The Journey: #51 Time Well Spent

For a long time, December looked the same for me every year.

I’d sign off the day before Christmas Eve and disappear until somewhere between January 3rd and January 5th. No email. No Slack. No pretending I was “kind of around.”

And honestly, it made complete sense.

I host all the holidays. My house becomes the gathering place. There’s food to plan, people to take care of, traditions to keep alive, and a running list of things that somehow only exist during the last two weeks of the year.

Signing off felt responsible. Necessary. Easy to justify.

But over time, something changed.

As my daughter got older, the pace at home shifted. Still full, still meaningful, but quieter in a different way. And at the same time, work got quiet too.

Meetings slowed down.

The inbox stopped yelling.

Slack went suspiciously calm.

Instead of feeling checked out, I started to feel clear.

So I stopped automatically taking time off just because everyone else was OOO. Instead, I started using some of that quiet time to set myself up for the year ahead.

Not to hustle.

Not to get ahead.

But to think, reflect, and make intentional decisions before January came in hot.

Because this window between now and the new year is rare. It’s one of the only times all year where you’re not constantly reacting.

If you have even a little white space right now, here’s how I think about using it.

A 10-Step Quiet-Time Checklist

This isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the things that will actually make January easier.

1. Write down three things you’re proud of from this year.

Not what looks good on paper. What genuinely mattered to you.

2. Identify what drained you the most.

Be honest. Name the projects, relationships, or patterns that consistently took more than they gave.

3. Close one open loop you’ve been avoiding.

Clean up a doc, finalize a plan, or archive what you’re clearly not going back to.

4. Review your calendar from the past year.

Look for patterns. Where did your time actually go? What surprised you?

5. Define three priorities for Q1.

Not for the year. Just for the first 90 days. If everything is important, nothing is.

6. Do one thing your future self will thank you for.

Document a process, outline a plan, or create a template that removes friction later.

7. Check in with your body and energy.

Sleep, movement, food, stress. No overhaul required. Just one intentional adjustment.

8. Reach out to one person without an agenda.

A thank you. A check-in. A note of appreciation. No ask attached.

9. Decide what you’re not doing next year.

What are you done tolerating? What are you no longer available for?

10. Choose a word or theme for the year ahead.

Not a resolution. A lens for decision-making when things get noisy again.

The quiet won’t last.

January will bring its usual urgency. Meetings will return. Slack will light up. Everyone will be “circling back” before you’ve had your second cup of coffee.

But how you use this window determines whether you walk into the new year reacting or grounded.

This time doesn’t have to be busy to be valuable.

Sometimes it’s valuable because it’s quiet.

Time well spent.