Hey :)
Last year was a big year for me in terms of studying, embracing, and actually implementing the 80/20 principle across my life. It’s one of those ideas I keep coming back to. I reread the books from Richard Koch, think about it constantly, and notice how often it applies in places I hadn’t expected.
As I’ve been planning for January, I’ve picked a week that’s going to be an experiment week.
The experiment is simple: increase the amount of what I call “20% time”.
By that I mean deep work. Time spent on the highest-leverage work. Work that only I can do. Work that requires real focus and attention, and that tends to have a long-term impact rather than a short-term payoff.
That could be working on the growth of the business. Solving a strategic problem. Or even properly figuring out what the real problem is before trying to fix it.
Normally I get around 7–8 hours of deep work a week. For this experiment week, I’ve doubled that to closer to 15. To do that, I’ve had to change how my days run and how I use my calendar.
What surprised me is that it didn’t require a dramatic overhaul. It was mostly small tweaks.
And that’s been a pattern for me. Not big, once-a-year changes. But continual refinement. Small experiments. Adjustments based on what the work actually demands now.
Because the work I’m doing at the start of 2026 is genuinely different from the work I was doing at the start of 2025. Different problems, different responsibilities, different leverage points. And that requires change.
The lesson for me has been this: Don’t get locked in.
Routines are useful, but they shouldn’t become rigid. Schedules should serve the work you need to do now, not the work you used to do.
So as you think about the start of the year, it’s worth asking:
- Where are you locked in too tightly?
- Where are you running a routine that no longer fits?
- When you look at your calendar, is it actually serving what matters most right now?
What would it look like to pick a week or two in January and deliberately experiment with a different schedule or routine — one that optimises for what you actually need?
That’s the work I’m doing at the moment.
And that’s the lesson I wanted to share today.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.