My Favorite Week: How I Use Rhythms and Rituals in My Entrepreneurial Life

Motivation

Dec 19

My favorite week of the year is the last week of the year. About five years ago, I realized that I could act myself into clarity and inspiration by crafting rhythms and rituals for myself. Up until that point, I had created an entrepreneurial life that was go go go, and then I found the power of stillness, simplicity, and refocus.

So why is my favorite week the last week of the year?

1. I like to look forward to things.

+ If the last week of the year is my favorite, then I have something to look forward to all year long.

2. There is an anticipation of newness in the air.

+ The coming new year allows me to tap into an optimism that is more tangible than I can often find other weeks of the year.

3. I can find extra margin.

+ I have the chance to work on things that I’ve been putting off and/or not had the time for.

4. I’m able to slow down.

+ I’m able to be a bit more still and present as it feels like “all of us” are taking things a bit slower this week and not running full speed ahead.

By embracing specific rhythms and rituals in the last week of the year, I put myself in a position of health.

I like these definitions of rhythms and rituals.

Rhythms: strong, regular, repeated pattern
Rituals: the tangible acts that point to or are monuments within the overall rhythm

Sidebar on rituals:

A ritual doesn’t have to be “woo woo.” It can be the “proper level of woo” (shout out Rob Bell). A definition of ritual that I like is “an act or series of acts regularly repeated in a set precise manner.” The ritual elevates the moment by allowing the environment to feel or recognize something. Sometimes the best way to feel something is to act yourself into the feeling. It’s kind of like the Nike “Just Do It” concept. Nike didn’t choose “Just Wait Till You Feel Like It.” A ritual is that tangible act that should lead you to some desired state.

For my favorite week of the year, my desired state is appreciation, hopefulness, and restoration.

Here are some of my rituals or traditions that I like to incorporate into my favorite week of the year:

Building fires in either the fireplace or outside fire pit
Slow food -- Cooking food that takes a bit more time to make: smoker, South African style potjie, dutch oven homemade soup, etc.
Working out
Hiking
Family movie nights
Reading
Setting goals
Tidying up (the house, as well as my digital life)
Working “on my business” more than “in my business”

If I were to give a word that embodies the theme of the week, I think it would be “present.” Being present, being here now, and slowing down. It sounds rejuvenating, doesn’t it?

I think that stillness creates new perspective.

I hope you can lean into some of the magic that the last week of the year has for you.

To be still

To refocus

To dream big

To work on yourself

To find joy in the simple

To work on your business

To prioritize the important people in your life

I came across a book a while back by Daniel H. Pink called When. In it, he talks about how timing matters. That the “when” something takes place actually impacts its outcome. The “when” can stack the deck in your favor if you know how to use patterns of the day or the year to your advantage. One fact that stuck out to me is that he said the age that most people run their first marathon is likely to be the last year of a decade for their age. When they are 29, 39, 49, etc., because of the temporal landmark that is looming.

Endings call us to action. Endings help us level up. Endings help us cut through the noise.

You may have a business in an industry where it is difficult to slow down this week because client and customer demands are high at the end of the year. Yet, you still can tap into the power of an ending.

Find a rhythm and some rituals for this ending that is approaching.

Cook a meal.

Build a fire.

Read a book.

Go for a walk.

Watch an old movie.

Clean the garage.

Get on the Peloton.

Do a puzzle.

Life can be full, crazy, hard, and all the things. As the years have gone on, I have leaned more and more into this annual rhythm. I’ve gotten better at letting it overflow and spill into other weeks of the year, too.

Here’s to slowing down, if even for just a week.