January at Half Speed

I decided to take the last two weeks of 2025 off because I was more than exhausted. There’s not a single word I can use that really captures how I was feeling.

The first few days were uncomfortable and I expected that. I care deeply about the work I’m doing and the professionals I’m helping. But as the days went on, something inside me began to shift. Disconnecting became easier. Staying unplugged felt less urgent.

It felt really good.

There was more time with my family, more time alone, and more time in quiet spaces.

I didn’t find every answer I was looking for during the break. But I did end the year with more peace and less urgency to figure things out.

I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions. I prefer a broader approach with a small number of priorities spread across different parts of life. Experience has taught me over the last year or two that fewer goals give me a better chance of following through. Having a full workload, family responsibilities, and ongoing health considerations make it more realistic.

This year also feels different, mostly because I’m carrying some unresolved fatigue. Not just from 2025, but from multiple years of working and trying to build something meaningful on top of an already full life.

So instead of forcing the excitement of a new year, I’m treating this feeling as information and feedback. And I’m open to listening.

Energy matters as much as ambition, and the year I build needs to be one I can maintain without borrowing from my nights and weekends.

It’s okay if January feels quieter for you too. Sometimes you need to start by getting clear and the momentum comes later.

Rather than planning the whole year or even the whole month, I’ve been starting with one small check-in.

Here’s the question:

What’s already on my calendar this week and what one or two things do I want to protect time for?

This takes about ten minutes. If you want to try it, start with just a piece of paper. Write down what’s already fixed in your schedule and circle the one or two things you’d want to protect if the week got tight. When you do this exercise, you’ll know pretty quickly what is important.

Then if you want AI to help sort everything else:

• Paste your commitments for the week (meetings, deadlines, family activities).
• Add the 3–5 things you feel pressure to start or finish.
• Ask AI to sort it into: keep, move, pause, with one short reason for each.

Done.

There’s more control at the start of the week and fewer things competing for your attention.

I sat down with a blank page and wrote out everything competing for my time and energy for January. There were unfinished goals, appealing projects, speaking opportunities, and a few business ideas I thought I should be exploring.

I used AI to help me narrow it to what truly fit the calendar I had.

After about 15 minutes, two projects moved to April and one morning was dedicated to prep for an advisory session with a client.

I also protected time around my Monday planning block, which takes about fifteen minutes but saves me close to 45 minutes of back-and-forth later in the week.

This is the pacing I’m looking for right now. That feeling of steady progress, even if it’s slow, with fewer things piling on.

As you step into January, consider starting small. One protected block of time can change how the whole week feels, and a few consistent choices early in the year usually beat a big restart that fades by week two.

Cheering you on!