2025's Nudge Words: "Focus, Complete, Elevate"
I've never been a fan of New Year's resolutions. Todoist once claimed that most resolutions fail by 3 January. I often quip that I set my resolutions in October to align with the Fiscal Year, my birth month and hasten failure. Why wait for the dark days of winter to fail when you can do it in early fall?
This year, 2025, feels different to me. The twenties have been a rocky period, but at least for me I think 2025 will be a good year. I'll embrace this by grabbing a nudge word and rolling with it.
What is a nudge word? It's a variant of the "One Word" or "Word of the Year" exercise is a goal-setting and personal development approach that gained popularity as an alternative to traditional New Year's resolutions. The evolution from one-word to three-word themes reflects the recognition that some concepts need more nuance while still maintaining simplicity. I've used this approach a few times with a bit of hit/miss in the outcome.
For 2025, I'm going to try "Focus, Complete, Elevate" as my nudge words. Focus on what matters; Complete what I start; Elevate mind, body and spirit. I will use a 6/2 cycle method to set short-term milestones rather than attempt to set a year-long goal (per se). And at each cycle milestone, I will blog my progress.
Focus, Complete, Elevate forms a strategic framework for my personal transformation in 2025.
This year, 2025, feels different to me. The twenties have been a rocky period, but at least for me I think 2025 will be a good year. I'll embrace this by grabbing a nudge word and rolling with it.
What is a nudge word? It's a variant of the "One Word" or "Word of the Year" exercise is a goal-setting and personal development approach that gained popularity as an alternative to traditional New Year's resolutions. The evolution from one-word to three-word themes reflects the recognition that some concepts need more nuance while still maintaining simplicity. I've used this approach a few times with a bit of hit/miss in the outcome.
For 2025, I'm going to try "Focus, Complete, Elevate" as my nudge words. Focus on what matters; Complete what I start; Elevate mind, body and spirit. I will use a 6/2 cycle method to set short-term milestones rather than attempt to set a year-long goal (per se). And at each cycle milestone, I will blog my progress.
Focus, Complete, Elevate forms a strategic framework for my personal transformation in 2025.
- Focus directly addresses the challenges of Variable Attention Stimulus Trait (VAST) / ADHD through deliberate improvement of executive function skills, enabling better attention management and task prioritization.
- Complete brings structure to project execution through a rhythmic 6/2 cycle - six weeks of intensive work followed by two weeks of strategic planning and rejuvenation, creating a sustainable cadence for tackling writing and programming projects while respecting natural attention patterns.
- Elevate operates on dual tracks: my physical journey of weight loss and fitness improvement paired with my spiritual dimension of deepening faith through consistent quiet time with God, recognizing that both body and spirit require dedicated attention for genuine growth and transformation.
Focus and VAST? Some experts have proposed to replace ADHD with VAST (Variable Attention Stimulus Trait). Variable Attention Stimulus Trait (VAST) describes a natural thinking and attention style characterized by rapid attention shifts and interest-based focus, where individuals experience both hyper-focus and diffused attention periods that can be strategically managed by working with, rather than against, these natural tendencies. I have a powerful memory for odd events; and I remember the negative consequences of ADHD/VAST as far back as 1976. I am going to lean into this for the year and improve my executive skills. An odd statement for someone with only a few years to retirement. I've tried in the past, but backslid some coping skills I developed.
Complete. Twenty Twenty-Two was a powerhouse year for my productivity, but I hit turbulence in 2023 and 2024. While I understand the reasons why, I'm more interested in moving forward than dwelling on excuses. I've seen success with the 6/2 cycle at work—six weeks of focused execution followed by two weeks of strategic planning—and I'm ready to apply this rhythm to my personal projects. That also means I commit to the current cycle and forecast the next two.
Complete. Twenty Twenty-Two was a powerhouse year for my productivity, but I hit turbulence in 2023 and 2024. While I understand the reasons why, I'm more interested in moving forward than dwelling on excuses. I've seen success with the 6/2 cycle at work—six weeks of focused execution followed by two weeks of strategic planning—and I'm ready to apply this rhythm to my personal projects. That also means I commit to the current cycle and forecast the next two.
- Cycle 1/Commit: Complete the third novel in my Alternative History by 9 February.
- Cycle 2/Forecast: Complete Event planning application by 6 April
- Cycle 3/Forecast: Create Covers for the three Alternative History novels by 1 June.
Elevate. If I'm going to break anywhere, this will be it. I want to drop fifty pounds, complete reading the Bible, and read a few novels. I'm weak in these three areas.
- Journey to 180: I dropped from 242 to 204 in 2017 using CICO (Calories In/Out). This includes a plateau that lasted six weeks. I held at 210 until 2021 when I jumped to 220 and I am now at 230. I'll combine CICO with a walking/body-weight routine. I'll be channelling the roughly 1,500 hours of physical training the Army subjected me to in my 20s. I also need to cut carbs. Following Stockdale's Paradox, I will keep my eye on a one-pound calorie reduction rather than target dropping 50 pounds this year. Interesting fact, the average weight for an American male my height and age is 201.
- Bible Reading: Bible It takes 72 hours for the average person to read straight through (54 for the Old, 18 for the New). I'll use the six-week cycle to focus on reading entire books in few sittings. That's 90 minutes per week, or about 15 per day. I'll be using the CSB Reader's Bible, which minimizes chapter and verse markers. I'm focused on progress not schedule, so I might go faster. I'm not setting a daily goal, because they are easily missed.
- Cycle 1: Genesis, Exodus, Job
- Cycle 2: Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua
- Cycle 3: Judges through 2 Kings and Ruth
- Cycle 4: Psalms through Song of Solomon and Chronicles
- Cycle 5: Isaiah through Malachi
- Cycle 6: New Testament
- Fiction Reading: I know some of you would equate the Bible with fiction, but humor me. During the two-week window, I will try to read more fiction. I write it, but I don't read as much as I did in my teens and twenties. I might try to tackle Brandon Sanderson and Dennis Taylor's Boboverse. I'll take it easy and focus on finishing the Boboverse first.
Omitted from these goals are what I already do. Since 2013, I have completed 160 books on Audible; primarily non-fiction but some fiction. That's about 14 books a year. I also listen to two weekly podcasts: "Security Now" and "ReWork".
This is a long post, but I wanted to get my plan laid out where I can hold myself to account.