How I’m thinking about (& planning for) 2021

As I close out 2020 and hope for a better 2021, I’m finding the process of planning for the year cathartic. Here is what I’m thinking about…

Theme

I usually do a one word theme for a new year, but this year I have three. Plan. Execute. Repeat. This theme will help to counterbalance some of my tendencies, like moving too fast, skipping the details, and jumping from one thing to another too quickly.

Goals

This year my goal is to create two new streams of income that are not modeled on trading time for money. One might be monetizing TogetherLetters, writing a book, creating a course, etc. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and have put off. In 2021, I’ll make it happen, twice.

Habits

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and have settled on 4 habits that I want to do daily. They are:

1. Daily House Review — this involves making sure the kids rooms are clean, chores are done, etc. It’s a way for me to connect with the daily rhythms of our home and support the family.
2. 5 sets (push-ups, sit-ups, planks) — I find that most workout programs are too complicated, and take too long. I don’t have time to do 30-minutes of cardio a day, and 30-minutes of weight lifting. So, I came up with the idea of just doing 5-sets of something throughout the day. Today is a push-up day, so I’ll do 5-sets of 10 pushups. As that gets easier, I’ll make it sets of 15. This method may not get me a beach body, but it’s better than nothing, and will be easy to do in between Zoom calls.
3. Ride — I need to be on an exercise bike for 20-minutes a day. I need the cardio.
4. Mandarin flash card review (2 times a day) — I’m trying to learn some Mandarin, so that when we can travel to get our adopted son in China I’ll be able to communicate with him.

Saying No

Of everything I’m planning for 2021, this one is the hardest. I love to help people and I love to be involved. I’m on lots of nonprofit committees, etc. But, to make 2021 be the year I need it to be, I’m going to have to start saying no to almost everything not in line with what is outlined above. It will be difficult, but critical to success.

Ok, that’s my thinking for 2021, I hope it was helpful. What are you thinking about and planning?

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