If you’re reading this, you don’t need another challenge.
You don’t need better systems, a taller stack of habits, more willpower, or a new app.
Those are, after all, the very tools many of us have been using to try to work our way out of lives that have begun to feel… untenable.
What you might need (what many of us need right now!) is a shift in how we apply effort to the problems we care about. At work. At home. With our loved ones. In the world.
This 100-day practice is designed to support that exploration.
It’s not a course or a challenge. It’s not a checklist to complete or an identity to “become.”
It’s a daily invitation to resist the default of more, and experiment instead with a more intentional, strategic, and interconnected way of doing what matters most, in a way that actually works in today’s reality.
To practice systematic subtraction: a discerning filter for what efforts are no longer aligned with what actually matters. So we can do more good, without doing more. And live lives that feel as good as they look.
Join me today at 3 pm ET for a RIP Resolutions Salon. We’ll be live right here on Substack, discussing the potential of loosening our grip rather than white knuckling to the growth we want to fee. And we’ll talk a bit more about this 100 Day practice! Hope to see you there.
What this is (and isn’t)
This practice is designed for people who:
are hard-working, big-hearted, and ambitious
were brought up believing that more effort was always the answer
are curious about what might change if they did less, more deliberately
It’s not about lowering standards, opting out, disappointing people you care about, or abandoning meaningful goals.
It is about noticing where effort has stopped paying off. And experimenting with something fresher, wiser, and more sustainable.
The rhythm (so you can relax into it)
Each week follows a simple cadence inspired by the Stop–Drop–Roll method:
Monday — A Subtraction Scenario
A highlight from my weekly Substack essay (free) exploring one “What if we subtracted…?” question. The daily prompt is a distilled version you can engage with quickly.
Tuesday — STOP
Pause. Notice. Gather information. No action yet.
Wednesday — DROP
Experiment with letting go of one specific thing that may no longer be serving you.
Thursday — ROLL
Connect the dots between what you’re already doing and the outcomes you care about.
Friday — Celebrate / Reflect
A moment to acknowledge effort, notice returns, and appreciate the muscle you’re building.
Weekends are intentionally lighter. Shorter posts. Sometimes visual. Sometimes poetic. Always optional. Always with a soundtrack.
Yes: there will be a song with every post, every day. Take it as encouragement for a dance break, a walk, or a less intellectual way into the idea.
How to use this (the most important part)
There is no advantage to doing everything.
Read what helps. Skip what doesn’t.
Listen to the songs—or swap in your own.
Come practice daily, or binge a week at a time.
If you miss a day, nothing will breaks. This practice isn’t about intensity — it’s about consistency. As Michael Neill puts it: making a candle by adding one thin layer of wax at a time.
And please: speak up. Comment. Share what you’re noticing, trying, releasing, resisting. I’ll be right here (trying not to be creepily responsive), genuinely eager to engage.
This practice was inspired in part by Suleika Jaouad’s Book of Alchemy, another 100-day experience I loved for its depth, variety, and interaction. I’d love to hear about your experience as we go.
Plus, as every teacher of learning has reminded us in one form or another:
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.
Which brings me to next week’s opening topic: What if we subtracted doing anything “quietly”?
I’m an introvert and a lover of quiet. But I’m increasingly puzzled (and a little irritated) by the explosion of “quietly,” “gently,” and similar modifiers in leadership and AI-assisted writing. Why does everything suddenly need to happen quietly?
I’ll say more on Monday. For now: welcome! See you tomorrow for Day 1.
Nell
How to join the full practice
The daily 100-Day Subtract to Succeed Practice is for paid subscribers. If you’re reading this and feeling curious, you’re warmly invited to subscribe.
NB: many people are able to cover subscriptions like this through professional development or learning budgets at work.
If your employer doesn’t offer that kind of reimbursement, and the cost is prohibitive, please DM me for a guest pass.
One more invitation
If this feels like something a friend, colleague, or team member would enjoy, please share it. Systematic subtraction works best when it’s practiced within the systems we’re part of.
Finally, remember that if you want to learn more live, I’m hosting a RIP Resolutions Salon later today — right here on Substack at 3 pm ET. Please join if it appeals.
