new year, new rules

By definition, January is the time for a bit of a refresh. It’s also the first month after what tends to be the heaviest month of the year - December. Psychologists call it the Fresh Start Effect.

With that in mind, forgive me for a bit of fresh thinking for the year ahead. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s a new year and a new me, but there are a few things I want to bear in mind going forwards. Let’s call it 3 rules for 2025. The point of these is to fall back on them when I need to make a tough decision, or when things aren’t going to plan, or when I need a bit of a kick up the backside.

3 rules for 2025

🫵🏻 Nobody is coming to save you

I find this incredibly freeing. It’s in my control. I can affect what happens to me. I don’t need to rely on anyone. It’s down to me to save myself. Good for when I’m feeling sorry for myself.

🎯 Do the thing!

Do the thing! Stop planning the thing! Stop talking about the thing! Do the thing! There’s always going to be something can get between -

——> not doing the thing, and

——> doing the thing

It’s too hard. It’s too far away. It’s too expensive. It’s too embarrassing (!!!). I don’t deserve it.

By doing the thing, you get better at the thing. And then it gets easier to do the thing. But you have to do the thing first. And then keep doing the thing. And then you’re better at the thing. So you do the thing more. Running. Writing. Cooking. Anything.

👉🏻 Control the controllable. Leave the rest

In life, there are 2 types of events.

1. The ones you can control

2. The ones you can’t control

Forget about the things you can’t change. The news, other people’s opinions, the weather. What’s the point? Is that really the best way to spend our valuable time on this Earth?

What can we control? Our reactions to external events. Our own habits. How much effort we put in.

What will you try and stick to?

Merci

This week I'm: ⬇️

Some interesting stuff worth sharing

🏢 Finding things to do with Go with Yamo - great app that tells you about exhibitions, galleries, events, showcases, markets - all sorts - nearby. Good one for winter! Thanks to Tom for the reccomendation

🎧 Listening to The Chillest Show (Radio 1). One I recommend all the time, yet it always seems to get better. you haven’t listened yet, have you? Go and bloody listen and you’ll know why it comes up every other email. last half an hour is required weekly listening.

🏃🏻 Running with Airpods Pro (1). Neither running nor Airpods are anything new, but to someone who’s fancy Jabra running earbuds just took a quick jog to the other side, trying some old Airpods was a revelation. Or was it just me that thought they weren’t good for running?

🏋🏻‍♂️ Gymming with Push (£ app) - using AI, the app generates a workout plan for the gym fuelled by a guy who knows what he’s talking about and the latest science in the world of muscle building. Don’t be turned off by the AI thing. It’s just a program that puts together a workout plan based on a number of variable and rules. When you put it like that, AI sounds way cooler.

📱 Playing Balatro. Like many things, if I explain it, it’ll sound boring, but I’ll try. Winner of Best Debut Indie Game, Best Independent Game and Best Mobile Game at this year’s Game of the Year awards. It combines Poker and Solitaire? Maybe? Anyway, it’ll waste hours of your life. It’s great.

📺 Watching Tom Scott’s old videos on YouTube. If I could go back to being a 16 year old, I would take his job. In a nutshell, he made videos about random quirks of the world, like whether the numbers on the dial of a toaster are minutes (9.8M views), or a story about microwaves (8.3M views). He starts to pull on a thread, and before you know it, there’s an entire story in front of you. A master of the platform.

🎤 Listening to ATRIP - he’s Polish-German (born in Poland), raised in London, and loves Aviici. What more needs to be said? His mixtape Tanzpartei II is superb, and Friday is one of the best tunes I’ve heard in a while

👓 Wikipedia-ing. I have the app on my home screen - the way I see it, most roads lead to (or at least via) Wikipedia, so I may as well go straight to the source. Plus, it provides an alternative to the infinite scroll of social media, and turning my attention and precious time on this earth into a revenue stream for a zillionaire. 🤦🏻‍♂️

🧴 Enjoying Bave - Manchester-based bath soap producers. I am a proud man of the bath every now and again, may as well support a Manchester brand while doing it

👾 Reading this newsletter - Pushing Buttons. A weekly round up of news, releases and reviews from the world of video games. By the way, the video game industry is no joke. In 2024 the UK video games industry was valued at £7.82bn. Music? £5.8bn. Film? £11bn - the total market size that the video games industry is predicted to grow to by 2027.

💬 And finally, a quote

Thanks!

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In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and have a look at what I’m reading on Goodreads.

📸 BONUS: Photo of the Week