It may be just physiological, but I really enjoy January.  Granted it’s just another 30-day period like any other month.  But January is motivating to me because it’s the start of a new year to achieve new goals and experience new adventures. 

If there is any time to boldly consider making changes it is in January.  Yes, we may have been lax the past couple of months eating more holiday sweets than we should and not getting to the gym.  But that was last year!  Now it’s the start of a brand new set of 12 months to make a difference and pursue some of the goals we may not have achieved in 2024. 

My lovely wife has a saying, “If you don’t manage life, life will manage you.”  January is a great month to get out your calendar and before others start committing you to appointments and obligations, take the initiative and beat them to your schedule. Here are some suggestions to help you enjoy this year:

1. Schedule when you plan to take your vacation(s) this year.  Typically, this requires coordinating with kids and work schedules.  Find out now when those breaks are and plan to do something during that time.  If you don’t, my experience is when the time comes up without any planned events nothing happens.  Look up all the three-day national holidays (it seems like more every year) to determine if there are opportunities to do something while most people are not working and kids are off from school.  

2. Just as important as extended stay vacations are overnighters by yourself or with someone special.  These are two or three-day “mini vacations” somewhere pleasant.   My favorite is leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday afternoon.  After Christmas, my family and I decided to go to the coast and stay in a short-term rental house for a few days.  It was a nice break after a busy holiday season to be away from the crowds and enjoy the ocean scene.  The cold weather was the perfect setting to stay inside to play board games or watch movies with the kids.  Another opportunity for mini-vacations is all the scheduled school day closings.  Ask the kid’s school for the days they plan to close the school this year so you can plan something fun.

3. Another frustration of mine is missing key dates regarding my family and friends.  I make sure I have their birthdays and anniversaries saved in my Google calendar with a reminder scheduled a week in advance.  If they live out of my area, I set a reminder two weeks in advance to give them time to send them a gift. 

Regarding goals, list yourself realistic goals for this year.  I like to separate goals into categories such as Family, Friends, Fitness, Finances, Education, Self Improvement, etc.  I buy a blank journal book and write the title of each category on pages separated by 3 -4 blank pages to write in comments on that category.  At the top of the title page, I write the details of the goal.  For example, for the “Family” category I list all the people in my family that I want to connect with and how.  Immediate family is easy to stay in touch with, but the aunts, uncles, cousins, and other extended family members can be forgotten.  This year I plan to visit several that I have not seen in years that are only an airplane ride away.  The same application for the “Friends” category and especially people may interact with some frequency.  My daughter will randomly ask someone in the fringe category of her life out for a coffee.  It’s an amazing experience to learn about other people some with very interesting histories that you would not have known if time was not set aside to meet for coffee.

People leverage different means to motivate them to change certain habits or achieve new goals.  It is very helpful for me to write out my goals.  Michael Jackson was famous for writing “100 Million” on his bathroom mirror representing his goal of selling 100 million of his new “Bad” album.  He sold 189 million.

 For people all around the world, the first cup of coffee and even just the smell of coffee can energize one to have the motivation to take on the day’s activities.  However, being motivated and energized without direction will not get you to your goals.  This is akin to an airline pilot announcing to the passengers that an apparent electrical short has rendered the avionics and radar system inoperative.  They’re over the ocean and it’s a moonless night.  However, they have full tanks, and the engines are running great, they just don’t know where they’re going. 

The key is to have your big picture in mind and ideally written down so that at the end of each day you can reflect on the progress you made towards those big picture goals.

What Does This Mean to Me?

My wife has another quote she repeats often, “life is short and then you die” – she’s famous for her quotes.  We are at the very beginning of the year and the calendar is blank.  Plan the year you want now before it gets planned for you.  Where do you want to go, what do you want to do, and who do you want to see? 

As Steve McGarrett of Hawaii Five-0 would say to his partner, “Book it Danno!”