The Obituary Test: Why You Should Stop Living in “Short-Form”

We are living in a “Snippet Culture.” We think in 15-second clips, 280-character takes, and 24-hour stories. We’ve become obsessed with the episode and have completely forgotten about the series.

In the newsroom, we distinguish between “Breaking News” (which is urgent but shallow) and “Features” (which are slow but profound). Most people are living their lives like breaking news—reactive, frantic, and quickly forgotten. To build a life that actually means something, you have to start thinking like a feature writer.

1. The “Final Paragraph” Perspective
When I edit an obituary, the middle of the story is always the same: they went to school, they got a job, they worked hard. The parts that actually move the reader are the “Theme.” What did they stand for? What was the one thing they did that no one else could have done?

If you were to write the final paragraph of your life today, what would the “Theme” be? If it’s just “They were very responsive to emails,” it’s time for a rewrite. You need to start making decisions based on the person you want to be ten years from now, not the person who wants a dopamine hit ten seconds from now.

2. The Power of “Unseen” Work
The best investigative journalism takes years. The reporter spends months in dark basements, looking at boring spreadsheets, with no guarantee of a headline. They do it because they believe in the story.

Your life needs “unseen” work. These are the skills you practice when no one is watching, the kindnesses you perform without posting them on Instagram, and the long-term projects that won’t pay off for a decade. In a world of instant “likes,” the most valuable things are the ones that take a long time to build.

3. Edit for Consistency, Not Intensity
A great novel isn’t just one brilliant chapter; it’s the steady build-up of tension and character over three hundred pages.

Many people try to “edit” their lives with massive, intense bursts—a 30-day juice cleanse, a week-long productivity “sprint,” or a sudden career pivot. But real change is a “Style Guide.” It’s the small, boring choices you make every single day. It’s the tone you set in every conversation. It’s the way you treat people when you’re tired. That is what builds a legacy.