I had a blast making this mix CD for my wife for Valentine’s Day.

Yeah, I know, it’s 2025. But who cares? Mix CDs are way cooler than giving someone a playlist (which of course I did).

The process of acquiring a blank CD, meticulously crafting a playlist of songs that made me think of my wife, making the album art in Pixelmator, and handing it to her when I was done gave me the biggest feeling of pride I’ve felt in years.

And yeah, it was just a dumb, impractical CD filled with mushy songs.

But it was fun as hell to make, and that’s what it’s all about.¹

Here’s the track list:

1. The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
2. Seals & Croft - You're the Love
3. The Bird and the Bee - Birthday
4. Kate Nash - I Hate Seagulls
5. Bonny Light Horseman - Lover Take It Easy
6. Donna Lewis - I Love You Always Forever
7. Sonya Spence - Let Love Flow On
8. The Mountain Goats - San Bernardino
9. Lily Allen - Littlest Things
10. Paul Frees - Although I Dropped $100,000
11. Freddie Scott - (You) Got What I Need
12. Hall and Oates - You Make My Dreams
13. Belle and Sebastian - If She Wants Me
14. Exile - Kiss You All Over
15. Stars - My Favourite Book
16. RuPaul, Lawrence Cheney, Bimini Bon-Boulash, Tayce, Ellie Diamond - A Little Bit of Love

I’m increasingly noticing Swedish culture, and I am constantly intrigued by it.

Also, everything about this video makes me want to start getting better at building things. I sometimes still feel like I am renting this house rather than living in it. This means I have a list of small, annoying things about my house that I just deal with rather than experiment with and fix them.

(Paul, since you’re just about the only person I know who reads this blog, I’d love to hear what you think 😂)

I gained a lot of appreciation for people who make things, and lost a lot of tolerance for people who only pontificate. I found myself especially frustrated with my past self, whose default was to complain and/or comment, then wonder why things didn’t magically get better.

The first emphasis in Make Fewer Things Matter is “make.” Things don’t stop mattering on their own. You don’t just ignore them. You do something to make them not matter.

The next emphasis is “fewer.” Some things will still matter, but you reduce the number of them. Make a big list of things you think are important. Look at each item and look for ways to make it not matter.

After you go through everything and you try to make them not matter, you’re left with a few things that truly matter.