šš„³ Happy New Year, my friend. Hopefully this article finds you in a non-hungover state but even if thatās not the case, itās all good. 2025 is here ā and thatās a very good thing. Itās a chance to wipe the slate clean (or in my case, the whiteboard) and make a fresh start. Todayās article is a quick overview of my (much simpler than past years) approach to planning out what Iād like to get done in 2025. Hopefully, thereās something in here that may help you.
Letās do it!
Less Noise, More Focus
Iāll tell you whatā¦ I follow a lot of self-improvement āinfluencerā types. I canāt help it. Itās 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. Theyāll 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 Xās for ambitious goals that I did not meet. Friends, I think youāre following the wrong āinfluencer.ā
Oh well. Iāll 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 thereās just something calming about seeing the actual white of a whiteboard.
BEFORE
AFTER (aka ahhhhā¦.)
Either way, I do love the chance to start the year with a blank slate ā both physically and metaphorically. Iām not going to bore you with all of my 2024 results. You can zoom in on the pics above if youāre really curious.
Iād say, from a goals perspective, my 2024 ended up being ā as my 13-year-old son might describe it ā 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 Iām 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 didnāt play enough!).
What I think Iāve 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, Iām leaning more into an 80/20 approach in a few different ways. On the one hand, Iām going to try to get more focused ā 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 pleaseā¦
Gregās 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 šāāļøšļøš
There are a million possible health metrics to track (see my full spreadsheet here) but these are the ones that Iām using as my north stars. If I can hit these metrics, it means Iām doing a lot of things right.
Sub 20% body fat % ā 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 ā 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 ā 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 canāt, I may consider a statin by year-end. Note: My doc tells me Iām basically taking āan unregulated statinā with the supplements I mentioned and reminds me that nothing is risk-free.
Avoid injury ā Key to the whole thing. I plan to take mobility much more seriously this year and integrate it into my regular routine.
Relationshipsš«±š¼āš«²š¼š
Every study you look at on ageing will show you the importance to your health & well-being of maintaining strong relationships. Itās harder to quantify outcomes here so Iām 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 āļøš§šļø
I love my side business! Itās one of the most rewarding things in my life. But itās also one of the easiest to ignore when things get hectic. So this year, I want to improve my consistency.
Send IW newsletter weekly ā Okay, this cadence is new. But for me, writing is a way to consolidate my thoughts and make sure Iām 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 donāt worry, I donāt get offended at all when people unsubscribe ā I see it as getting me one-step closer to building a strong, like-minded communityā¦ and by definition, thatās not going to be for everyone.
Get one paying coaching client ā Okay, this is also new. Iām super early-stage here. But I am just starting down the path of making myself available for 1on1 coaching. This is something Iām really excited about. My focus will be on helping senior leaders (think: CEOās & senior execs) who want to achieve positive behavioral change and more balance in their lives. Iām only looking to take on 1 to (max) 2 clients in 2025 but if this is something you want to chat about, letās talk.
Fun š„šļø
You have a goal for fun, Greg? Heck yeah, I do. Whatās the point of making the money and managing the million stressors in our lives if we donāt ever have fun?
Pickleball 20x ā This game is pure, unadulterated fun for me. Well, thatās not totally true. I do tend to scream multiple not-suitable-for-work expletives every time I play, but itās a chance to focus on something thatās not work or my kids, get physical exercise, and enjoy the company of others. Win, win, win.
Golf 12x ā I love this game even if it doesnāt always (or ever?) love me back. I want to play at least monthly. But Iām taking the pressure off myself of trying to achieve any specific index. I want golf firmly in the āfunā category for me this year.
Aaaandā¦ thatās it. You might say āWait Greg, thatās your simplified list?ā And Iād say, āYou bet it is. Just look at last yearāsā¦ it had about 3x as many boxes to tick.ā
Iām not going overboard with habit tracking apps this year to make sure I actually do all of this stuff but rather Iām going to do two things:
Sunday planning session ā every Sunday for 15 to 30 mins, Iām going to plan out the week ahead to ensure that Iām structuring my week the best I can to increase the chances of doing what I said Iām going to do.
Monthly check-in ā on the 1st of every month, Iāll check in to see where I am. If Iām dropping the ball in any one area, itās a chance to get things back on track.
Finally, Iām going to try to keep in mind with all of this stuff that you never actually āget there.ā Thereās no destination in any of these areas. Even the ones with quantifiable metrics are ephemeral ā I may hit a cholesterol number one month just to eat like garbage for the next month and blow it all upā¦
Everything is a moment in time. Itās a daily process. And thatās how Iām trying to think about all of this. Like you, I want to healthy, happy, and have great relationships. Some days Iāll 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.
Iāll tell you this. Iām excited for the new year. Itās 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.
Iām thankful to have you as a reader of Intentional Wisdom and a member of this community. I sincerely hope itās an amazing year for you.
Iāll be back next week. Til then, enjoy the process!
Greg