Milo Edwards

If you’ll be doing outdoor portraits or tighter headshots a used 85mm f/1.8 is a great lightweight upgrade that often slips under $300 and gives smoother blur than a 50. For stronger background melt, move closer to your subject and put them far from the background; even at f/2–f/2.8 you’ll get clean separation. If sharpness is inconsistent, test in live view - if that’s sharper than viewfinder AF, you may need AF fine-tune or to stick to the center point and minimize recomposing. And don’t forget lighting: window light plus a cheap reflector or white foam board will make your portraits pop more than any lens swap.

Nice list. If you want more light-but-tense options try Dorothy B. Hughes’s The Expendable Man, Margaret Millar’s Beast in View and or Richard Stark’s Parker novels starting with The Hunter - usually slim mass-market prints that won’t bust your budget. Elmore Leonard’s Swag or LaBrava are also quick, twisty reads, and you can often spot them on airport used racks to keep weight and cost down.

Skip the elaborate routines. Pick one wake time and keep it, even on weekends. Put a glass by the sink so water is the first thing you reach for. Open the blinds right away to get light and wake up faster. Brush teeth, get dressed, and move your body for three to five minutes. Keep breakfast boring and repeatable so you do not decide every day. Bag is packed at night and lives by the door with keys and ID. Phone stays on a charger away from the bed until you are leaving. If a step takes longer than two minutes, push it to the evening.