All Writing by Jamie Miles
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Trues Stories & Reflections
The Comforts of Muscle Memory and The Man Who Came Back For His Son
Your past effort is never wasted. Even after injury, illness, or years of neglect, your body and brain retain far more of what you built than feels possible and, when you return, you recover it far faster than the first time you built it. So let’s get into the consoling truth and change how you approach your next comeback.
#7: The Actor’s Memory Trick
I’ve gained weight!
Why that’s wonderful will make more sense once you read this week’s story… which is, unfortunately, nowhere to be found.
The Actor’s Memory Trick: The First-letter Technique
Actors don’t memorise lines through repetition, they make lines memorable by understanding the intention and meaning behind the words. That’s the engine behind their incredible feats of memory.
#6: My New Unaddictive iPhone
This week’s story is a reflection on what I’ve realised after re-entering the world of writing in public. It turns out, my model for life has changed, which was a surprise to me.
Escaping Your Phone’s Gravity: Part 2
A few of my friends saw my new habit and followed suit, so I thought you’d also enjoy my trick for being less of a doomscrolling phone-zombie.
The trick is well-known: turn your phone screen black and white. But how I do it is different.
Snakes and Ladders
At the start of this year, my main ambition was to not fall apart.
After what grief did to me when Mum passed, I knew better than to rush into chaining myself to a strict writing schedule in 2025. I wrote and worked, but it was flexible and forgiving. I took things one day at a time and retreated back to being a sobbing mess whenever I got stuck in a grief spiral.
#5: The Oldest Memory Trick & Getting Hacked
I did something brave last week. I’ve also written up the story of when my website got taken over by Russian hackers. It was bizarre, infuriating, and promptly got turned into a stage production.
Russian Hackers
My freshly launched website got taken over by Russian hackers. What followed was bizarre, infuriating, and promptly got turned into a stage show.
The Oldest Memory Trick: Acronyms and Acrostics
Acronyms and acrostics are the oldest memory tricks in the book for creating and recalling long lists of information. While they are powerful, creating them is tedious; with the AI workflow I teach, you’ll be able to take advantage of their power without the tedium, and create enduring mnemonics that make new lists of information unforgettable.
Vegan, But Bacon: How To ‘Cheat’ Your Way Forward
50% is better than 0, especially when 100% isn’t possible. Embracing this attitude is one of the most useful tricks for “cheating” your way towards your goals, building new habits, and ditching old ones.
#4: Vegan, but Bacon
It’s Mother’s Day in the UK, so I wanted to share a special and sweet recipe to honour my mum. I’ve also written up a trick for “cheating” your way to better habits and shared a story that was previously a secret bonus read.
#3: Pancakes & Open Loops
With another year under my belt, I’ve been reflecting on which parts of my past I don’t want to drag into my next solar orbit. The shift in perspective has been so liberating and energising that I’ve made it the star of this week’s article.
Radiohead vs The Preacher
‘Accept our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ!’
Ugh. This guy again.
Ever since I got burgled, I’ve become more defensive when it comes to protecting my home. I haven’t told you about the burglary yet. It happened in May 2025. I’m still dealing with the fallout.
Closing Loops, Re-energising Your Life
With no other obvious culprit, we blame our exhaustion on our modestly packed schedule. Yet, when we check our maths, the numbers don’t quite add up. There’s another factor at play. We have too many open loops.
The unanswered message.
The unfolded clothes.
The unframed art.
The unwanted, still‑uncancelled toothbrush subscription.
This family of unfinished business beeps away in the background, like a ceiling full of smoke alarms with low batteries. Every loop demands a slice of attention, a sliver of guilt, and carries a haunting worry that we’re falling behind.
#2: Malala & Poisoned Chores
This week, I saw Malala. Yes, Nobel Peace Prize winning Malala. I also looked at my dad’s search history after he died. What I found shook me.
Capacity, Not Character: Rethinking ‘Domestic Failure’
There’s a mean story many of us carry around: if you can’t keep up with the dishes, the laundry, the bathroom, there is something wrong with you. Not with what you’ve been through. With you.
Of course, that’s not true. You’re suffering because you’re moralising your domestic chores. You believe that your self‑worth is tied to the crumbs on the kitchen counter. You believe that whether you are good or bad, a success or a failure, is informed by your performance at completing your chores.
The Last Google (and Why I Write)
I already know the name of my next book: The Last Google. It will be dedicated to my Dad. The idea for the title came from a bittersweet discovery I made on his phone after he passed away. When we die, we leave echoes. They get quieter as time passes. Lipstick‑stained...
#1: Marking a New Chapter
A year ago today, my life was very different. I was writing a eulogy for my late-father’s funeral, figuring out how to telescope together 31-years of love and memories into a ten minute speech.
The Energy/Money Matrix: A Better Way to Manage Your Life
Most advice about productivity quietly assumes you have plenty of energy and not enough time. It shouts ‘swim harder’ when you’ve already swallowed half the pool and is blind to the exhaustion you feel after years of standing up only to get knocked down again.
In this state, the issue is not that you’ve mismanaged your time, but that your nervous system is fried and your capacity has been hacked to a stump.
A common misstep during these tough times is to use the classic Important/Urgent prioritisation matrix.
An Icy Start
It was January 7th, 2026 and I’d already dialled 999. The morning had brought an unnatural cold. The streets were iced and London was taken by surprise.[1] I rushed out, eager to swing into the New Year. I had big plans for 2026, but I didn’t expect to be greeted by...
Grandma turns 100(!)
This week, my sister and I went to visit our grandma for her 100th birthday, which is a sentence that already feels like a lie.
Marcus Brown
Note: the names have been changed for the sake of privacy. This story is about Marcus Brown, but first, I need to tell you about coffee shops. The next time you visit a coffee shop lay on the ground. Don’t offer any explanation. Just lay there for a solid 30-seconds,...
Temptation Bundling: Beating procrastination at its own game
Is there a way to get through the more miserable tasks on my to-do list?
Self-control Is Overrated and How To Play The Long Game
The importance of using self-control to reign in our impulses is often overstated. Pop psychology has spread this myth by misinterpreting The Marshmallow Test. We’ll debunk The Marshmallow Test by using new research to show how impulse control is relatively unimportant when predicting positive educational outcomes after socioeconomic factors are taken into account.