A simplified approach to the new year
Focusing on what really matters in annual goal-setting
👋🥳 Happy New Year, my friend. Hopefully this article finds you in a non-hungover state but even if that’s not the case, it’s all good. 2025 is here — and that’s a very good thing. It’s a chance to wipe the slate clean (or in my case, the whiteboard) and make a fresh start. Today’s article is a quick overview of my (much simpler than past years) approach to planning out what I’d like to get done in 2025. Hopefully, there’s something in here that may help you.
Let’s do it!
Less Noise, More Focus
I’ll tell you what… I follow a lot of self-improvement “influencer” types. I can’t help it. It’s in my genes. And let me tell you, every single one of them had an INCREDIBLE 2024. They lost 20 lbs. Ran 5 marathons. Made 10 million bucks. I mean life is REALLY good for these guys. They’ll even sell you a $2000 course if you want to learn exactly how they did it. Pretty cool of them.
But here I am like a sucker looking at my 2024 goals list and having to mark lots of red X’s for ambitious goals that I did not meet. Friends, I think you’re following the wrong “influencer.”
Oh well. I’ll tell you what did feel really nice. Erasing everything from my 2024 goals whiteboard just now. In fact, I think I let out an audible sigh of relief as I did so. Maybe all those ambitious goals were living rent-free as stressors in the back of my mind. Or maybe there’s just something calming about seeing the actual white of a whiteboard.
BEFORE
AFTER (aka ahhhh….)
Either way, I do love the chance to start the year with a blank slate — both physically and metaphorically. I’m not going to bore you with all of my 2024 results. You can zoom in on the pics above if you’re really curious.
I’d say, from a goals perspective, my 2024 ended up being — as my 13-year-old son might describe it — pretty mid. (I believe that means average for anyone without middle or highschoolers).
I definitely made progress on some of my health stats. I played a lot of pickleball which I wanted to do. And I finished another year without alcohol, which is a choice I’m still very pleased with. But I did pretty badly on everything from little habits I tried to implement in my relationships to improving my golf game (just didn’t play enough!).
What I think I’ve learned is not that I was being too ambitious but rather that I spread myself too thin.
An 80/20 approach to goal-setting
So this year, I’m leaning more into an 80/20 approach in a few different ways. On the one hand, I’m going to try to get more focused — this means focusing on the 20% of efforts that will drive 80% of the results. Less is more, goes the theory. On the other hand, I want to focus on hitting my weekly/monthly goals 80% of the time and giving myself some grace when I miss. So what do my 2025 goals look like in practice? Drumroll please…
Greg’s 2025 Goals
These are admittedly a combination of practices and outcomes, so that part could probably be more consistent but the list below seemed 1) intuitive to me, and 2) specific enough that I have something to actually focus on: either an outcome or a behavior.
Health 🏃♂️🏋️🍎
There are a million possible health metrics to track (see my full spreadsheet here) but these are the ones that I’m using as my north stars. If I can hit these metrics, it means I’m doing a lot of things right.
Sub 20% body fat % — As of mid-2024, I was at ~24.4%. I will seek to hit <20% through slight caloric restriction, daily walking, + regular strength training & additional cardio.
VO2 Max: 45 — This is the metric most negatively correlated with mortality. Last measure was 36. Plan to improve: Lots of walking/Zone 2, some intense cardio.
LDL-c: <50 — Just measured at 84 (down from 111 two months ago. Big change I made was supplementing red yeast rice and berberine). Trying to get this done naturally but if I can’t, I may consider a statin by year-end. Note: My doc tells me I’m basically taking “an unregulated statin” with the supplements I mentioned and reminds me that nothing is risk-free.
Avoid injury — Key to the whole thing. I plan to take mobility much more seriously this year and integrate it into my regular routine.
Relationships🫱🏼🫲🏼😘
Every study you look at on ageing will show you the importance to your health & well-being of maintaining strong relationships. It’s harder to quantify outcomes here so I’m focusing on the inputs.
42 walks with Whitney (weekly x 80% of weeks)
2 weekends away with Whitney (vs. zero in 2024, big miss)
12 new professional relationships (through podcast & other means)
12 conversations with old friends (excited to add this one)
Intentional Wisdom ✍️📧🎙️
I love my side business! It’s one of the most rewarding things in my life. But it’s also one of the easiest to ignore when things get hectic. So this year, I want to improve my consistency.
Send IW newsletter weekly — Okay, this cadence is new. But for me, writing is a way to consolidate my thoughts and make sure I’m focusing on the right things. The fact that it sometimes helps others is a bonus. I want to do shorter, more frequent newsletters in 2025. This is your chance to unsubscribe, btw. And don’t worry, I don’t get offended at all when people unsubscribe — I see it as getting me one-step closer to building a strong, like-minded community… and by definition, that’s not going to be for everyone.
Get one paying coaching client — Okay, this is also new. I’m super early-stage here. But I am just starting down the path of making myself available for 1on1 coaching. This is something I’m really excited about. My focus will be on helping senior leaders (think: CEO’s & senior execs) who want to achieve positive behavioral change and more balance in their lives. I’m only looking to take on 1 to (max) 2 clients in 2025 but if this is something you want to chat about, let’s talk.
Fun 🥒🏌️
You have a goal for fun, Greg? Heck yeah, I do. What’s the point of making the money and managing the million stressors in our lives if we don’t ever have fun?
Pickleball 20x — This game is pure, unadulterated fun for me. Well, that’s not totally true. I do tend to scream multiple not-suitable-for-work expletives every time I play, but it’s a chance to focus on something that’s not work or my kids, get physical exercise, and enjoy the company of others. Win, win, win.
Golf 12x — I love this game even if it doesn’t always (or ever?) love me back. I want to play at least monthly. But I’m taking the pressure off myself of trying to achieve any specific index. I want golf firmly in the “fun” category for me this year.
Aaaand… that’s it. You might say “Wait Greg, that’s your simplified list?” And I’d say, “You bet it is. Just look at last year’s… it had about 3x as many boxes to tick.”
I’m not going overboard with habit tracking apps this year to make sure I actually do all of this stuff but rather I’m going to do two things:
Sunday planning session — every Sunday for 15 to 30 mins, I’m going to plan out the week ahead to ensure that I’m structuring my week the best I can to increase the chances of doing what I said I’m going to do.
Monthly check-in — on the 1st of every month, I’ll check in to see where I am. If I’m dropping the ball in any one area, it’s a chance to get things back on track.
Finally, I’m going to try to keep in mind with all of this stuff that you never actually “get there.” There’s no destination in any of these areas. Even the ones with quantifiable metrics are ephemeral — I may hit a cholesterol number one month just to eat like garbage for the next month and blow it all up…
Everything is a moment in time. It’s a daily process. And that’s how I’m trying to think about all of this. Like you, I want to healthy, happy, and have great relationships. Some days I’ll move forward on all of the above. Some days, the opposite. This whole article is just about having a framework in place to try to have more good days than bad ones. Or more ambitiously, an 80/20 ratio.
I’ll tell you this. I’m excited for the new year. It’s 25 years since graduating college for me. I feel big things coming. But I think it will all happen one day at a time by staying focused on the process.
I’m thankful to have you as a reader of Intentional Wisdom and a member of this community. I sincerely hope it’s an amazing year for you.
I’ll be back next week. Til then, enjoy the process!
Greg