The “First Set Mindset” flips the script: treat your first set (and every set) like it’s your only set.

~ Schwarzenegger​, Arnold, The Muscle Principles, 2025

Sound advice, and not just for the gym. Apply this philosophy to life and work. 

Approach every action, every task, every project “like it’s your only set.”

• Be as attentive as I can possibly be²
• Exercise regularly³
• Travel⁴
• Visit galleries and museums ⁵
• Read as many books as possible⁶
• Take steps to support and advance my career⁷
• Write regularly⁸
• Upgrade our tech⁹.

There will be a whole host of other things that we do this year. For example, keep doing the crossword every morning and continue to buy more ‘grown up’ furniture¹⁰ but the items above are the most immediate list of personal and shared goals that came to mind when I sat down to write this.

1. The ‘less, more, none’ approach was useful when I first started using it but I found myself shoe-horning items in to the format. I feel that a simple list is more flexible.
2. Focus on one person / one task at a time.
3. I failed miserably with this in 2021 yet I know how much it helps me both physically and mentally.
4. It’s been far too long since we (Jennifer and I) stepped foot in another town let alone another country. Keeping all fingers and toes crossed that we can get back on the road this year.
5. It’s also been far too long since we experienced art and culture without a screen being involved.
6. Reading more books over the past two years has undoubtedly had a positive impact on my mental health.
7. I completed an M.Ed in 2013 but as I continue to consider whether Headship is something I want, I am thinking about completing an NPQH.
8. As noted in my review of last year, I am adding this but I need to give some genuine consideration to what I mean by ‘write regularly’? What type of writing do I want to do? Who am I writing for? What should I write about? Does it need to be published on this blog?
9. Neither of us seek to replace our devices when the latest and greatest phones/computers are released but both our laptops and phones are really starting to show their age. This looks like it will be the year to invest in replacing them.
10. We finally replaced the IKEA bed that we’ve had since we got married. It only took 17 years!

• allowing my task list to build up
  • I am really pleased with the way I managed my time this year. I maintained a good balance between my day to day tasks and larger projects. There were no changes to the systems or tools¹ that I use, but I did adapt the way I approached some aspects of my job, improving my delegation and making best use of mornings to get two to three smaller tasks off my plate before the day has really begun.
• looking at my mobile phone when people are talking to me
  • This is the second year now that I have been a lot better with this. I still find that I have to remind myself to put my phone away but I have built up some better habits around my phone in general that have helped a lot.
• reading doomscrolling the news
  • I also did well with this. While I did keep up with some of the news surrounding the pandemic as well as the current political landscape², I managed to direct my attention towards the culture and lifestyle sections of the paper most of the time. I was far happier spending time reading about people, places and ideas that could enrich my life rather than dwelling on everything that is wrong with the world.

More

• exercise
  • I am sad to say that other than walking regularly, I failed to make exercise a priority in 2021. I have no genuine reason or excuse for this and plan to find ways to make sure that it is a priority in 2022.
• reading
  • I read 52 books in 2021. That is two more than my target and 11 more than 2020. I posted a complete list of everything I read on this blog.
• saving money
  • We carried on where we left off in 2020 and added significantly to our savings. 💰💰💰
• seeking opportunities for personal growth
  • Reflecting on this goal, I am not sure what I was considering exactly all the way back in January 2021 but I have achieved a few things this year that I am proud of:
    • I have finally achieved a sense of equilibrium at work and feel better placed to develop myself further as a leader and to be able to consider the next steps in my career
    • I have been (re)learning French
    • I have cooked regularly for my wife³
    • I have finally taught myself how to tackle cryptic crosswords, and while I am far from being an expert, I now understand the rules and can work my way (slowly) through the Guardian cryptic crossword
    • I have continued to develop my appreciation and knowledge of Jazz – in particular piano-led groups⁴ and the development of the be-bop and hard-bop styles.
• writing
  • This just did not happen and I do not have an answer to how I get back to writing regularly. Maybe I am not supposed to right now? I will likely include writing in my goals for 2022, but I think I need to reflect on the type of writing I want to do and where it is published to better understand where/how it fits into my life. I enjoy writing but since I completed my M.Ed in 2013 and took on more senior roles at work, I have consistently struggled to make it a regular habit.

None

• making excuses when it comes to exercise
  • See my response to the first item in the ‘more’ section.
• skipping my ‘morning reading’
  • I did not miss a single day and ended up re-reading the entire ‘Holy Bible’, not just Paul’s letters as I had intended. I did not make as much headway with ‘History of Western Philosophy‘ by Bertrand Russell⁵ but I did re-read (again) ‘Meditations‘ by Marcus Aurelius and I also finished ‘On Writing‘ by Stephen King, which was as much a biography as a guide to writing well.

1. See bullet point two in my review from 2020.
2. All I see when I think about the state of the world is the ‘This is fine’ meme taken from the comic by KC Green.
3. at least once per week
4. Brubeck/Clark/Evans/Garland/Hancock/Monk/Powell
5. I am going to make this the sole text for my morning reading in 2022.

One of the things I love about running are the unexpected sights that you encounter along the way. I haven’t run on the lower part of the prom for a while and I discovered this great new piece of street art this week. The purple and neon-pink are evoking total 80s vibes. I feel like they should install speakers and play a constant rotation of synth-pop and new wave music. A Flock of Seagulls anyone? 😉

Art work by Mr Skosh.

• allowing my task list to build up¹
• looking at my mobile phone when people are talking to me
• reading doomscrolling the news²

More

• exercise
• reading³
• saving money
• seeking opportunities for personal growth
• writing

None

• making excuses when it comes to exercise⁴
• skipping my ‘morning reading'⁵

1. Do, defer, delegate or delete.
2. Once per day is more than enough
3. After reading 41 books in 2020, I want to challenge myself to read 50 in 2021.
4. I will get outside and run even if it is icy cold or teeming down with rain. And if I really can’t get outside to run then I will work out at home. There are no excuses. There is always enough time, enough ways to keep to fit, and enough tools (apps/videos/guides) to be able to exercise every day.
5. One of my daily rituals is to read from a selection of philosophical and theological texts. It helps focus my mind at the start of the day.

• (cont.) spending time on ‘urgent but unimportant’ tasks
  • I did a much better job of this in 2020. I was able to be more strategic and to delegate tasks more willingly. Something I have always struggled with.
• tinkering with apps and organisational tools (I need to pick a system and stick to it)
  • I broke this down into three areas (notes/schedule/projects) and settled on one app to manage each of them:
    • Drafts for writing: ideas, notes, lists, blog posts and reference material.
    • Fantastical to organise my day: lessons, meetings, calls and events.
    • OmniFocus for task and project management.
  • I also made some changes to my daily and weekly reviews that kept me better organised.
• avoiding difficult / time-consuming tasks
  • I did well with this as well, in part due to the improvements I made to my organisation as noted above. In particular, I started using the ‘forecast tag’ in OmniFocus for these tasks and also scheduled time in my calendar for when I would work on them. This meant that they were always visible and would not be missed in my daily review. Scheduling time in my calendar meant that progress was made on them each day until they were done. Incremental progress FTW!

More

• trying new foods and recipes
  • Jennifer and I are always exploring new recipes but we did even better this year building a wide range of new meals into each month. And like 2019, we struck a healthy balance between meat-based dishes and vegetarian ones.
• rediscovering old music
  • I immersed myself in Jazz, exploring a wide range of styles (hard-bop, modal, avant-garde…) and musicians. I improved my knowledge of the genre’s development and discovered a number pieces that entered into regular rotation. My top three tunes for the year are:
    • All of You (Miles Davis)
    • When Sunny Gets Blue (McCoy Tyner)
    • Bluette (The Dave Brubeck Quartet)
  • Having spent a lot of time over the years listening to the more avant-garde and challenging work of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, I was surprised to see how much I leaned toward smooth and modal Jazz over the course of the year. Red Garland, Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner (all pianists) featured prominently. Maybe I am mellowing out!?
  • In addition to this, I also revisited a lot of music from my youth (80s/90s). According to Spotify, my most listened to artists this year were: Queen, Radiohead and Nick Cave.
  • I spent some time listening to classical music too; mostly Beethoven, Chopin, and Fauré, so the piano featured prominently there as well. Maybe I should learn to play the piano in 2021?
  • I made a number of new playlists in Spotify and updated some of my existing ones. They can all be found via my Spotify profile.
• visiting new places
  • This did not happen for obvious reasons. Instead we made the most of our local area while doing all that we could to keep ourselves and other safe. The time spent here at home was not wasted though, I read more books than I have done in a long time.
• mobility exercises and yoga
  • I failed miserably with this one unfortunately, and I haven’t done as well with my running over the last three months of the year either. Exercise has to be a habit and requires commitment. I will be re-committing to this in 2021 and ensuring that I can forge good habits to get back on track.
• (cont.) writing
  • In terms of writing, I never truly found my mojo. That said, I did publish 24 full blog posts (20 more than 2019 ). Two blog posts per month is not what I was aiming for at the start of the year. As with exercise, writing has to become a habit. I will be committing to working towards this in 2021 as well.

None

• (cont.) looking at my mobile phone when people are talking to me (still trying to make this stick!)
  • I finally made some headway with this in 2020. I took to leaving my phone on the coffee table or even in a different room and this helped. Still, I can do even better so this item will graduate to the ‘Less’ section for 2021.
• saying yes to projects or ideas that will only have short-term or limited impact (aiming for a year of quality not quantity)
  • When faced with a pandemic, partial school closures and a constantly changing set of guidelines and rules, it has been hard not to have to work on projects that were about ‘short-term’ impact. Sometimes you simply have to adapt to the needs in front of you and I feel that alongside my colleagues, I did a good job in helping to keep the school going under very challenging circumstances.

As Covid-19 continues its spread across the land, we are embracing our new existence; only going out when necessary; supporting friends and family in any way we can; doing our part to stay safe and save lives.

Jennifer has spent the last few days cooking meals to freeze; ensuring we will continue to eat healthy nutritious food over the coming weeks.

With schools closing (or, in my case, remaining open for vulnerable pupils and children of key workers) I’ve been editing my calendar for the next four weeks. It is now relatively blank, save for the days that I will be in school. It’s amazing how so many things that were deemed so important have been put on hold or cancelled out right. Now is not the time, but the ‘merits of using external exams as a way to measure learning’ debate should definitely be given its due when things return to normal¹

I have set my self a daily schedule for the days I will be working from home and taken the opportunity to reorganise my OmniFocus projects. I have promoted a number of tasks that were on pause until the next school holiday came around.

Also, with a bit of extra time on my hands, I am going to take the opportunity to:

• Run outside once per day. Over the last five months, my schedule has unfortunately inhibited me from running as regularly as I would like. If anything good can come of all this, I can get back to where I was in September – running further and faster than ever!
• Commit to doing more yoga and mobility exercises.
• Update my CV. I haven’t done this since I moved to Hastings to take up my current post.
• Re-read all five parts of the ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ trilogy. 👍🛸🐬
• Add ‘The Dhammapada’ and ‘Sayings of the Early Christian Monks’ to my daily morning readings. They join ‘Meditations’ and ‘The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence’.
• Finish some longer blog posts that have been sitting half written in Drafts.

Most importantly, I am going to use this opportunity to spend time with my wife… cooking and breaking bread together; drinking lots of tea and putting the world to rights; listening to music and playing Scrabble; watching old films; and appreciating how lucky we are to have each other.

1. What is normal? Will things ever be the same again? Given the current state of things, these questions seem alarmingly prescient yet seemingly trivial at the same time. As Nick Cave put it yesterday: “Eventually these questions will become of acute significance, but they are not for now.”

My playlists…

Currents is a regularly updated mix of music that has grabbed my attention, alongside a few tracks that seem to stick around for good.

Running, Clanging and Banging is my original running and workout mix. Over 200 tracks of uptempo rock, heavy metal, rap, dance and pop. Use it to work out at home or if you live near lots of open space and can get outside (responsibly), let this mix propel you.

For long morning runs, I started to lean more towards chilled out sounds. Running at First Light evolved out of this having tried running to the Marconi Union album: ‘Weightless’. The way the ambient sounds drifted into the background allowing me to focus more on my form and breathing had a massive impact on my running. The playlist is also great for yoga and meditation, as well as a good candidate for those of you who require calm, quiet focus, to get work done from home.

Electric Miles is my favourite playlist; exploring, arguably Miles Davis’ greatest and most experimental period. Starting with the epic 33 minute ‘Circle in the Round’; the playlist traverses five prolific years from 1968 to 1972, taking in such archetypal examples of Jazz Fusion as ‘In a Silent Way’ and ‘Bitches Brew’. Make some coffee, turn the lights down low, and lose yourself with Miles.

Sticking with Jazz, In a Silent Way is a contemplative mix of late night jazz to be enjoyed over dinner or with a glass of wine on a spring evening.

Finally, (A) Spoonful of Disney is perfect for the young at heart; sing along with and lighten the mood in these dark, sobering times.

You can find all of my playlists on Spotify.

Other people’s playlists…

One of the features of Spotify that I have enjoyed the most since I signed up is the rich network of music fans and artists who create and share playlists. Here are some playlists made by others that hit the spot.

I’ve been a fan of Merlin Mann for some time. Most people know him as the Inbox Zero guy. That seems like such a long time ago! He is, now, better known for his many podcasts, one of which I have listed below. He is a prolific music fan and the playlist: Merlin’s World of Music covers an extensive range of musical genres from the 60s through to the 00s. While there are a number of well known tracks, a significant portion of the playlist is made up of deep cuts and lesser known tunes.

I’m also a huge fan of electronic music; particularly that of Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin. This playlist by Pitchfork founder Ryan Schreiber highlights Richard David James’ piano playing. This is another good pick if you need to find focus when working from home. Also, if you love the 80s, Schreiber’s Poolside ’86 mix is ab-fab!

In hist most recent newsletter, Austin Kleon shared a fantastic series of “epic yearly survey playlists” by Fluxblog. We started with 1979 (the year I was born) on Friday. We are now part way through 1980. They are beautifully curated, seamlessly transitioning between moods and genres.

And some podcasts…

When I discovered the podcast Strong Songs, I was blown away. Kirk Hamilton’s analysis of the ‘strong songs’ he breaks down is deep and intricate. As a musician himself, he directs each track, exploring the nuances of melody, timing, key changes, musicianship and lyricism. To get started, I recommend the following episodes:

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
• “Moanin’” by Art Blakey
• “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin

There is also a Spotify playlist of the songs from season one of the podcast.

The next two podcasts feature the Labour politician Ed Miliband and radio presenter Geoff Lloyd. The first, Reasons to be Cheerful is a ‘podcast about ideas’. Started in September 2017, the podcast explores a diverse range of ideas that could help us tackle the biggest problems facing the world today. Their guests include experts, campaigners, academics and politicians from across the globe. It is thought provoking and a fantastic way to stay informed.

In addition to this, Ed and Geoff recently launched a spin-off show: Cheerful Book Club. Each week they interview an author about their writing and their lives.

Finally, Back to Work with Dan Benjamin and the aforementioned Merlin Mann is the original productivity podcast. I have listened to every single episode since the show launched in January 2011. Their chemistry is fantastic, and the podcast has remained fresh, covering topics as broad as project management, smart-home devices and parenting. You can jump right in or if you want to dip into the back catalogue, I recommend episodes #1, #5, #7 and #9 which introduce some of the long running themes and bits that have become an integral part of the show.

—

I hope that you find something in here that helps you navigate the coming weeks as we continue to face up to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stay strong!

First run in over a month, following a shoulder injury and some crazy weather!

It was delightful to be back out there. Sunshine, crisp fresh air and beautiful views.

Run because you can. Run for the pure, simple, joy of it! 🌞

Image by Jennifer Michie. ❤️

Less

• (cont.) spending time on ‘urgent but unimportant’ tasks
• tinkering with apps and organisational tools (I need to pick a system and stick to it)
• avoiding difficult / time-consuming tasks

More

• trying new foods and recipes
• rediscovering old music
• visiting new places
• mobility exercises and yoga
• (cont.) writing

None

• (cont.) looking at my mobile phone when people are talking to me (still trying to make this stick!)
• saying yes to projects or ideas that will only have short-term or limited impact (aiming for a year of quality not quantity)