Hi there! Hope you are as excited for 2023 as I am. Each New Year comes with a lot of new resolutions, to-do lists and commitments to become a new and better version of yourself. This should indeed be the case but let’s explore ways to devise an effective plan rather than being over ambitious.

Weekly Inventory Check:

As the year has come to an end, incomplete lists and unfinished resolutions are unsurprising. It is important to remind ourselves that oftentimes our priorities change, and we pivot, thus these unexecuted plans from the past year should not be a reason to dispirit you. However, that does not mean we should not reflect upon things we planned but were unable to do. Therefore, this week, spend time thinking about the plans you had for 2022 and pen down whether they panned out or not. Be explicit in noting down the reasons you could not achieve them and then go through this list, before planning something for 2023.

Consistency, Not Intensity

A typical year starts off very strong. I have already started waking up at 7:45 am (unusually early for me), getting in a stretch, a quick morning walk, and some sudoku before firing up my computer at 9:00 am.

Although I am proud to say that this routine has stuck with me this whole week, realistically speaking, I will not be able to sustain this productive morning routine. Hence, my focus for this new year is to start with one goal at a time and for 2023 that goal is to wake up and to start my day as early as 7:45 am. However trivial this aim may be, habit building is a slow process and the reason we struggle with it is because we look for Instant Gratification. We want to see the fruits of our labour immediately after sowing the seeds.

So, for 2023, I would suggest you take a more pragmatic approach. This year I advocate choosing one thing you would like to work on, be consistent and build up towards permanency. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither can the ‘better you’

Do you agree or disagree? Shoot me an email. I would love to hear your thoughts!

Further Reading?

• Simon Sinek talks about Consistency vs Intensity in a corporate setting and how corporates focus more on intensity than consistency

• Unrealistic Goals could also be the reason why you are not following through to your goals.

• Listen to Brad Stulberg talk about Consistency vs Intensity on his podast.

Book of the Week: Trillion Dollar Coach

I have heard a great deal about this book and Bill Campbell – an American Football Coach turned Silicon Valley Executive. It is said that Bill Campbell's superpower was that he always had the best interest of others in his heart and that was his guide to decision making. I believe there is a lot to learn from this book and I cannot wait to get deeper into it!

Thoughts to Leave You With

This Year is special for me, I am starting with the newsletter and have also started to publish short content on Instagram and Tiktok. In 2023, the one thing that I ask from you is to stop putting off the things that you really want to do, things that give you joy. No matter how big or small, start with small but consistent steps in the right direction, be tenacious, and persevering; you never know what could be waiting for you at the end of this year.