Happy Friday everyone! Since we traveled back on Monday from Ecuador, this has been a short week. I’m still digging out of everything, but I’m also thanking my past self for getting ahead on newsletters/podcasts so this week hasn’t been frantic.
First up: Please sign up for the annual Time Tracking Challenge! This year I’ll be hosting the challenge from January 12-19 (next week). Sign-ups close Sunday. When you sign up here you can get daily motivational emails from me. Go here to download a time log. I’ll be posting my time logs on this blog next week. If you’ve never tracked your time before, this could be a good chance to figure out where the time really goes, so you have accurate data to work with. If you have tracked your time, maybe it’s time for a tune-up! Life changes and rhythms shift, so let’s make sure your schedule is still working for you. This will be fun, I promise 🙂
I haven’t done a post yet about last week’s Best of Both Worlds episode — which was Goals 2026. I’ll likely post that soon as a catch-up, but if you haven’t listened, please check it out.
Over at Vanderhacks, my Substack newsletter, I got a lot of discussion on a post (over winter break) that Ornaments make good souvenirs. Sometimes when we’re out in the world we get an urge to buy small items commemorating a place. Alas, these things tend to wind up as clutter…except in December, when many of us need lots of small items to hang on a tree. So buy that miniature Eiffel Tower in ornament form and you’ve avoided clutter and gotten something reasonably useful to remind you of your trip.
I also suggested that people “Add something to your morning routine.” A tiny tweak that is done every day or at least most days can add up over time.
I did a post singing the praise of hand warmers. If you are always cold, like me, buy them in bulk and use them!
Behind the paywall this week I wrote about “30 days to a decluttered home,” and I posted a video for subscribers on “All things time tracking.”
Over at the Before Breakfast podcast, I did an episode on how to “Cook to make leftovers.” Making meals from leftovers is a pretty easy way to save time and money, but lots of people wind up throwing food away because they haven’t thought it through. Like most things, cooking for leftovers is helped by a little bit of planning.
If you’ve set a resolution to be more productive in the new year, I have an episode on how to “Protect your best hours.” In many cases, we have some control over workday schedules, and matching the right work to the right time makes everything take less time.
For the Wednesday interview episode, I welcomed Chris Bailey back to the show. Chris is a productivity expert and the author of the brand new book, Intentional. This is all about how to finish what you start. Please go check that out.
I am hosting an epic 6-year-old birthday party this weekend (not at my house though, phew!). Wish me luck.
