I don’t know about you, but think we could all use a little break from the markets. The next few weeks will be action packed – with inflation readings and a Federal Reserve meeting and the midterm elections. So this week, I thought we’d instead do a little exercise together. One that may help you reevaluate how you are spending your time and energy.

I came across these two questions today (courtesy of James Clear):

What’s something good to “go a little overboard” on? AND

What’s something you could benefit from caring less about?

I decided to answer these questions in four different areas of my life at present (you can of course pick your own categories or answer more broadly). To help motivate you, I’m sharing what I came up with. As always, feel free to let me know in the comments what you are going to do more/less of!

Finances/Investing

What’s something good to “go a little overboard” on – Cash flow planning and budgeting. Having a strong command of what’s coming in and what’s going out helps me feel secure and confident, no matter what the market is doing day to day. As we’re about to enter 2023, I would like to go “overboard” on setting a budget and planning out my cash flow goals for the new year

What’s something you could benefit from caring less about? – the daily moves in the market. This is not easy for me to achieve as it’s not just my invested capital I need to think about – but that of my clients. However, it is not helpful or productive to react too much to any one day. “Zooming out” and focusing long term is always preferred.

Health

What’s something good to “go a little overboard” on – Sleep! I have always focused on getting the right amount of sleep but as I age, I find it’s even more important. Seven to eight hours is the right amount for me and I’ve been focused on maintaining that – as well as ensuring that I’m developing a good sleep routine (no TV, no screens, reading before bed, etc). I want to keep going overboard on protecting my rest.

What’s something you could benefit from caring less about? Intense cardio. For years, this has been the focus of my workout routine. However, in the past few months, I have spent more time doing strength training and less cardio with great results. I feel stronger, more energized, and have even lost some weight. Go figure. Proof we always need to keep adapting and adjusting!

Relationships

What’s something good to “go a little overboard” on? Scheduling time to visit family and friends. After these odd COVID years, it is time to get back to being with friends and family. I’ve already planned a few trips for 2023 and intend to make this an “overboard” priority moving forward.

What’s something you could benefit from caring less about? The endless to-do list. We all have a lot to do, which can discourage us from taking the time to travel or spend time with others. I’m no different. There are always other things to do – but usually they can wait. I need to let that to do list go from time to time and remember that relationships and experiences with those we care about truly matter most

Personal Enrichment

What’s something good to “go a little overboard” on? Learning a new skill (or shall I say, revisiting one I haven’t done in years/decades). There’s something exciting about doing something new and pushing your mind/body to adapt and learn new things. To that end, I’d like to get back into a few sports I haven’t done in years/decades this winter – skating and skiing.

What’s something you could benefit from caring less about? In tandem with learning a new skill, I’ll be reminded that I should not give much weight to what anyone thinks of my abilities, or lack thereof! I may be the oldest person on the bunny hill skiing or the wobbliest Canadian on ice skates – but at least I’m out there trying, right?

There you have it – things I was to go overboard on and others I want to release. Hopefully you can learn some things from answering these questions too.

I’ll be back next week with more market talk! (Hope you enjoyed this brief break as much as I did)

Be well,