I arrived at the airport early, as I always do—it's one of the few things in life that makes me anxious. I've missed flights before; it's not heaps of fun, but it does make for a good story, right? I'm struggling to find a flow in this piece. In general, I've been having difficulty getting content out on Substack this past month. They call it writer's block, but I've even spent hours behind the laptop trying to draw on some inspiration, and I don't know what it is. The first few were bread and butter, and I know the difference between a good writer and a sloppy one; a sloppy writer is one who isn't consistent. I want to be consistent.
Writing in the backend of 2023 helped me. It helped me with learning new words, giving me a reason to slow time down even more by setting aside time to write and reflect on my past week and the lessons that have come. Have I lost the touch of writing? I think not. I'm not spending enough time on it; I'm not time-poor, but I've been low on energy-poor. Big workdays have really taken their toll on me, consuming a lot of my creative space and time, whereas I would normally like to spend those extra energy cells on stacks or other creative pursuits.
But I'm confident in the Substack pursuit that comes with 2024. I see the last few months off as a break, time away from the screen, like a track athlete in their off-season. I'm not hanging up the spikes but using time differently before the season kicks off again.
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January is always my favourite time of year for many reasons, summer starts to settle into South Australia, and the water is warm. Most of my mates are on holidays, clocked out of work, so jogs at 10 am on a Tuesday and coffee dates at 11 am on Fridays are the norm. January doesn't last forever, and it's not that I'm not looking forward to February; I hold onto those slow days a bit more than I maybe normally would. Life is long, but there's always time to slow it down just that bit more.
January is also my favourite time of the month because I really feel it can set the intention for the next 11 months and beyond. Taking the time in January to pause and reflect on the past 12 months, look back on how far you've come—be kind to yourself and give yourself a pat on the back if you ticked off the goals and projects you set out to do in January 2023.
I'm a bit late in the game, but if you're looking to launch yourself into 2024 and set yourself up mentally well in 2024, I recommend downloading Josh Lynott's Thought Sheet. For the last 2-3 years, he's been dropping the Thought Sheet just before December 31st, and for the last 2-3 years, I've been downloading the Thought Sheet and taking myself out on a date—for an oat latte or two and a cheeky choccy croissant—around the 3rd of January to dive into my brain and ask myself the questions we may not be asking enough throughout the year.
You can download the Thought Sheet HERE.
2024 is going to be fun.
Work hard, but not too hard.
Love your friends.
Say yes to dinners at new places.
Move your body daily.
Big love. Have a beautiful week ahead.
Jono
