August 7, 2025 • 11 mins
Ready to transform your life but feeling overwhelmed by endless social obligations and digital distractions? This episode reveals the counterintuitive secrets to genuine personal growth that nobody talks about.
The most powerful life upgrades often come from what you subtract, not what you add. Discover why "leaving early" has become my personal mantra and how the LIFO method (Last In, First Out) has revolutionized my approach to professional events. You'll learn why protecting your social battery isn't selfish—it's essential for creating the mental space needed for meaningful work and personal development.
In this solo episode, I share the counterintuitive strategies that helped me truly level up—starting with why subtraction, not addition, leads to growth.
From leaving events early (my “LIFO” method) to curating a digital space that serves your vision—not your social circle—you’ll learn how to protect your energy, master deep work, and say “no” without guilt.
We’ll talk boundaries, phone-free rituals, finding movement you love, and clearing out anything—or anyone—that drains you. If you’re ready to reclaim your time, focus, and personal power… this episode is for you.
Follow @thecurationpodcast for more!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to the Curation, a show for the
culturally curious.
This is your host, noor Hassan.
Each week, I'll guide youthrough a curated edit of the
finest in art, fashion, design,culture, luxury, wellness, tech
and more.
This is your go-to space fordiscovering trailblazing ideas,
untold stories and meaningfulconversations with innovators
(00:31):
and creators who are shaping ourworld.
There's no gatekeeping here, sosit back, tune in and let's
discover only the best together,together.
Okay, guys, today I'm going totalk to you about a topic I
really like and I talked aboutit on a podcast I think it was
(00:55):
like last year or something likethat and that is the topic of
leveling up your life.
So I have a couple of notes onmy laptop that I'm going to look
at.
I'm just going to glance at itand, essentially, here are the
top tips I have for leveling upyour life.
My first tip is somethingthat's a little bit
(01:15):
controversial, for, mostspecifically, I'm going to get
into it and I'm just going totry and be as clear as I can.
The first tip is the idea thatwe have a million events to go
to during the week.
Okay, if you work in thisindustry, if you work in this
field, you're getting invited toI don't know minimum three
events in the middle of the week.
Okay, if you want to level upyour life, you can all be going
(01:38):
out three, four times a week toevents and staying out late and
draining your social batterycompletely with so many people
and in the end, you end uphaving zero energy for your
actual work, your dreams, your Idon't know, whatever it is,
your day, your workouts.
So my number one tip forleveling up your life is leaving
early or learning to say no,and it took me like years to
(02:04):
master guys, years, okay, butessentially, the hard truth is
this You're not going to be atthe Tuesday night, at wherever,
until 12, 1am.
You're going to leave early.
Okay, you're going to do whatShtad guy talks about, which is
the lifo method I think it'scalled that.
(02:25):
So you're the last in andyou're the first out.
This is a method that I did notget from him, while I mean I
had.
Actually, it's just somethingI've been doing, which is I make
sure to be at a place for work.
I show up, I dress up, I getthere, I take the images, I do
any press or PR and then I leaveearly.
(02:50):
Why is this important?
Because it will change yourlife.
You have to make sure that youget home in time to set up
whatever evening routine it isthat you need.
The idea is that you leaveearly.
You leave early to level up,and this is in my bio.
My, my literal bio on instagramsays leaves early.
This is something everyoneknows about me and it's a fact.
It's just a fun fact.
(03:11):
If you meet me at an event 11pm, I'm gone.
So that's actually one thingthat I think really can change
your life.
It means that you socialize onlyto the extent where you really
need to within the work capacity, and then everything else is a
plus um.
Another thing is learning tosay no taban.
This is part of the curatedpodcast, so you're learning to
(03:33):
select only to go to the placesand appear at the events that
you really need to be at.
This is so important because itchanges everything.
In my 20s I used to.
Literally, it was kind of likea yes era.
If you go to every event andyou're there and you're
socializing and you have so muchmore energy, I think.
(03:54):
But it's not just that.
It's not about energy.
It's about making sure thatyou're allocating your time
correctly.
So you leave, leave early, youlevel up Number two.
Number two is actually a bit ofa controversial one, but it's
called, basically, boundaries onsocial media.
But this is a whole episode initself that I'll do next week.
(04:16):
But the mute button, the blockbutton, they're your best friend
.
Why?
Because, essentially, youcannot be consuming all of the
content that you're consumingand thinking into.
You're filtering out yourcharacter for the end.
You need to make sure that,essentially, you are only
consuming, following and payingattention to the people that
(04:39):
really inspire you.
You need to curate yourfollowing.
You have to curate not just theevents you attend, but also
your following on social media.
Who are you following?
Why are you following them?
(04:59):
And, if not, you block.
By the way, the block button isa serious, serious tool, guys,
but I really think it'simportant to understand that,
generally, your social media isnot for your friends.
Your social media is for you.
It's for your work, it's foryour dreams, it's for you to
share something valuable so thatthe people who need you can
(05:25):
find you.
It's not for your family, it'snot for your ex-boyfriend, it's
not for your mom.
It's for your passions, and theminute you treat it like that
is the minute that you're reallygonna level up.
The next point is deep work.
Deep work is something that Iread in a book, literally by Cal
Newport, called Deep Work.
This is an insane book, and thesummary of this book is that
(05:49):
essentially, you need toallocate, مثلا hours or days or
times هو بيشرح كذا مودالتي ofdeep work في الكتاب to sit down
and really strategize yourcareer, your life, your next
move.
But he describes a couple ofstrategies for this and I'll
give you two.
I will watch them into.
You wake up early and youallocate the morning to deep
(06:11):
work.
This is called I think it's thejournalistic strategy.
I could be wrong, but this iswhere you allocate a part of the
day.
Another strategy is allocatinga part of your quarter to deep
work.
So I have, like, my deep workmonth, and then I have my months
where I'm like doing everything.
Another strategy is called thejournalistic, where I'm doing a
(06:34):
lot of things and then Ispecifically have an hour where
I'm doing my deep work.
Deep work means no distractions.
It means no phone, it means notexting, no interruptions.
It means that you need to sitdown with yourself for like an
hour and figure out what am Itrying to achieve in the next
three months, and this is notyour New Year's resolution, this
(06:55):
is your real plan, and if youdon't do this, according to the
book, you're never really goingto achieve milestones at the
rate or pace that you reallyneed to.
Okay, so that's level up tipnumber three.
Number four is don't be aforever student.
We're in an age where but notin this, my podcasts, but it's
my TikTok but we scroll, we sitfor hours and hours and hours
(07:16):
consuming content.
At the end of the day, guys,there needs to be a point where
you start executing on thethings you're learning.
Okay, and I was like this for avery long time.
I would read, and read and read, and be a nerd.
I'm not doing what I'm learning.
So I decided that I'm going tostop reading books until I apply
(07:36):
at least one thing from thebook that I read.
Okay, don't be a foreverstudent.
Okay.
Next thing get toxic people outof your life.
I just had an episode with HibaShambho.
She's the incredibleentrepreneur and ex co founder
of Four Fat Ladies, and she saidthat one of her best curated
tips to curate your life is toget the energy suckers.
(08:00):
She called it out of your life.
You guys have to listen to herepisode.
She's amazing.
But essentially this means justbeing aware how am I feeling
when I'm around certain peopleand if it isn't positive, you
need to be very careful aboutspending too much time with
people who really drain yourenergy.
So that's my next tip, okay,okay, this tip is really
(08:27):
difficult because I don'tpractice this one and I'm trying
to, but it's no cell phone atthe beginning or end of the day,
so this one is really hard.
I scroll, I scroll.
It's part of my job.
I mean, let's be real.
But it is a really bad traitand it's really detrimental to
leveling up.
(08:47):
Because how can you level up ifthe first and last thing you do
every day is look at otherpeople's lives?
It doesn't make sense.
And you're not going to let 20people into your bedroom in the
morning, right, like that doesnot make sense.
No one will do that.
So you need to really try toget your phone out of your way
for at least an hour beginningand end of the day.
(09:09):
It's like a sandwich.
You really, really, really needto try to do that Because
ultimately, to level up, youneed that time to pace yourself,
and we talk a lot on my podcastabout morning and evening
routines and essentially this ispart of it.
I think it's a really importanttip.
Okay, the next one is exercise,and obviously this is not a new
(09:29):
one.
It goes along with many otherthings, but for me specifically,
my tip here is to find the typeof exercise that will keep you
consistent.
For the longest time I was aCrossFit girl.
We've got the CrossFit didn'treally serve my body Like I have
a spinal fixation.
I have many things that don'treally align my CrossFit from
Qutb Sharifa but are consistent.
(09:50):
But ever since I took my Pilatescertifications and started
teaching Pilates, I found thatthis is the most consistent way
to get me to exercise because Iactually enjoy it, like I
actually want to go to Pilatesor I want to do it.
It helps so much when you lovethe type of exercise that you're
actually doing and guys go toevents, take classes, make it
(10:14):
diverse, make it different, butmake sure it's something that
you do constantly, because Ithink this is potentially the
number one thing that will helplevel up your life, which is
exercising consistently, movingyour body, being mindful with
that, and you can check out mypilates page for that pilates by
noor self plug.
But essentially you need tofind the thing that gets you
(10:37):
excited, that doesn't feel likework, doesn't feel like a chore.
All right, guys, those are mytips for leveling up.
Make sure to leave me your tipsand your comments on your level
up journeys.
Do you agree with me?
Do you disagree?
And I'll speak to you next time.
Bye, guys.
Welcome to the Curation, a show for the
culturally curious.
This is your host, noor Hassan.
Each week, I'll guide youthrough a curated edit of the
finest in art, fashion, design,culture, luxury, wellness, tech
and more.
This is your go-to space fordiscovering trailblazing ideas,
untold stories and meaningfulconversations with innovators
(00:31):
and creators who are shaping ourworld.
There's no gatekeeping here, sosit back, tune in and let's
discover only the best together,together.
Okay, guys, today I'm going totalk to you about a topic I
really like and I talked aboutit on a podcast I think it was
(00:55):
like last year or something likethat and that is the topic of
leveling up your life.
So I have a couple of notes onmy laptop that I'm going to look
at.
I'm just going to glance at itand, essentially, here are the
top tips I have for leveling upyour life.
My first tip is somethingthat's a little bit
(01:15):
controversial, for, mostspecifically, I'm going to get
into it and I'm just going totry and be as clear as I can.
The first tip is the idea thatwe have a million events to go
to during the week.
Okay, if you work in thisindustry, if you work in this
field, you're getting invited toI don't know minimum three
events in the middle of the week.
Okay, if you want to level upyour life, you can all be going
(01:38):
out three, four times a week toevents and staying out late and
draining your social batterycompletely with so many people
and in the end, you end uphaving zero energy for your
actual work, your dreams, your Idon't know, whatever it is,
your day, your workouts.
So my number one tip forleveling up your life is leaving
early or learning to say no,and it took me like years to
(02:04):
master guys, years, okay, butessentially, the hard truth is
this You're not going to be atthe Tuesday night, at wherever,
until 12, 1am.
You're going to leave early.
Okay, you're going to do whatShtad guy talks about, which is
the lifo method I think it'scalled that.
(02:25):
So you're the last in andyou're the first out.
This is a method that I did notget from him, while I mean I
had.
Actually, it's just somethingI've been doing, which is I make
sure to be at a place for work.
I show up, I dress up, I getthere, I take the images, I do
any press or PR and then I leaveearly.
(02:50):
Why is this important?
Because it will change yourlife.
You have to make sure that youget home in time to set up
whatever evening routine it isthat you need.
The idea is that you leaveearly.
You leave early to level up,and this is in my bio.
My, my literal bio on instagramsays leaves early.
This is something everyoneknows about me and it's a fact.
It's just a fun fact.
(03:11):
If you meet me at an event 11pm, I'm gone.
So that's actually one thingthat I think really can change
your life.
It means that you socialize onlyto the extent where you really
need to within the work capacity, and then everything else is a
plus um.
Another thing is learning tosay no taban.
This is part of the curatedpodcast, so you're learning to
(03:33):
select only to go to the placesand appear at the events that
you really need to be at.
This is so important because itchanges everything.
In my 20s I used to.
Literally, it was kind of likea yes era.
If you go to every event andyou're there and you're
socializing and you have so muchmore energy, I think.
(03:54):
But it's not just that.
It's not about energy.
It's about making sure thatyou're allocating your time
correctly.
So you leave, leave early, youlevel up Number two.
Number two is actually a bit ofa controversial one, but it's
called, basically, boundaries onsocial media.
But this is a whole episode initself that I'll do next week.
(04:16):
But the mute button, the blockbutton, they're your best friend
.
Why?
Because, essentially, youcannot be consuming all of the
content that you're consumingand thinking into.
You're filtering out yourcharacter for the end.
You need to make sure that,essentially, you are only
consuming, following and payingattention to the people that
(04:39):
really inspire you.
You need to curate yourfollowing.
You have to curate not just theevents you attend, but also
your following on social media.
Who are you following?
Why are you following them?
(04:59):
And, if not, you block.
By the way, the block button isa serious, serious tool, guys,
but I really think it'simportant to understand that,
generally, your social media isnot for your friends.
Your social media is for you.
It's for your work, it's foryour dreams, it's for you to
share something valuable so thatthe people who need you can
(05:25):
find you.
It's not for your family, it'snot for your ex-boyfriend, it's
not for your mom.
It's for your passions, and theminute you treat it like that
is the minute that you're reallygonna level up.
The next point is deep work.
Deep work is something that Iread in a book, literally by Cal
Newport, called Deep Work.
This is an insane book, and thesummary of this book is that
(05:49):
essentially, you need toallocate, مثلا hours or days or
times هو بيشرح كذا مودالتي ofdeep work في الكتاب to sit down
and really strategize yourcareer, your life, your next
move.
But he describes a couple ofstrategies for this and I'll
give you two.
I will watch them into.
You wake up early and youallocate the morning to deep
(06:11):
work.
This is called I think it's thejournalistic strategy.
I could be wrong, but this iswhere you allocate a part of the
day.
Another strategy is allocatinga part of your quarter to deep
work.
So I have, like, my deep workmonth, and then I have my months
where I'm like doing everything.
Another strategy is called thejournalistic, where I'm doing a
(06:34):
lot of things and then Ispecifically have an hour where
I'm doing my deep work.
Deep work means no distractions.
It means no phone, it means notexting, no interruptions.
It means that you need to sitdown with yourself for like an
hour and figure out what am Itrying to achieve in the next
three months, and this is notyour New Year's resolution, this
(06:55):
is your real plan, and if youdon't do this, according to the
book, you're never really goingto achieve milestones at the
rate or pace that you reallyneed to.
Okay, so that's level up tipnumber three.
Number four is don't be aforever student.
We're in an age where but notin this, my podcasts, but it's
my TikTok but we scroll, we sitfor hours and hours and hours
(07:16):
consuming content.
At the end of the day, guys,there needs to be a point where
you start executing on thethings you're learning.
Okay, and I was like this for avery long time.
I would read, and read and read, and be a nerd.
I'm not doing what I'm learning.
So I decided that I'm going tostop reading books until I apply
(07:36):
at least one thing from thebook that I read.
Okay, don't be a foreverstudent.
Okay.
Next thing get toxic people outof your life.
I just had an episode with HibaShambho.
She's the incredibleentrepreneur and ex co founder
of Four Fat Ladies, and she saidthat one of her best curated
tips to curate your life is toget the energy suckers.
(08:00):
She called it out of your life.
You guys have to listen to herepisode.
She's amazing.
But essentially this means justbeing aware how am I feeling
when I'm around certain peopleand if it isn't positive, you
need to be very careful aboutspending too much time with
people who really drain yourenergy.
So that's my next tip, okay,okay, this tip is really
(08:27):
difficult because I don'tpractice this one and I'm trying
to, but it's no cell phone atthe beginning or end of the day,
so this one is really hard.
I scroll, I scroll.
It's part of my job.
I mean, let's be real.
But it is a really bad traitand it's really detrimental to
leveling up.
(08:47):
Because how can you level up ifthe first and last thing you do
every day is look at otherpeople's lives?
It doesn't make sense.
And you're not going to let 20people into your bedroom in the
morning, right, like that doesnot make sense.
No one will do that.
So you need to really try toget your phone out of your way
for at least an hour beginningand end of the day.
(09:09):
It's like a sandwich.
You really, really, really needto try to do that Because
ultimately, to level up, youneed that time to pace yourself,
and we talk a lot on my podcastabout morning and evening
routines and essentially this ispart of it.
I think it's a really importanttip.
Okay, the next one is exercise,and obviously this is not a new
(09:29):
one.
It goes along with many otherthings, but for me specifically,
my tip here is to find the typeof exercise that will keep you
consistent.
For the longest time I was aCrossFit girl.
We've got the CrossFit didn'treally serve my body Like I have
a spinal fixation.
I have many things that don'treally align my CrossFit from
Qutb Sharifa but are consistent.
(09:50):
But ever since I took my Pilatescertifications and started
teaching Pilates, I found thatthis is the most consistent way
to get me to exercise because Iactually enjoy it, like I
actually want to go to Pilatesor I want to do it.
It helps so much when you lovethe type of exercise that you're
actually doing and guys go toevents, take classes, make it
(10:14):
diverse, make it different, butmake sure it's something that
you do constantly, because Ithink this is potentially the
number one thing that will helplevel up your life, which is
exercising consistently, movingyour body, being mindful with
that, and you can check out mypilates page for that pilates by
noor self plug.
But essentially you need tofind the thing that gets you
(10:37):
excited, that doesn't feel likework, doesn't feel like a chore.
All right, guys, those are mytips for leveling up.
Make sure to leave me your tipsand your comments on your level
up journeys.
Do you agree with me?
Do you disagree?
And I'll speak to you next time.
Bye, guys.
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