Before we get into the second question, let me remind you again that you don't have to be precious or orderly or organized with these questions. You don't even have to try to answer any of them. They're more for those of you who need a little clarity and trying to identify what's working. And we do this anyway, because we care about today. We care about who we are right now in this life we live in. We care about remembering that we do actually have things in life that are working. We can find our way out of early January discouragement of all we want to change. Instead, we're going to name what's working. So use these questions if they help. All right, the second question you might ask is, what do I like about this? Let's keep joy and pleasure and ease in mind here. What do you like about this thing that's working? Taking a lunch break every day works so well for me because it solves the problem of not always slowing down on purpose. What do I like about it? Well, I like food. So there's that. It's nice that it's lunchtime. But I also like that there are no expectations for me for that lunch hour that I take. I can eat and watch a show or eat and read a book or eat and sit on my porch in silence for a few minutes before going inside to watch a show or read a book. I like that I can do what I need to do in the moment, but whatever I choose is genuinely enjoyable to me. Name what you will like about a thing that's working. Put some meat on its bones as to why. It gives it more staying power and personal enjoyment that way. Remember, perspective really matters here. And a third question you might ask to help you understand what's working is, how does this make me feel like myself? Not everything might, and that's fine. But in order to slowly nurture an integrated life that is rooted in your own humanity and what matters most to you in your season, it's not a ridiculous thing to consider how your decisions and rhythms and systems make you feel like yourself. You might say this thing makes me feel calm, which keeps me from going outside of myself in a rage. This thing makes me feel creative, even though I'm doing something mundane because I'm doing it in a unique way that's working for me. You see what I mean? Also, a lot of you often ask me how to figure out what makes you feel like yourself. Sometimes I think we put too much pressure on that question or on the feeling. When something makes you feel like yourself, it might not be the most happy, fulfilled, unicorns and rainbows version of yourself. You might feel like yourself because of the house rule, no piles on the kitchen island. Visual clutter might take you out of yourself. So visual tidiness, especially in commonly used spaces like the kitchen, makes you feel more connected to yourself. It doesn't have to be technicolor to count. So three questions that could help give a little insight into why something is working are what problem is this solving? What do I like about this? And how does this make me feel like myself? Now, you might be ready to start naming this in your life, but you might feel a little scattershot about it. You're a pinball within the machine of your life, just like freely associating what's working as one idea pings into another. And that's honestly a great way to do it. This does not have to be a detailed homework assignment. It's ultimately, it's just a posture. Just name what's working. Look for what's working. Don't focus so hard on what's not. So ping away. If you want to ping, ping. Now, if you'd like to be a bit more methodical or you would enjoy a new way of looking at the areas in your life so you don't miss anything, even though you totally will, here are three categories that you could consider. Time of day, regular events, and rooms in your house. Now, these are broad on purpose. They're simply doors you can walk through to kind of help you notice and narrow your focus on what you would like to notice. So category one, the time of day, all right? Mornings, mid-morning, if you're home with tiny humans, after school, transitioning from work to home, dinner, bedtime routine, evenings, et cetera, et cetera. Start your thinking at one time of day and just look around. You can even live in it. Like tomorrow morning, pay attention to what's working. What do you see that's solving a problem? What do you see that you like? What do you see that makes you feel like yourself or makes someone else in your home feel like themselves? Being present at a certain time of day or using your imagination and memory for that particular time of day, it can help you notice what's working. Category two, regular events. What tasks or events or activities happen on a regular basis? Meals, meals are very regular. Carpool or commuting, regular meetings, decide once gatherings like messaging friends while you're waiting for your groceries to be loaded into your car or like actually going grocery shopping with a friend every Tuesday or whatever it is. Look on your calendar if you use one or just pay attention to the regular things in life and notice what's working in there. And then category three is rooms in your house or rooms in your life. Different rooms have different functions. So literally walking into a room in your home, it can help you notice what's working there. There could be decorating decisions or cozy decisions that make you really happy. Maybe you think of tasks that are often done in that particular room. You know, what about cleaning that specific room? Walk into a room in your house, pause and ask yourself, what's working in here? What happens in here that's working? What do I like about this room? What do I like about what happens in this room? These can be physical rooms in your own home, but they can also be like your car or your desk at work or any physical space you spend time in. What's working here? So those are the three rules, three questions and three categories. The three rules are the smaller, the better. Working doesn't mean perfect. And now isn't forever. When you're naming what's working, keep those three things in mind. The three questions that might help you identify why something is working are what problem is this solving? What do I like about this? And how does this make me feel like myself? And then the three categories that could help you narrow your focus are times of day, regular events, and rooms in your home and life. So what do you do now? The point of these ideas is not to fix things. In fact, it's the opposite. We are noticing what's working so that we stop the spin out of thinking that everything isn't. This time of year has us in our heads about fresh starts and big changes. And again, while those are totally fine, begin where you are. Begin with what's working. Celebrate it. Notice it. So often when we see how many things might be working, we calm down a little about what isn't. So even though you could, in theory, go through your entire life with the three rules in mind and ask all three of those questions, I don't think that's necessary. That's not starting small anyway. Pay attention to the area of your life that has the biggest pull for you to make it better. Stay in that place and instead name what's working. Be where you are. Be kind about the things already in place. Refresh your perspective on the things in your life that do in fact solve your problems, things that you like, that make you feel like yourself. Be who you are and where you are today. You're doing great. If you'd like a peek into what's working for me on a really practical level, episode 349 is called 10 Small Changes I'm Glad I Made. And then episode 366 is 20 Helpful I keep repeating. Those are practical, practical lists of what's working in my life. And many of them have been working for years. The tiny solutions, the small changes, the decisions you make once that still work. Those are the parts of a steady system that you don't have to keep starting over on. So be where you are. Notice what's happening today. Celebrate the changes you've made. The smaller, the better. Working doesn't mean perfect and now isn't forever. That's how we start a new year. Let's name what's working. One thing I know a lot of you do at the end of December and the beginning of January is to reread The Lazy Genius Way. I mentioned that last week. I love that y'all do that. It's something that works for you, and it's humbling and fun for me. So thank you. Having a refresher on the 13 Lazy Genius Principles as you're going into a new year, it really is helpful. If you have never read my first book, The Lazy Genius Way, it dedicates a chapter to each of the 13 lazy genius principles. Decide once, start small, ask the magic question, live in the season, build the right routines, set house rules, put everything in its place, let people in, batch it, essentialize, go in the right order, and be kind to yourself. It's the little engine that could book, just plugging along, still selling copies over four years later. If you've never read it, but you have thought about it, now is a really good time to do it. I read the audiobook, so if that's more your speed to listen as you're like taking down holiday decorations, or going for wintry walks, or trying to keep your children entertained before school goes back, give it a shot. I think you'll enjoy it. This is also an excellent time of year to read the plan. It's all about compassionate time management, helping you rewire your thinking from optimization and greatness and making the most out of your time to just being a grounded whole person right where you are. Being okay with some things being great and others just being mid. It's practical, permission giving and full of pep talks to get you through any January chaos you might experience. I read that audiobook too. But I think for the plan, you'll be so glad you have the physical copy. So thanks for reading my books and supporting my work, y'all. It means a lot. Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genius of the week. This week, it's Ashley Eidson with a super interesting approach to holiday gift giving that actually matters a little right now at the beginning of the year. Ashley writes, every year, my husband and I save up our credit card rewards across a few different cards, and we don't spend them all year. Then when it is Christmas time, the amount we have in rewards is our budget.