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Hey {{ck:_first_name|friend}},
There’s a darker reason I became obsessed with systems.
It wasn’t productivity.
It was a diagnosis.
At 21, at the peak of my fitness, during my time in the Singapore military, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis.
At 21.
I was training hard. Running. Lifting.
And suddenly, I was told my bones were fragile.
Like that of an elderly woman.
My ego took a big hit.
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I was young and naive.
For years, I followed doctors’ advice.
Scans. Blood tests. Medication.
But here’s what I realised:
Doctors don’t manage your life.
Chronic disease management?
That’s on ME.
If I wanted to improve, I had to OWN IT!
So I started tracking everything.
DEXA scans.
Supplements.
Training.
Symptoms.
Patterns began to appear.
At 26, I read a book: Building a Second Brain.
Tiago Forte shared how structured documentation helped him manage his own condition.
That changed me.
I started with Notion.
My Bone Health Tracker in Notion
Then Google Sheets.
My Bone Health Tracker. With sample data
Recently, I built BoneTrax.
A FULL web app in a day using Claude Code.
BoneTrax: Loaded with sample data.
As a data analyst, I was particular about seeing charts for trends.
I did not write a single line of code.
Systems gave me clarity.
Clarity gave me control.
And with that clarity?
I started reading books on bones, tightening up my nutrition, and watching YouTube videos that taught me how to build bones.
And something bigger clicked.
This was no longer about osteoporosis.
It was about agency.
In a messy world with rising demands, systems create stability.
Today, I surround my life with them.
Health.
Business.
Faith.
Learning.
Relationships.
Some are AI-powered.
Some are simple routines.
But all reduce chaos.
Here’s the irony:
Systems didn’t make me rigid.
They made me free.
When structure holds complexity, you gain margin.
Margin to think.
Margin to act.
Margin to live.
I used to think systems were about productivity.
Now I know they’re about peace.
If you feel overwhelmed, maybe you don’t need more motivation.
Maybe you need architecture.
I’ll leave you with a sketch I drew recently —
progress built on action, grounded in humility and acceptance.
A sketch from my journal on how we grow over time.
You might be in the humility phase.
But you don’t have to stay there.
Accept it, build systems, and improve over time.
Today, I’m glad I got that osteoporosis diagnosis.
I hope you’ll feel the same for whatever life has diagnosed you.
I’m rooting for you.
PS. I created a 4-part life management system. Just reply “system,” and I’ll share it next week.
Cheers,
Justin