Insert header about 'new year, new beginnings'here
It is a new year. I used to spend January 1st reviewing the previous year and planning for the new year. I haven’t done so in the last three years and I didn’t do so again this year. Although I have taken a bit of a break, a lot of my projects are ongoing. I am, however, considering starting one or two additional personal projects, particularly writing ones, in 2025. I have a poetry collection that I started towards the end of last year that has stalled a bit and I am still in two minds about whether I want to write another book or not. I suspect I will plan out these in the next couple of weeks. It does need me to actively and deliberately block time every day. That’s how I wrote my book Listen To Your Footsteps - at least an hour every morning after journaling. Being on lockdown due to the pandemic did make it easier.
I am also trying to figure out how to breath new life and energy into my daily routine; I was starting to feel like I was on a bit of a treadmill towards the end of 2024, which added to my year-end fatigue. Although a lot of my work is ad hoc, there are aspects that are consistent enough for me to have created a system and routine around them which can become monotonous.
It is that time of the year when every other blog post and newsletter is pushing some form of ‘new year planning’, which can get a little overwhelming. Which one do you follow and how do you implement the elements that work for you while getting back into work mode?
It is also that time of the year when there are a 101 lists of everything from ‘what I learned in 2024’ to ‘the best books I have read in 2024.’ I always start the year with intention of getting one or two out, then ‘life happens’ and, before I know it, we are in February and it feels like old news.
In the same way, as I do, every year, I commit to being a lot more consistent with the newsletter and blog posts on my site. I haven’t gotten it right in a couple of years so, as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. I often overthink it which I endeavour to do less this year, just going with what feels like it makes sense in the moment. For example, with this newsletter, my thing has always been to share seven links. When I can’t find seven, I end up stalling on actually sharing because it is taking too long to actually put it together.
When I was on my productivity trip some years back, BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits resonated and, for some months at least, I tried to apply some of what I got from the book in my daily. It probably deserves a reread. Coming across 10 Tiny Habits to Pack More Productivity Into Your Day was a great reminder.
The concept of minimalism has always appealed to me. At the same time, I am, at heart, a collector of random things, like books, figures, music (vinyl and CD), film (DVDs), and the like. A person’s ‘things’ say a lot about them. Likely why I enjoyed this essay so much The joy of clutter: The world sees Japan as a paragon of minimalism. But its hidden clutter culture shows that ‘more’ can be as magical as ‘less’
While I have too many journals - Morning Pages, Random Thoughts, Poems, etc - I do like the idea of an Accomplishment Journal.
The only one I write in with any type of consistency is my Morning Pages journal. Going to experiment with the accomplishment journal but in my Notes app on my phone. For one of my clients, I manage a network of writers and, sometimes, getting 10 briefs out in a day is a win for me. And the majority of what I consider accomplishment are not for the public domain. They aren’t a LinkedIn post.
As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to take a break with publishing episodes of Listen To Your Footsteps podcast in December. The last two episodes for the year were with visual artist Lwazi Hlophe and digital strategist and podcaster Mongezi Mtati.
This week, we publish the first episode with video on Spotify and we will now be publishing weekly. Interesting times ahead.
For the first time in a couple of years, I actually completed my Reading Challenge for the year. The last book I read for the year was Derek Sivers’ Useful Not True which I ordered directly from his site, along with Your Music And People. It is a short, quick read packed with powerful thoughts and insights. It left me thinking “I wish I could write a book like this.”
That’s it for today. Please share, subscribe and/or comment. I’ll be back. Soon(ish).
Easy
Kojo
There is something that is energizing about starting a new year, which I have not felt in a long time. So making new years resolution has become a futile exercise for me. So my approach is making minor improvements in what is already working. I hope to show my face more on social media. Write more consistently hee on Substack.
Big bro, atlast, you got my drift. The procrastination gets worse, every year, since Covid-19, for me. The Minimalistic Culture, might just be my winning formula. More in less, with prioritising and strategy. Still rooting for your next book. Looking forward to video pods.