and closer to burnout. To the exhaustion of willpower.

And that is not sustainable.

What I discovered is not that I need more time. I need depth. I need control of my time back. I need automation, not dependency on willpower every single day.

After reflecting, I identified my philosophy of depth. What works for me is a rhythmic approach to deep work, consistent, scheduled blocks that train focus instead of forcing it.

Because the year is speeding up.

And I don’t just want to survive it. I must thrive in it.

This week, I also made what I would call a grand gesture. I am currently writing this from a hotel lounge because I refused to go home after church until I had ticked off everything on my list.

It may seem small, but it’s symbolic.

Instead of taking breaks from distraction to focus, I am learning to take breaks from focus to do shallow things. That shift matters. It builds my capacity for deep work. It protects me from burnout. It strengthens my consistency.

No matter how busy life becomes, I want to still be standing.

If I am honest, the thing on my mind constantly this year is how to win over life. How to become the woman God has made me to be, using everything He has deposited in me. How to experience fulfillment and a kind of happiness that money cannot buy.

So forgive me if my reflections keep circling habits, structure, purpose, and becoming.

That is the aim of this blog. That is the axis my head and my life revolve around right now.

But here is the deeper truth I am slowly accepting:

Winning this year is not about proof.
It is about alignment.

Alignment between who I believe I am called to be and how I actually live daily.

If I can protect my structure, deepen my work, avoid burnout, and remain intentional, even when it gets busier, that is a win.

This is my becoming.

And it is to you, The Ones Becoming.

The year is getting busier for me. How is it unfolding for you?
What is working? What needs restructuring?

Share with me, I’d genuinely love to hear.

With love,
Olayide Juliana

A steward who believes that light shed, knowledge shared, and beliefs reviewed can make both me and the world better.


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