Something for if you’re stuck overthinking something: Very few decisions are permanent. Almost all decisions can be reversed, altered, or adjusted.

It’s camping season, and I recently made a few upgrades to my backpacking gear. One thing in particular that I spent way too much time researching was my cook pot for boiling water.

I’ve already got a nice, 1.8L aluminum pot that’s great for car camping, but I needed something smaller and lighter for my backpacking trips. Ideally, I was looking for something that’s right around 1L or a little less. I wanted it to have measurement markers. And I wanted it to be able to hold my whole “cook kit” (fuel canister, stove, etc.).

After spending an inordinate amount of time researching on gear sites, watching YouTube channels, and walking around at my local REI and Sheel’s… I ended up getting this Boundless Voyage 900ml pot.

(A very close runner-up option was this Toaks 750. The Toaks is the pot that most sites and YouTubers recommend, but I decided to go went with the Boundless Voyage 900 because it is just barely taller, holds 20% more water, and has the longer, flip-out handle that can lock the lid in place and doesn’t get wildly hot when cooking.)

Myth: *“Taking the time to schedule my time is a waste of time — the schedule never works out perfectly anyway”*

This common myth is tricky because there is some truth mixed in with it.

While it’s true that a schedule never works out perfectly (nobody’s does — the mess of real life always plays a factor).

But…

– With a schedule you’ve got a plan for when you’re going to do work that matters. This means you’re FAR MORE LIKELY to do the most important work in your day.
– With a schedule you can budget the time you need for other important activities ( family, exercise, rest). And these are HUGE contributors to your overall health and baseline level of happiness.

It’s okay if your schedule doesn’t work out perfectly. In fact, that’s normal. Your schedule is just a blueprint for how you’re hoping to spend your day. It keeps you moving forward and helps you stay proactive instead of reactive with your time. When things come up, take longer or shorter, etc. that’s fine. Just roll with it.

My pal Brad sent me a box of these 10 years ago and the rest is history.

As you plan and prepare for 2023, consider the Law of Tradeoffs. If you are going to add a new goal or project or focus to your life, what will you stop doing in order to make space for it?

(Side note, a whole bunch of clever people are making their annual planning process easier and more fun by using this fantastic little notebook.)

At my grandma’s funeral several years ago, I remember reading her short list of the things she tried to live by. They were these short phrases:

– Be the first to say hello.
– Compliment three people every day.
– Live beneath your means.
– Let the first thing you say brighten everyone’s day.
– Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
– Always think the best of other people.

Dual focus is trying to do two things at once and thereby limiting yourself from doing either well.

Here are a few ideas for how to avoid dual focus:

– Break a project down into smaller steps that feel manageable, then do one step at a time
– Use this [Show Up Every Day Worksheet](https://thefocuscourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Show-Up-Every-Day-Worksheet.pdf) to set your focused intention.
– If you’re using a computer, close all the apps besides the ones you need for completing the task at hand.
– [Time Block](https://thesweetsetup.com/time/) your day.
– If you feel stuck, ask yourself if you’re trying to tackle more than one task. If this is true, isolate the one that has the least complexity and start there.

A few years ago I was in Nashville at the Tribe conference for writers and creators, and I took a ton of notes. They’re posted online for you to glean from here.