Let’s clear the decks
Oh, hi friends!
I’m sure in a month I’ll be talking about resolutions.
But first, all I can think about is…clearing the decks.
What is clearing the decks?
It means starting the year with a clean slate. So that your resolutions aren’t about fixing what isn’t working or cleaning up last year’s messes.
When you clear the decks, you get to leave the lingering detritus of 2018…in 2018.
And if you do it now, it gives you a deadline—a very near deadline: January 1. You have a goal. But when you make a resolution, there’s no real deadline, right? Unless you count the rest of your life?
So I have a 5x7 notecard on my desk labeled Clear the Decks 2018. A few examples from my list:
— Roll over 401K
— File all outstanding invoices and hunt down all lingering checks
— Take last bag of clothes to Goodwill
— Return library books (and, um, read them first)
— Go to optometrist and get new glasses
— Fix squeaky faucet in kitchen
THEY SEEM SO BORING.
BECAUSE THEY ARE SO BORING.
That’s why I haven’t done them.
And yet, they linger. They persist.
You’ve got some, too. I know you do.
Please join me in making a Clear the Decks list so we can start the New Year off…well, new.
Get it.
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
“I need to stop saying it’s not about the money,” Schaler says of her career. “Money is power and money could help me do the things I want.”
I’m obsessed with this story we published on MONEY this week about the screenwriter of the Netflix hit The Christmas Prince (never seen it!).
Karen Schaler was an award-winning broadcast journalist who made a huge career change—cashing out her 401K at age 40 to pursue her dream of being a screenwriter. Her big bet (and studying the craft and industry and working really hard) paid off.
“Ultimately, this year has been a ‘crash course’ in the industry. ‘You either give up,' Schaler says, ‘or you get stronger.’” Yessss.
I saw the play “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play” this week and it was such a joy! A crisp 75 minutes, hilarious ensemble (including a school choir moment that just killed me), and message about inclusivity and acceptance. Highly recommend! It closes on Sunday; there are a few (pricey) tickets left online here. But rush tickets are also available through the TodayTix app for $30—download the app and tickets for this show are released at 10am.
And even if you're not able to see this play this weekend, I hope you watch something that inspires you.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara