Annual rituals: reflecting on a new year

Someone asked about my simplicity hacks. Here’s my advice:

Say no to things you can't do.

Lock down notifications on all devices.

• Allow only the most important people and messages (calendar alarms, reminders) to come through.
• Vibrate only. No red indicators in app icons.

I have productivity rituals that take a few minutes a day:

• Read your todo list in the morning.
• Keep a running plaintext work log (I use Logseq).
• Do a quick review and make tomorrow's todo list at the end of each day.

The two weeks leading up to New Year I will clean up all of my files, reflect, and get ready for the new year's life and work.

Easter is a time of renewal for me. I look at all my accumulated bad habits from winter and rally the self-discipline to start again. The weather is usually in my favor and warm sunny days reinforce my discipline. All the New Years Resolutioners have given up by now, so the resources are more available.

Give sincere compliments. Society is quick to rage and shame, and miserly in recognizing goodness. Everyone has something interesting about them, find it and recognize it, ask them about it. You’ll learn a lot this way and make them feel good about themselves. It's about them, not about you.