What I'll be focusing on for the next 90 days
(My first 90 Day Edit of 2025)
As a preface to this I recommend reading my post about the 90 Day Edit approach and why I recommend it:
2024 in review (briefly)
This review is far from exhaustive but these were some of the things that were top of mind as I wrote this:
The best decision I made
Leaving my corporate job in April. Enough said.
The worst decision I made
Putting my whole house-worth of stuff into a self-storage unit. I should have:
A. Sold the majority of the furniture and electronics, and
B. Put the remaining stuff into container storage which was both cheaper and would have meant far less moving effort (you pack the stuff directly into the container on the truck versus unpacking again into the unit on the other side).
The most annoying thing about this is that every 4 weeks I am reminded of my error when I am charged for the unit. Not only does it continue to cost me (literally), but I am paying to keep a bunch of stuff sitting around unused, indefinitely, while it depreciates in value, and that I will likely end up selling or replacing when I get to a new place anyway.
Granted I thought it would all be in there for at most 6 months, instead of what is now looking to be at least a year, and being in the middle of a maelstrom of packing with a moving deadline looming does not make for clear decision-making.
Things I want to stop
Getting stuck in analysis-paralysis loops around trivial decisions.
Spreading myself too thinly across too many ambitions.
Things I want to start
Stretching at least every other day to prevent injury in the gym, keep my neck and shoulder tension at bay, and maintain flexibility (the days of seemingly endless physical resilience are gone).
Regulating my sleep schedule at least 5 days a week.
Growing my personal brand online.
Things I want to maintain
Going to the gym and/or doing some form of heart-raising exercise at least every other day.
Prioritising gut health as a foundation of my overall physical and mental health.
Having a therapy session once a fortnight.
Things I want to improve
Listening to my body, respecting my limitations and working in sync with my menstrual cycle and energetic rhythm.
Faster decision making and decision-enacting.
Defining my ‘niche’ and what I want to get paid to do, and then refining my personal and business branding and content strategy accordingly.
2025 overview
My word of the year
Action
Big ideas
Creating and holding space (internally and externally)
Space needs to be created in order to make room for new ideas, new energy, new anything
Beware of filling new space with old habits, patterns, ideas and beliefs
Simplicity and sustainability
What is simple is sustainable and vice versa
Creation and expression
What is created must be shared in order to be actualised i.e. ideas need to be expressed openly in order to do them justice
Your unexpressed idea will become someone else’s opportunity
90 Day Edit (Part 1)
I initially set out to create a vision to guide my energy for the first quarter of the year, but instead I ended up creating a set of principles that will likely be in place for the whole year (if not longer).
The 90 Day Edit process isn’t necessarily about creating a whole new set of goals each 90 days, but the practice of setting aside the time to review and refine the goals periodically as needed.
Vision, principles and commitments
Build a strong foundation for my next chapter
Designing and building my life and my business sustainably
Only engaging in things that feel like I could do them for the longterm
Commit to my self-expression
Build habits that allow me to express myself easily, regularly and consistently
Remove barriers to sharing and create the space I need for these habits (i.e. remove triggers for excuses)
Show up authentically and honestly in all areas of my life
Authenticity = open, honest, unapologetically me
Practice this in my relationships, professional and creative work
Create space internally and harmonising my internal system
Internal space impacts external (and vice versa)
Generating more clarity and focus (so I can achieve the above)
Developing self-trust so I feel more comfortable being open and honest
Habits and tasks: Bringing my goals to life
This is an abridged list of the habits and regular commitments that will bring my vision to life, but you get the idea.
{Commit to self-expression + Create space}
Build a regular practice of reflection, creation and sharing
Post on Substack at least once a week
Set aside a dedicated writing day
Create a publishing schedule
Write down ideas as they come up throughout the week
{Buil a foundation}
Engage with my finances regularly to grow wealth and manage spending
Schedule a money date on the last day of each month to review personal and business accounts and budgets
Finish Marquess infrastructure
Finish creating LinkedIn account
Build website
Create a content schedule
Set a day to pitch for work on UpWork
Set a date for my next 90 Day Edit review