Hey friends,
Hope you had a good weekend.
Here’s this week’s 1 Doodle - 1 Do - 1 Direction.
1 Doodle
I’ve read two books recently where the big idea comes straight from nature: The Fourth Turning (William Strauss + Neil Howe) and Period Power (Maisie Hill).*
The Fourth Turning says history isn’t linear, it’s cyclical. Each generation plays a different role depending on which “season” they’re born into. Period Power has a similar vibe. It explains how each phase of the menstrual cycle is like the seasons, and how people can plan, pace, and support themselves instead of feeling like they’re constantly battling their body.
And honestly, we get inspired by nature all the time. So why not planning?
Those two books made me think about planning in life and work like seasons too. Maybe that’s why companies do quarterly check-ins. Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. It’s basically “seasons” with a spreadsheet on top.
But lately I’ve noticed something about myself. Every time I replace a “corporate” word with something more human, I feel better. I connect with it more.
So instead of “quarterly goals” or “OKRs,” I’ve been sticking to a season-long plan in my life and work: a 90-day plan.
And you don’t have to start in January. You can start today.
Try this: write one thing you want to accomplish in the next 90 days, for work and for life.
For me, I started in January.
For work, it was taking my career growth seriously and I made a 90-day action plan for it (stay tuned).
For life, I focused on creating and growing this newsletter. Thanks for being my early supporters.
Writing this email genuinely reminds me of the blog era. I used to post my thoughts on a blog, and now it feels like a full circle moment doing it as an email. :) It feels good to talk directly to people who intentionally subscribed and want to be a little better week by week.
So thank you.
And here’s the doodle I drew for this week.
1 Do
Pick your 90-day plan for work and life. Write it on a piece of paper and tape it somewhere you’ll see every day.
1 Direction
It’s completely normal to feel frustrated at the end of the day when you haven’t reached your 90-day goal yet. That’s usually the metric our mind uses to judge the day. But that metric is misleading. A 90-day goal isn’t something you’re supposed to “hit” daily. What matters more is whether today you did anything that moved you even a little closer to the 90-day goal you set.
That’s all for this week.
With love,
- Ehsan /a-sun/
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