Happy New Year!
I hope you’ve been enjoying the holidays.
Today, I’m going to cover a few essentials to ensure you have a year surpassing all others.
Don’t feel like you need to implement everything now. Simply take note of where there might be a missing in your processes and get into action when you’re ready.
1. To-Do Lists
In 2023, many “gurus” are going to tell you to throw away your to-do lists. Nothing could be more ridiculous. Your to-do lists are key to keeping your daily activity aligned with your goals.
You will need to prioritize your list, of course, because it’s easy to waste time on lesser tasks while ignoring the big, scary ones.
But if you’re guided solely by intuition, you will make mistakes, drop the ball, waste time, or worse.
If you prefer to create digital to-do lists over hardcopy ones, I suggest ClickUp.
2. Goals
In 2023, many “gurus” are going to tell you not to set goals. Nothing could be more ridiculous.
At all times, we should be crystal clear on what we’re aiming for in business, creativity, and life. We need a target. We need to know where the bull’s eye is if we have any hope of hitting it.
So, set goals and put them somewhere you will see them every single day.
Don’t be discouraged by failures or resolutions not kept. Close the chapter on 2022 and start fresh.
3. A Timeboxed Calendar
Your to-do lists and goals must be reflected in your schedule. Otherwise, your goals will be reduced to wishful thinking.
If you want to write a book, for example, block an hour in your calendar, every single day, to write and edit.
If you require examples, and a step-by-step process for creating your own timeboxed calendar, refer to Nir Eyal’s article on timeboxing.
4. A Notion Page
Is there a central space your team can go to see exactly how a project is progressing?
Even if you’re a freelancer, solopreneur, or independent artist, there is massive value in capturing the key details of your projects and updating them as you make progress.
If anyone can look at your Notion page and know exactly what you’re up to without having a single conversation with you, you’re on the right track.
Notion is a simple to use tool that allows you to display and organize a variety of information. I can cover how I organize mine in a future article, but either way it should not take you long to set up a new account.
5. Journal
With the amount of journaling I do, I’ve found my iPad and Apple Pencil to be the best tools for the job.
Whether it’s for note-taking, goal setting, or brainstorming sessions, your journal entries can form the foundation of new strategies, content, discussions, and more.
Your mind is not a great place to store information. So, get in the habit of capturing key information in your journal as your days unfold. Don’t forget to review your entries as well (sometimes, there is gold hidden in there).
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