3 Ways To Crush Next Year

Hey there, relaxer! It's that time of year again, time to start thinking about your goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. Last year, you said this year was the year. Well, maybe it's actually time to take yourself more seriously.

Now here's the thing: past studies have shown that 80 percent fail their New Year's goals by February. It happens every year, and it'll happen again next year. So how can you make sure you're not going to be a part of that group? Well, we're going through three ways you can crush your year and make sure you actually do what you promised yourself.

Welcome to Alux! Now, the main reason why people fail their New Year's goals is because they overcommit and overestimate how much they can get done. They have unrealistic expectations and assume that crossing between years somehow magically changes them. The truth is, though: it's not "new year, new me." It's very much "New Year, the same you." If you haven't managed to get what you wanted this year, it's not going to happen next year just because you said so while you were a little bit tipsy at the Christmas party.

You need something concrete to follow and keep you on the right path, and the first thing we're going to talk about is the Perfect Day Method. Now, the first thing you need to do is to grab a piece of paper and write in detail what the perfect day looks like for you. And be realistic! Okay, think about what hour you wake up, what you eat, what you do in the morning, and when you go to work. How you decide to spend your time and so on. Make sure to cover everything, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.

Also, make sure this perfect day hits on everything. This isn't a day where you're crushing something in particular; it's a balanced way of managing your energy and priorities so you move forward just a bit consistently. Think of an ideal version of yourself, and after you write that down, take a second to look at making it simpler and more manageable. It's very likely that your first go at this looks a little bit too optimistic because you'll fall into the trap of overcommitment and overestimating how much you can actually do.

After you're done with the second draft, pick a day of the week. We suggest Monday, as it'll set the tone for the rest of the week, but you've got the freedom to pick whatever day feels more comfortable for you. Now, every week on that day that you've chosen, you'll try to enact the perfect day as much as you can. It's important to start with only one day and to keep at it for the first month. It's just four days a month, okay? You can do this!

Now, this has got two purposes. One is to show you what is actually doable. You have an idyllic version of yourself, but it might not be the reality. After two to three perfect days, you'll start to see what you can reliably get done without feeling like you're rushing to do the next thing. You need to find your baseline—you in the context where you are consciously doing something. It may turn out that you can actually do more than you thought you could or less.

The second purpose of this Perfect Day is to give you momentum. One great day is very likely to bleed into the second one. The perfect day will start to excite you because you feel good about yourself; you're actually doing the things you promise to do every New Year. So keep that up for a month. Then, in February, add another day. Ideally, one day apart from your initial day. So if you went with Monday in January, adding in a Wednesday perfect day is a good call. You want your momentum from the first day to bleed into the next.

And after that, have another perfect day and again keep doing this for a month. Adjust your days as needed but be religious with always sticking to the perfect day plan. When March comes, add in a third one and repeat the process. This is all you need: three perfect days in a week is all you need to start seeing major progress in whatever you decide you want to do. If you can do this, we promise you that by the end of March, you'll be another person.

The Perfect Day method works because it's easy to manage and you're not overcommitting. You're building discipline slowly; you go at your own pace. And three perfect days in a week is honestly all you need. Imagine being the greatest version of yourself for just three days a week. One year of this and you'll be miles ahead of the "new year, new me" crowd.

Now for the point: this perfect day works great, but what happens if you don't actually know what a perfect day looks like for you? You wish for some general things to happen to you, but you can't point out exactly what needs to be done. Well, a good approach for this is having multiple timelines. We suggest going with three: short, medium, and long term.

For the short one, think of something that will take around three months to get done. The most common one people pick is getting healthier and fit. On average, it takes around three to four months to see comparable results from exercising, eating some good food, and getting enough rest. This can be your short timeline; it's something to look forward to.

For your second one, you need to pick something that will take around six to eight months to get done. The most common thing people pick—and actually one of the most important ones—is either getting better at what you do or learning something else. Now here's the brutal truth: a lot of people will lose their jobs next year. Massive layoffs are coming. The AI revolution is here, on top of the recession. If what you're currently doing is replaceable, well, you're in a dangerous position.

If we were you, the first priority for this six to eight month time frame would be to become irreplaceable. You need to get way better at what you do. It doesn't matter if you've got a job or an independent contractor or own a business; you need to get better. Something big is happening. There's a major shift in how things are done, and you need to be ahead of it. If you've got a good paying and secure job, you're extremely fortunate, but don't take it for granted. Use it as a launch pad to get ahead.

Now is not the time to play it safe and be laid back. We don't want to scare you with this, but we want you to succeed and have a great 2023. Be smart, educate yourself, and learn to navigate the new economy, and the way to do this is to devote 10 to 20 hours every week into education and practice.

And just a quick example: as we were writing this, we saw an online digital artist who changed their profile photo to stand against AI art. Now, this artist won't have any work next year; they're done. Not because AI will take their job, but because they put themselves on the wrong side of the events. Instead of getting educated and learning how to leverage new technology, they decided to pick up a torch and toss aside their expertise. We cannot stress this enough: you need to be smart about this, Aluxer. For your six to eight month timeline, get educated.

And as for your third timeline, this is a lifetime one, and it's a really simple and straightforward pick. One thing that you know is hurting you, and decide to never do it again in your life. Removing bad habits is sometimes far more impactful than bringing on some new ones.

And the third way to make sure you crush next year is to get a coach. Now, by coach, we mean actual coach: a mentor, teacher, therapist, or any source of outside accountability. You see, the point of a coach is not to show you how things are done. Elite athletes, they all have coaches, and it's not like they don't know how to do things. As a matter of fact, it's pretty rare that a coach was also an elite athlete in their prime.

But what they do have is perspective and experience. When you're doing everything yourself, whatever that may be, you have the perspective of only one person—you. And look, you're biased towards you. You are very rarely going to give yourself constructive criticism. You're either going to soft talk yourself or crush yourself to the ground. Neither of which will work. But a coach is an outside entity that can see multiple angles. They can see your shortcomings and what keeps you going. They can be unbiased and actually help you to get better and be successful.

If you've got the opportunity to get outside accountability, we strongly suggest you consider it. A mentor can get you to where you want faster and safer. And speaking of perspective, we've got a bonus for you: change yours. You see, the vast majority of people think they have to do stuff. Very few people think that they get to do stuff. For example, do you have to get a personal trainer, or do you get to have a personal trainer? This simple perspective shift can instantly put you on a winning path.

You need to be grateful for the things you get to do and think of them just like this: you're in the extremely fortunate position where you are alive, healthy, and smart. So what are you going to do next year? Well, you go through the same cycle of mediocrity, or will you get to have a great year?

We'll see you back here tomorrow, Aluxer. Take care! Thanks for spending some time with us today, Alux. We're so glad you did. If you found value in today's video, please give us a like, hit that bell icon to never miss an upload, and hey, don't forget to subscribe!