In this personal vlog, Nathan Miller recounts a recent period of overwhelm after returning from a vacation in Hawaii, dealing with a totaled car, a lease ending, and business responsibilities. He describes slipping into a short‑term rut marked by anxiety, late mornings, and a loss of momentum. After trying various tactics such as gratitude journaling and prayer, he discovers that the most effective solution is to concentrate solely on the immediate next task—e.g., making the bed and brushing his teeth—while eliminating phone distractions and using a simple checklist. By repeatedly completing these micro‑actions, he rebuilds momentum, reduces anxiety, and regains a positive outlook. He shares this mindset shift and practical routine hacks (phone removal, daily checklists, prayer, gratitude) as a universal strategy for anyone facing low points, emphasizing that focusing on the next thing can dramatically improve productivity and mental well‑being.
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So about two weeks ago, I got back from Hawaii, right? And I think a mixture of, you know, coming from this tropical, like, dream, basically this tropical, like, paradise. And then, you know, coming back into this, you know, upstate New York, you know, environment. It's 20 degrees out, snowy, like, it's dark, it's cold. And also the fact, you know, I just totaled my, you know, dream car. I'm running a current business, so I have stuff like that I have to deal with always. And then also, like, I. Knowing my lease is up in a few months or not even, like, in a month, basically, and not even knowing what I'm going to be doing or where I'm going to go. Obviously I have options for all these things, and there's always ways to go out. But, you know, like most normal people, it kind of got to me and I kind of fell into a rut. I started waking up kind of late. And you guys know the deal. Like, when you have a bunch of things on your mind, you know, all these. All these external things that you're thinking about, these problems that you're kind of facing, you have to work through. It can be overwhelming. And it's normal to be overwhelmed. It's normal to, you know, have a little bit of a rut. And I definitely let it get to me for a few days. Definitely let it affect me. Usually, like, my mental health is usually very, very good. Like, very strong, very, like, positive, very grateful and all these things. And, like, it's just crazy how fast it actually changed. And I was in a pretty. A pretty rough spot for a few days, but I did manage to get out of it. And now I'm feeling great. You know, I'm working on. Working towards these things, and I kind of want to share kind of what. My. What mindset shift actually, like, helped me because I was, like, I was constantly trying to do different things. Like, I was trying to, like, gratitude journal. I was, like, praying. You know, praying did actually help a little bit. And I was doing all these different, like, little tips or little hacks, you know, to try to make myself feel better. But that, like, that anxiety and that. That, like, feeling it was just still there. It kind of stuck with me no matter what I did. And the only thing that actually, like, helped me was literally. And it sounds so simple, but it's literally focusing on the very next thing I was gonna do. So, for example, I don't know if you guys have ever. You guys have probably been through this scenario, whether it's your boss, your parents, or something. But you know, when you wake up, and then usually the first thing you do is check your phone. And you check your phone, and you see a text from your dad or your mom or your boss, and it's them, like, telling you that you have to do something. Like, you have to, like, hey, Nate, I need you to rake the leave today. Or, boss, like, hey, I need you to come in early today or something. And that's, like, another problem you have to deal with today. That's something else you have to deal with. And, like, I'm sure most of you are like this, and I definitely. I've been like this. And that kind of just ruins your flow. Like, and then you start to think about that, and that just, like, kind of sets you back in the day. Like, it ruins your momentum. It makes it a lot more difficult for you to actually, like, get up and get going, because you're like, oh, now I gotta do this. So it's like, I don't even want to get up. And you don't have, like, that clarity of what you're gonna do. And, like, usually if you have, like, a routine or if you have, like, you know, a kind of basic, you know, layout to how your days usually go, like, that kind of just messes it. Messes with it, right? And so that's kind of like how I was feeling in a way. But the best thing you can do, like I said, is just focus on the next thing you can do. And so, like, for me, these past few days, it's literally been getting up, making my bed, and brushing my teeth. Like, that's usually the first thing that I'll do if it's, like, a productive day. And so, like, instead of work, like, instead of, like, thinking, okay, I got to do this today. I got to do this today. I got to do this today. Like, I cut all that out, and it's. It might not be that simple. For me, it was pretty easy, but I was like, no, I'm not gonna think about those stuff. Like, I'll get to those when I get to those. I'll get to those problems when I get to them today. You know, I still was making my list, so I kind of knew what I had, like, a order of operations of what I was gonna do, so I didn't have to think about that. And all I did was like, okay, Nate, what do I gotta do right now? I have to brush my teeth and make my bed. That's what I'm gonna do right now. And that's what I did. And Then once you do that, once you get up, you start brushing your teeth and make your bed. Suddenly you're gonna notice it's that much easier to do these other things that you planned or, you know, take on these other things throughout the day because you're building that momentum and you're actually starting to like, kind of get the wheels turning and that suddenly you're not in bed on your phone. You know, your phone's. You know, I would recommend at this point, you know, putting your phone away somewhere. That way you just don't even have the distraction if you have like notifications on. Like, that is probably one of the worst things you can do for your, your brain. Because every time you're focused or you're locked in on something, get a ding that just completely destroys your attention. And then your mind's gonna be thinking about that. So those little things, they really do matter. So that's kind of what I've been doing. I've just been focusing on that next thing and like, yeah, I would still have these thoughts, right? And I would still, you know, be tempted to think about, you know, where am I gonna be in the next month? Like, what am I gonna do? Like, what am I. How am I going to handle this? What's happening with my car? Like, all these different things. But I would cut them out and I'd be like, no, don't think like that. I know if I start thinking about these future, like, external things that I don't really have that much control over in the moment. It's. I'm just going to be back where I was a couple of days ago. So I'm just going to focus on what's the next thing I'm going to do today, what's the very next thing. And if you don't know what the next thing is, then you should plan out your days better. You should do what I do. Make a list. Make some check boxes of like all these things you want to get done throughout the day. And then you kind of have a something to check off. And then you can literally this. And if you want to be like peak, like fulfillment, peak, like happiness, like peak like everything. Just don't think about anything else but exactly what you're doing and then go to the list. Okay? So like, for example, right now the next thing I that's on my list is to film some videos, right? I mean, this is one of them. Obviously there's some, some other stuff I wanted to film today. And so I'm not gonna think about anything that's below that on the list. Okay. I have, you know, a prayer, like, gratitude. Like, clean my closet. Like, check up on some business stuff and whatnot. Like, just the normal things. I'm not thinking about those. I'm just thinking about, okay, I need to film these videos. I need to get these done, and then I'll think about what's next. And that's. Honestly, it's. It's completely transformed. It made me feel like I went from super anxious, like, in a rut, like, not, like, feeling, like, not getting out of bed and, like, these things that happen to, you know, a lot of people to, you know, very productive. I feel good. Like, I feel like I'm moving in the right direction. I feel like everything is going good, and suddenly these positive thoughts are starting to come back. Like, I'm starting to be more hopeful, be more, you know, positive in different ways, and it's been very, very helpful. So I wanted to share this. Hopefully this helps some of you guys out. I know, like, everybody. It doesn't matter who you guys see, like, doesn't matter how much money you have or how far you've gone in life, you're gonna run into low points. You're gonna run into, like, shit. And you're gonna have obstacles. And so it's important to remember the fundamentals, and this is definitely one of them. If you can just focus on what's next, it's going to save you so much anxiety, so much worrying, and, you know, so much stress. So thank you guys for watching. Hopefully this helps some of y', all, and peace out.
