How’d this all start?

Hi, guys! Cal here!

A BetterLife Co. began in 2025 after I struggled mightily through college, grad school, and the early years of a “real job” right after.

I struggled to focus. I struggled to find meaning. I struggled to even just keep track of everything going on.

And I wanted to complain about that (BetterLife started as a Medium page because complaining privately wasn’t good enough, I guess?).

I felt chained to the requirements of school and of work. Weekends would fly by, and I’d have nothing to show for them besides a hangover and a bit more tolerance for my professors/coworkers on Monday.

Nothing in my life truly felt like it was mine, and that frustrated the hell out of me. Maybe I’d start a hobby here and there (make music, take some hikes, etc.) but it felt impossible to be consistent.

It’s unfair we give so much of our time to everyone else’s interests and not our own.

Why do I have to spend 8 hours a day doing class & homework or working for a boss but not get 8 hours for myself (Sleep doesn’t count!!)? I was blessed to go to college by choice, but when you’re in there, homework feels like anything but a choice.

When would I have time for myself? Time where I felt refreshed. Time that wasn’t late on a Friday/Saturday. Like those few precious hours on a Sunday afternoon where I might actually be bored? Where is that time, consistently?

To me, it should be there.

As someone that struggles mightily with life speeding me up, I’ve found plenty of little systems/hacks/mental queues that helped me slow down and be more deliberate and present in life.

The systems and tools I want to share display where that time actually is, and sometimes even give you a little bit of it back.

Life should be fun. Not spent on mind-numbingly tedious self-help efforts.

We should be able to do the things we want to do, when we want to do them, while still providing value to others. Reading the latest productivity book doesn’t seem very aligned to any of that for me.

It just takes up more of my time.

A BetterLife Co. is created to share upon those tools, help you live more deliberately, and give you back control.

Hope this all leaves you better than before you stumbled upon it. Thanks for your time :)

- another guy trying to figure it out