Hey,
I bet you have already started planning this year.
Goals. Habits. Things you want to become. Places you want to reach.
If not, what are you waiting for?
Just joking. Take your time.
But whether you have started or not, let me offer you some counsel before you go further.
Simple truths I learned from my own failures. Mistakes I made every January for years.
Follow these, and by December you will thank yourself.
Ignore them, and you will end up where most people end up: disappointed, overwhelmed, and no closer to the person you wanted to become.
I. Do Not Get Over-Motivated
You have probably watched some videos.
YouTubers telling you this should be the year of your life. Motivational speakers screaming at you to go harder, do more, become unstoppable.
And here is the truth: you can change your life in a year. Completely. For better or worse. My life transformed in 2023. One year. Everything different.
But here is the problem with those videos.
They give you more than you can carry. They paint pictures that are not realistic. They fill you with fire that burns out by February.
Do not fall into this trap.
Motivation is a spark. It is not fuel. You cannot run a year on sparks alone.
II. Two Habits. That Is All.
The other problem with those YouTubers?
Titles like "12 Habits That Will Change Your Life This Year."
Twelve habits?
If you try to do all twelve, you will have no time left to actually live. Your morning will end before your real work begins.
I know this because I lived it.
I used to have five morning habits. By the time I finished them, the morning was gone. I was exhausted before I even started.
Now I have two.
Here is what I suggest:
Build two good habits this year. Maximum.
Remove two bad habits this year. Maximum.
That is it.
And if you already have habits that are automatic, things you do without thinking, do not track them. They are already part of you. Focus on what is not built yet.
Last year I focused on walking more and reading daily. Now they are automatic. I do not need to track them anymore.
This year I will focus on two new ones. And remove two bad ones I have been tolerating.
You do not need a two-hour morning routine.
Fifteen minutes of reading. Five minutes of sunlight. Start your day.
Maybe add a walk before bed. An hour of no screen before sleep.
Avoid two things during the day. Fast food. Sugar. Scrolling. Whatever poison you keep choosing.
That is enough.
Do not fall for the trap of twenty life-changing habits. You will not stick to any of them.
III. Lower the Barrier. Narrow the Focus.
Last year I made a costly mistake.
I set seven goals. Hard ones. Really hard. The barrier was high, and I placed it across too many areas of my life at once.
By December, I had completed two.
Two out of seven.
Honestly? I am still proud of that. Two difficult goals is not nothing.
But one of my failures was making 100K. And some goals I realised I did not even want anymore by mid-year.
Here is what I learned:
You cannot be great in every area of your life at once.
In a year, you can accomplish tremendous things. But only if you focus on one or two areas. Not seven. Not five. One or two.
This year I have two big goals. That is it.
Some small milestones. Some projects. But only two mountains I am truly climbing.
If you want to make money, focus on that.
If you want to get married, focus on that.
If you want to build a business, start YouTube, write a book, focus on that.
Pick your battle. Burn all your fuel on it.
Balance is a beautiful idea. But balance does not build greatness.
IV. Kill the Distraction
Since March, I have not used a phone.
And I cannot describe to you how beautiful life becomes.
Less stress. Less noise. Less distraction.
Smooth. Light. Happy.
Just because you stop carrying that smart brick in your pocket.
I will probably continue without one this year too.
I know it is not easy. Some people need their phones for work. For contact. For everything.
But if you can do it, and let me tell you, you probably can, it will change your life in ways you cannot imagine until you experience it.
V. Planning Should Take Fifteen Minutes
Do not overcomplicate this.
I planned my entire year in fifteen minutes.
Two goals. Two good habits to build. Two bad habits to remove.
I switched from Second Brain 6.0 to Creator Brain 4.0 this year because I am focusing on YouTube and need something built for content planning. Imported my leftover projects from last year. Took ten minutes.
Done.
I did not map out every step I will take to reach my goals. I do not know every step yet. Nobody does.
I set some big milestones. Some steps I know I must take. And when I discover new things that will help, I will add them. Projects. Tasks. Connected to my goals.
Plan your life wherever it feels right. Notion. Paper. Notes app. Obsidian. It does not matter where. It matters that you feel organised.
And remember this:
You do not have to see the entire path. Just the first few metres.
If you still have not organised and planned your year, start today.
Do not procrastinate this. It will not take more than an hour to know what you want.
Jump. Do it.
And if you have already planned, go back and review it.
Ask yourself: Did I set the barrier too high? Did I spread myself across too many things?
You can aim high. But not high in ten directions at once. That is where people break.
Need help planning?
Check our store. Grab any Notion template that fits how you want to organise this year.
Also try this Yearly Review - it will help you clear your mind and know exactly what to focus on. Goals. Habits. Everything.
I turned off the 30% discount, but I am seeing big demand for Second Brain 6.0 🧠and other templates this month.
So I am running 28% off through January.
See you soon, insha'Allah.
Osama (OLS)
P.S. - Two goals. Two good habits. Two bad habits to kill. That is all you need. Stop overcomplicating it. Start moving.
