Week 4 log - 2026 - Hagen Growth

Narrowing focus

Last week was about tightening structure. This week, that structure had to hold as outside pressure increased. With the first of two exam weeks underway, my attention and energy were more limited, and the question became what to narrow – not what to improve.

Week 4 metrics

Training
Workouts: 4 | Cycling: 4 hrs

Recovery
Avg sleep: 7:50 hrs | Sleep score: 86

Work
HG work: 15 hrs | Other work: 20 hrs

This log reflects how I’ve worked with the Hagen Growth philosophy in practice over the past week

What I worked on

This week marked the first of two exam weeks. The days were shaped by studying, writing, and presenting – work that demands sustained attention in a different way than my usual projects.

In the past, periods like this have pulled my focus in too many directions at once. This time, instead of trying to balance everything, I narrowed the scope. The rules I introduced last week stayed in place, but the content inside them changed.

I reduced the number of work blocks and reassigned most of them to studying. Hagen Growth was limited to the essentials – posting what was already planned and writing this log. The intention wasn’t to keep everything moving, but to decide in advance what would receive attention and what wouldn’t.

What went well

Studying demanded more mental effort than my usual work, and the pressure of the exams was present throughout the week. By reducing the number of work hours and stripping the schedule down to essentials, the days became simpler to move through.

For most of the week, I stayed within that reduced scope. The pace was lower, but more even. I noticed less internal pressure to keep pushing, and the usual spillover into sleep, eating, and training didn’t show up in the same way.

What stood out was that the week remained contained. The demands were still there, but they didn’t expand beyond what I had already decided to give.

What could have been better

While the structure held for most of the week, there were a few days where my focus drifted. Before the week began, I had been thinking about adding a new channel to Hagen Growth. It’s an idea that excites me, and when something new starts to take shape, it tends to pull my attention in.

Early in the week, that pull showed up as long planning sessions that went beyond what I had set aside. The work itself wasn’t urgent, but the momentum felt familiar. In periods of high pressure, I often default to doing more on the things that matter most to me.

What this week highlighted for me is how easily excitement can override restraint. Especially when capacity is already stretched, that pattern doesn’t need much room to reappear.

Reflection of the week – When passion exceeds capacity

I care deeply about my work with Hagen Growth. Sharing ideas, approaches to life, and the tools that have shaped me is something I’m genuinely drawn to, and most days that pull feels energizing.

But this week reminded me that passion doesn’t always scale with capacity. When pressure is already high and mental bandwidth is limited, following that pull too closely can tip into fatigue. The same drive that usually sustains the work can, in the wrong context, undermine it.

During this week, I had to hold that impulse back. On the days where I let excitement dictate my focus, I exceeded what I had to give. On the days where I narrowed my attention and set it aside, things held together.

I could have kept a normal pace with Hagen Growth alongside the exam and still produced output. But it would have come at the cost of quality – and more importantly, at the cost of having anything left once the pressure passed.

Week 4 summarized

This week, my studies took priority as I entered the first of two exam weeks. That meant placing Hagen Growth in the background and limiting my work here to the essentials.

Next week’s focus

Next week marks the second exam week, and my studies will remain the primary focus. Work on Hagen Growth will be limited to the essentials.

Exam – Prepare for and complete the exam.
Training – Four gym sessions and six hours on the bike. Maintain high intensity and quality, but adjust if needed.
Hagen Growth – Publish the weekly article, the weekly log, and send out the newsletter.