On saying no to things


If you have a theme or word for your year, has it come out to play yet? Have you made any changes?

Since I first started coming up with themes for my years, I’ve noticed January’s usually a write-off. It takes until at least February before I’m settled enough to think about “ a new me.”

And wouldn’t you know it, today’s February 1st.

Yes, and I’ve set today as the start of the new thing, the new vibe. So far, it’s working (lol…it’s like 8:30 in the morning right now).

Have you heard this before?

“If you say no to something, you’re saying no to one thing. If you say yes to something, you’re saying no to everything else.”

It’s not airtight. (Because of time and because you can ride a bicycle while drinking coffee and listening to music.) But it makes a point.

I said my “word” for the year (this year) might be “No.” That 2023 would be “the year of growth through saying no to things.”

Some friends suggested being more positive (which I appreciated). But, I like the arch-ness of sticking with no.

I plan to say no to bigger things as the year goes on, but here are some minor, time-based No’s I’m implementing now:

No sleep after 6
No coffee before 8
No screens before 8
No email before 9
No food before 12
No coffee after 2
No work after 4
No food after 6
No screens after 9
No being awake after 10

No it when you see it,
James

One Creative Moment

One Creative Moment is a daily email for founders, owners, and creators. You'll get insights, irreverence, and inspiration to help you build a better business & live a more creative life.

Read more from One Creative Moment

One of the things missing from much of the “get AI to do everything for you” messaging is this fact: writing isn’t just a product, it’s a process. Yes, it’s nice to have “content.” But thinking that having it is the only outcome that matters is shallow and short-sighted. One of the things that has astounded me since I started writing daily(ish) emails back in November 2022 is how much it has changed me. It has vastly improved my ability to think—and to put those thoughts into clear, concise...

If you want to achieve more, do less. That is to say, build time into your day, your week, your year for quiet. In our house, following lunch, there is a period of mandated quiet time. It gives everyone a chance to do something they’d otherwise not do: nothing. It could be napping, reading, working on art, or even listening to something specific on headphones—as long as it’s quiet and done alone. For Kayte and I, it’s almost always napping, lol. During that time, we can recharge. We can...

“…We are ‘persuaded to spend money we don’t have on things we don’t need to make impressions that won’t last on people we don’t care about.’” This is Kate Raworth quoting Economist Tim Jackson in her book Doughnut Economics while discussing the power of aspiration in influencing human behaviour. Reading this, I realized that seeing (or at least feeling) this is what kept me from marketing for so long. (And what keeps me from engaging in much of its mainstream still.) I thought of it only as a...