A Different Focus For A Different Year

The New Year brings reflection. Reflection on where I spent my time. What I enjoyed doing this past year and what I didn't.

Reviewing this time audit, I could see what moved me closer to my goals and what took me further away. What's helped and what's hurt.

The most obvious thing that stood out to me was some of my 'hobbies'. Running in particular. Training for 100-miles this year was a big time commitment, but I was able to run the race. Finally receiving that coveted 100-mile buckle.

Heading into the New Year, I asked myself what is going to be my top priority this year? What do I care the most about? That is where I will focus my time.

I rank ordered what I wanted to do, blocked time to work towards my goals daily, I can now see that I have little left over. There becomes almost no time for other hobbies.

Being an entrepreneur and running my own show, I was na?ve to start. Not understanding the commitment it takes. The time it takes to make something great.

This year, I'm doubling down on product. Improving every aspect. Which means removing hobbies that didn't serve these goals. They were fun. I'm still going to run and workout. I'm not going to do a big race this year because of the time commitment. I'll do a few sub-50 mile events. Which doesn't take the time 100-miler training does.

Now that my plan is made, this year is about execution. Just doing the things I know need to get done. Ruthless execution is the theme of the year.

As you evaluate your year, see what is the most important. Gauge how much time it will take and act accordingly. You might need to remove some of your 'hobbies'. Or only go after 1 or 2 big things this year.

I do still make sure I have some fun. Some events I look forward to. Some trips that I'll earn through my hard work. Those are all baked into the plan.

It's not pure work, but work and reward. Rewards only for achievement, not showing up. Also knowing that the achievement will come from putting in the time. That time is going to be dedicated for focused effort.

The more I can put the phone down and be 100% on task, the more I'll actually get done and in less time. Leaving relaxation for relaxation and work for work.

It's a muscle I'm working on building. Like many other things, it's taking time to build. I've seen that with my visualization time starting off the year. It's been hard to focus on bringing clarity to what I want my future to look like, exactly. Hard to fill in the details of my future life. I know that as I continue to focus on one detail at at time, I'll eventually compile a full picture.

Too often I've worried about not having the full picture and it's still there. Having faith that it will be filled in over time is something I'm working on. Because when I'm focused in on the day-to-day actions, I'm present. Being present has kept me happier too.

There's a lot to take in when planning a year. Have your big rocks first. Then the few other things you want to accomplish for the year. Then the details sort themselves out.