I’ve had many yearly themes over the years but always shied away to write about them in public. My good friend Jacob Pretorius has been on my case about posting my updates for years now. I think I finally owe him and, more importantly, myself this public update.
Who knows, maybe this resonates with someone else out there in the vast void of cyberspace.
Why Update in September?
You might be wondering why I’ve chosen September for this update, especially when many people typically set their yearly themes in January. There’s a simple reason: I find the “new year, new me” January hype to be more of a distraction than a motivation. September, which is also my birth month, gives me the space to reflect on the past year and strategize for the coming one without getting caught up in the global “resolution rush.” Plus, it’s close enough to the end of the year that I can start laying the groundwork for the months ahead.
Table of contents
Open Table of contents
My Past Themes:
I won’t go into too much detail on these past themes. Maybe one day I’ll update them from my old notes. For now, here’s a high-level summary:
[2018] Year of Action
Outcome: Met goals
This was my first theme, where I learned how this yearly theme approach works. I focused on learning to take decisive action.
[2019] Year of Independence
Outcome: Met goals
I aimed to break free from limiting systems and beliefs. This built on the skills I developed during my Year of Action.
[2020] Year of Disposition
Outcome: Didn’t meet goals
I had accumulated a lot of clutter at this point. The aim was to help me discern what to keep and what to dispose of, both materially and metaphorically. The year ended up being more complex than I had anticipated, but I learned from it.
[2021] Year of Command
Outcome: Didn’t meet goals
This year was about taking control, understanding the bigger picture, and being strategic rather than reactive. I didn’t meet the goals I set, but I learned humility and adaptability.
[2022 - 2023] No theme
Outcome: N/A
If I had to retroactively choose themes for these years, they would be the “Years of Survival.” They were tough but essential for learning what I needed for the next theme.
So far I’ve succeeded with some themes and failed at others. The last couple of years have been challenging, but I’ve learned a lot. Which brings me to the next theme: “Year of Legacy: Foundations”. This is about building solid foundations across key life areas.
[2024] Year of Legacy: Foundations
Status: Active
Why Legacy?
At the age of 35, I’m just at a point in my life where I’m naturally drawn to contemplating what I want to leave behind for the generations that will follow me. My past themes have brought me success in many areas, and now it’s time to focus on laying a solid foundation for the future.
Why Foundations?
This Legacy theme will likely span multiple years, laying the foundation is the beginning. The first foundations I plan on focusing on include Finance, Family and Personal Mastery. I think these are critical areas that demand focus and effort at this stage of my life.
Also, Tagging “Foundations” at the end of the theme name allows me to keep the Legacy theme for multiple years and simply change the suffix. I built a foundational naming convention into my theme name. How’s that for meta?
Three Core Areas
Financial Foundation
Objective:
In times of volatile economies and unpredictable life events, ensuring financial security for myself and future generations is my top priority. The goal is to protect what I have, save consistently, and ensure what I build is passed on to my children.
Strategy
I’ll achieve this through four key areas:
- Asset Protection
- Estate and succession planning
- Contingency planning
- Tax efficiency
I don’t have much more to share here right now as I’m still figuring out many of the details. Might cover more on this in the future.
Family Foundation
Objective
Strengthening family bonds and establishing shared practices are crucial, especially when modern life pulls everyone in different directions. We have a lot of work to do in this area, and it’s not always easy to find the time with two young children at home, but we’re excited to start building this foundation.
Strategy
My wife and I have been listening to The Intentional Family Podcast and we can’t recommend it enough. Mike & Rachel are delightful and they share genuinely useful advice for enriching family life. If you have kids or you’re thinking about having kids, listen to this podcast.
Some plans we have:
- Solidifying our Family Core Values
- Planning on designing something nice for this to print, frame and hang on the wall
- Building a visual dashboard for the kids’ chores and upcoming schedule
- Finally a use for that old Raspberry Pi and old monitor that’s just lying around
Keep doing
- Every morning on our drive to school I ask my children two questions:
- What are you grateful for today?
- What are you excited for today?
- No screen time or bright lights allowed after 5pm
Start doing
- Regular dates with my wife where we can discuss and refine our family systems
- Evening affirmations with my children
- Regular walks in nature with family
Personal Mastery Foundation
Objective
As I get older, maintaining a peak level of physical and mental health becomes more important each year. It is essential for everything else I aim to achieve.
Current State
To understand where I need to go, it’s crucial to know where I currently stand.
- Fitness Stats (Past 6 Months)
- Average Cardio Fitness: 48.5 VO2 max
- Average Cardio Recovery: 31 bpm
- Average Running Speed: 9.9 km/h
- Top Running Speed: 10.8 km/h
- Ongoing Efforts
- 3 jogs per week for the last 89 weeks (as of this update)
Strategy
My cardio and endurance is currently solid, but there’s room for improvement in core and strength training. My current goal is to run a 5km in 25 minutes. At the time of writing, my personal best for 5km is 26:45, avg. pace 5.21/km.
Focus Areas
- Physical Health
- Keep Doing:
- 3 jogs per week
- Start Doing:
- Maintain average of 30 pushups per day
- Jog longer distances 1-2 times per week
- Strength/Core training 3-4 times per week
- Keep Doing:
- Mental Health
- Keep Doing:
- Reading for insights, not volume
- Start Doing:
- Meditation 4-5 times per week
- Daily gratitude journaling
- Keep Doing:
- Sleep & Recovery
- Keep Doing:
- No caffeine after 10am
- Consistent bedtime of 9pm
- Optimize for at least 7h 30min sleep per night (5× 90min sleep cycles)
- No phone charging in bedroom
- Start Doing:
- Screen & bright light curfew 2 hours before bed
- No alarm. Get up when I wake up, when the kids wake us up or, if it’s a school day, when it’s time to get ready for school
- Sometimes I wake up at 2:30 or 3:30. On these days, I’ll schedule a nap into my day, if possible
- Keep Doing:
- Productivity & Creativity
- Keep Doing:
- Time-blocking for focused creation time
- Block distracting sites (Rescue Time)
- Start Doing:
- Write & publish more
- Habit Stacking
- Daily Balanced Purpose Affirmation reflection
- Measure outcomes, not time spent
- Work Walks
- Keep Doing:
Additional Focus Areas
There are a few additional practices I want to build during the next year that don’t fit in a specific foundation area but support all three.
These practices focus on intentionality, consistency, focus and efficiency:
- Weekly reflection on tasks to ensure alignment with long-term goals and core values
- Use a decision framework for significant choices
- Create and stick to a daily routine
- Monthly check-ins to track consistency
- Set aside at least two hours of deep work time every day
- Use tools to limit social media and other distractions
- Audit and streamline current workflows every quarter
- Use automation where possible
- Install Trigger Action Plans (TAPs)
Final Thoughts
The Year of Legacy: Foundations presents an exciting yet challenging theme. With clear objectives across finance, family, and personal mastery, I’m focused on building systems that will compound over time. My family and I are committed to making progress in each of these areas. There’s no guaranteed success, but I’m committed to showing up consistently and learning as I go.
While the three core foundations are important, it’s often the smaller daily practices that create momentum. Building intentionality, consistency, focus, and efficiency. These are the habits that enable everything else. It’s not just the big decisions but also the small daily choices, the consistent effort, and the support systems you build that make the difference.
Assessment, Assembly, Action. Whatever your task, you do three things. Start by assessing what you already have and what you’ll face, the problem. Then you plan with those variables in mind. Take what you have, get what you need, assemble things, people. Finally, you take action. Simple.
- Panam: Cyberpunk 2077
If this resonates with you, I’d be interested to hear about your own yearly themes or systems. Feel free to reach out.