It’s Dead Week, the six-day stretch between Christmas and the New Year. 

For some, it’s a time to rest. Others, a time to get a head start.

For most of us, it’s a sort of limbo. Like we’re taking a collective breath before being hurled through another three-sixty-five, twenty-four-seven.

That’s why I spend Dead Week in reflection, flipping through notebooks and reviewing journals, analyzing accomplishments and studying setbacks. It’s like looking for clues—the patterns and behaviours that led me to success or steered me toward failure.

Dead Week is also when I think about setting New Year’s resolutions. 

Thing is, millions of us make resolutions as the New Year begins. And millions of us fail before year’s end. For instance, this year:

• I didn’t start my secret project
• I didn’t start freelancing again
• I didn’t achieve self-mastery
• I didn’t grow my newsletter

That’s one perspective. But there’s a better view.

✖ I didn’t start my secret project.
✔ I figured out what it is, the format, and how I’m going to tackle it in the year ahead.

✖ I didn’t start freelancing again.
✔ I finished my portfolio after putting it off for two years (about time, right?).

✖ I didn’t achieve self-mastery.
✔ I’m more self-aware and more in control of impulsive, emotionally-charged behaviour.

✖ I didn’t grow my newsletter.
✔ I published consistently for the entire year, which I failed to do with past newsletters.

Beyond that, I quit smoking weed—a huge win for me. I spent more time touching grass and less time doom scrolling. And I ate healthier, drank more water, and managed to put a little weight on this skinny frame of mine.

All in all, it’s a year worth admiring.

When you shine the light on your failures, you cast a shadow on wins that deserve to be celebrated.

In a world fuelled by instant gratification, it’s easy to confuse incremental progress with loss. But real growth is the product of consistent behaviour compounded over time.

In other words, meaningful results take time.

It’s slow work, and sometimes, the payoff never comes. Which is all the more reason to celebrate small wins as the year comes to a close.

• You didn’t go to the gym three times a week—you stretched at home nearly every day
• You didn’t meet your yearly savings goal—you cut back on spending each month
• You didn’t write a book—you started to collect ideas, themes, and resources

Point is, you moved forward.

Transformation is sluggish and boring, said entrepreneur Sun Yi in this post. He reminds us that you don’t have to change your life completely, just make tiny improvements each year. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t set lofty goals for the New Year.

We all need something to inspire us, something worth the effort. But we also need something to keep us honest, like checkpoints along the road to those big, shiny aspirations.

You’re more likely to fall short if you try it in one large leap. But the climb isn’t so steep when you take it one mini milestone after the other.

One more thing: don’t wait until Dead Week to kill your darlings.

Giving up too soon is one thing, but time is precious. Cut your losses early, be flexible, and embrace change.

Don’t waste energy on something that no longer brings you joy. Remember, the ride is the reward. 

➜ Patience over pleasure
➜ Process over potential
➜ Purpose over prize 

See you on the other side.

*Updated 12.26.24.