I broke my writing streak after 73 weeks. ColdShower #74🥶🚿
Zombies shouldn't be able to sneak up on you because they'd definitely smell.
Shower thought via Reddit.
The ColdShower: Weekly thoughts for better health, habits, and happiness.
Oh Brother….
Why streaks do and don’t matter
Daily planning the Jocko way.
p.s. Check out my new and improved “About the ColdShower”. The fun thing about being a writer is watching your message develop over time. If you like where this newsletter is headed consider sharing to 3 others in your network. (I do ZERO marketing)
Recharge: 🧊🛀Cold Plunge🧊🛀
Cold Plunge- (noun), Life lessons. Experiencing a revelation akin to full-body submersion in freezing cold water
And just like that…
It’s over. I let my writing streak lapse. It was a good run. To recap:
73 weeks of publishing this newsletter
Across 511 days
With over 200 writing segments
Work, sickness, travel, and family all converged. My morning routines where I usually write were disrupted. Sure, I could’ve planned out my writing more strategically. I could’ve just put out a half-baked newsletter…
But something told me to let the streak go. Not to stop writing (I have NO plans for that). But to break up with the idea that my writing streak = my writing ability. That once the streak is gone I somehow won’t have the passion or ability to write.
Why my 73-week streak mattered
Committing to posting a weekly newsletter at a set date/time was the best decision I made (lots of credit Austin Moore for his decisiveness). It only took a simple decision, an unwillingness to say no. That then powered:
Routine
New habits
Writing structure
An actual love for writing
Early on, I needed this commitment to a weekly writing streak. I needed this for about a year. Around that point, my internal drive started to develop. I WANTED to write.
So what now
I keep writing.
All streaks come to an end. What matters is bringing you all a good product — Consistency, quality, and insight. Content you WANT to read (& Share 😉). And content I feel good about.
You have my commitment to that.
Refine: 🗓️🌪️Planning Funnel🗓️🌪️
Mapping out your day
Welcome to the 🗓️🌪️Planning Funnel🗓️🌪️, Part 4 - Weekly Planning. Need to catch up — check out the Prioritization Filter, Yearly, Quarterly, and Weekly.
A love letter from Jocko
This past December, I received a 10-minute clip of the Jocko Willink podcast from my best friend and Hotworx franchise owner Phil Williamson.
The message: Journal daily - write down your strategic & tactical goals.
Yes, this screams military advice. It also works. I started doing this the next day and haven’t looked back. While “daily” is the bottom of the “planning funnel”, it became my base for building on my yearly, quarterly, and weekly goals.
Break it down for me
Every day I write down 4 things in my journal:
Workday Grade - I self-assess my previous workday based on my ideal core behaviors.
Strategic work - This could be training, big projects, health — anything that moves the needle on your strategic goals.
Tactical work - The “must get done” work. Things that are high-priority with immediate deadlines.
ColdShower Reflection - Whatever I’m thinking of that day with the intent of sharing in a future newsletter.
Jon’s Tips:
Don’t go overboard. Keep it to 3 strategic and 3 tactical action items per day. I’ve learned this over 10 weeks of failure.
Schedule your day. Don’t leave blank space on your calendar and schedule what’s important in advance.
Let your weekly plan inform your daily plan. Your brain will be the most fresh at the start of the week when you make your weekly plan. Don’t get caught up chasing other people’s work throughout the week.
Final Thought: If you do nothing else from this series, try this daily journaling practice. After all, we’re all just taking it “One day at a time”.
Still On The Toilet?
THANK YOU for reading all the way through. See you next week!
I'm so glad you're back , even though it was only 1 week , your newletter was missed . Thank you for all the hard work you put into motivating us!