Microdosing Retirement
Season 1
05: If I have to make another decision, I'm going to scream
04: Why am I not healing faster?
03: Life Is an Open-World Video Game
02: You're Not Lazy, You're Exhausted
by Amanda B. Yappin
Have you ever felt like if one more person asked you to make one more decision, you might actually scream? In this episode of Microdosing Retirement, Amanda explores the hidden weight of decision fatigue and why modern life can leave us feeling mentally exhausted. From choosing what to wear and what to eat to navigating social media and designing unconventional lives, today's endless stream of choices quietly drains more energy than we realize. Through personal stories, including outsourcing a simple decision to a friend, wrestling with the urge to document every moment, and reflecting on why social media feels so overwhelming, Amanda examines the unexpected cost of having so much freedom. This episode's microdose invites listeners to retire from being the decision-maker... just for one decision. Because sometimes the smallest act of self-care isn't making the perfect choice, it's letting someone else choose for a change. If you've been feeling mentally overloaded, stuck in analysis paralysis, or simply tired of making decisions, this episode is for you.
In this episode of Microdosing Retirement, Amanda explores the frustration of feeling like healing should be happening faster. Through honest reflections on grief, burnout, perfectionism, nervous system exhaustion, and the pressure to cope “the right way,” she shares what it looks like to navigate a difficult season in real time, without pretending to have it all figured out. From reality TV and “girl dinners” to therapy, self-soothing, and learning how to ask for help, this episode is a reminder that healing isn’t always aesthetic, productive, or linear. This week’s microdose invites listeners to let go of the pressure to heal perfectly, practice a little more self-compassion, and remember that we’re not meant to do this alone.
What if life isn’t a straight path you’re supposed to follow… but more like an open-world game you get to explore? In this episode, Amanda reflects on how easy it is to fall into the same routines — taking the same routes, going to the same places, and doing the same things over and over again. It’s comfortable. It’s familiar. And for a lot of us, it’s also automatic. But those patterns can quietly keep us in the same version of our lives. This episode is about what happens when you start doing things a little differently. Not in a dramatic, “quit your job and move across the world” kind of way — but in small, low-pressure ways. Taking a different street. Trying something new. Following curiosity just to see what happens. Because it’s wild what can happen when you do something slightly different. A reminder that you don’t have to change your whole life — you just have to go a little off path.
Are you too tired to even hit “play” on this episode? When even simple tasks start to feel overwhelming, it’s easy to assume something is wrong with you. But what if you’re not lazy — you’re just exhausted from trying to keep up with a world that never slows down? In this episode, Amanda explores burnout, the pressure to constantly optimize, and why protecting your time, energy, and attention might be the most important thing you can do.
The Moment That Changed the Way I Look at My Life For years, I thought life was something you worked toward — something you’d eventually have time to enjoy later. Then something happened that completely changed the way I see time, work, and the idea of “someday.” In this first episode of Microdosing Retirement, I share the story that inspired the podcast and why I started questioning the idea that life is something we postpone. Because if tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, maybe the good parts of life shouldn’t be scheduled for decades from now. This is where it all began.