Focus on January

New year!! 2022, here we come…

But wait - it’s cold. People are tired. There’s omicron… people just aren’t feeling it.

And yet, we gotta keep moving. Work is knocking. Kids aren’t going to feed themselves. The cat will literally maul you if you don’t feed it.

So what are we to do?

First, make small goals - get through January. Great that you want to do something for the next 300 days but the only way you’re going to get there is by going through January. So start small: here is what you are going to do today - tomorrow, this week. Keep your todo list to a 2-3 things you definitely want to do.¹ Make it there and then look up.

Second: move your body! Yeah, it’s cold and you already worked out yesterday. Isn’t that good enough? No. Not in Winter. Gotta use your body every day. Doesn’t have to be crazy hard, just make the time and keep pressing play. Go for walks. Stretch. Do cardio, weights, anything and everything count. I know it feels like you’re a hibernating bear but you’re actually not. You’ll feel better after you move.

Third: take it easy on yourself. I had cut out caffeine in December but found I relapsed after various nights with poor sleep over the last few weeks. That’s OK. The warm coffee and teas feel very good right now. I’ll pick this back up in the spring or summer. Go with the seasons. Linearity isn’t human.

Alright, short and sweet to kick off the year. See you next week!

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1. For any to-do you actually want to do, make it a next action vs. a typical to-do. “Next actions” are clear and actionable. “Go to doctor” is a bad to-do. “Google ‘dentist' in san francisco’ and find 3 phone numbers” - is a good-to do. “Call dentist 1 at XXX-XXXX” - also good. Make them action oriented. It’s amazing how much clarity I get from just doing this one thing. If you are feeling stressed, bad to-dos is often a culprit.