The One Decision I Kept Getting Wrong in January
How I finally stopped abandoning my goals
Every January, I’d feel motivated to make big plans for the upcoming year.
Then I’d remember. I did this last year too.
So I’d go looking for the goals I set a year earlier. I’d open my laptop and search for a document I half-remembered creating.
Eventually, I’d find it.
Last edited: February last year.
As I read through it, I barely remembered writing most of the goals.
Almost immediately, I’d start making excuses:
It’s been a busy year
Something unexpected came up
These weren’t the right goals anyway
It was a familiar pattern for me for years.
For a long time, I assumed the problem was my discipline.
Every year, I’d try to be more consistent, design better habits, and work harder.
None of it worked.
The truth turned out to be much simpler.
A year was too long to hold my attention and create urgency.
So I stopped trying to plan my entire year and shortened the timeframe.
This forced me to focus on fewer goals.
Made every week feel like it mattered.
Stopped me from putting things off.
Later, I came across this idea in a book called The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran.
The core idea is to redefine your year.
A year is no longer 12 months, it’s now only 12 weeks.
The 12-week timeframe works because:
Progress becomes visible week by week
With fewer goals, focus improves
Execution replaces planning
Feedback comes faster
With a shorter timeframe, action matters more than intentions.
An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Decide what matters to you in the next twelve weeks.
Turn it into something you can act on this week.
Let progress, not planning, tell you if you’re on track.
You’ll get more done in the next 12 weeks than others do in 12 months.
Until next time,
Tom
