Someone once told me that the overall outcome of your year is hinged on the twin months of February and March… That is to say, getting these two months right increases your chances of having a successful year while falling off the train at this “pivotal point” might just be the beginning of your downhill slide. While this is yet proven and highly debatable, there seems to be a logical perspective to this claim.

The month of January is often characterized by a high level of optimism and enthusiasm, and everyone is pumped to smash their new year goals. So everyone is on the move, at least for the first few days or weeks of the year. Soon, the adrenaline begins to wane and the true, or should I say false resolve is exposed.

Some rules and numbers…

The 80/20 Rule

According to research by Strava, only about 20% of everyone with new year’s resolutions at the start of the year make it past January. 80% bail on their goals before the second week of February.

The 80/20 rule seems to find expression in this. In applying this rule, the 20% that make it through January are likely to achieve 80% or more of their goals while the 80% that flunk out in January might only manage to hit 20% or less of their goals.

The 21/90 Rule

Another statistical backing that makes the opening claim seemingly legit is based on the 21/90 rule — Yeah, there are a lot of such rules out there:)

“It takes 21 days to build a habit and 90 days to build a lifestyle”.

The 21/90 Rule

Most goals, if not all, can only be achieved on the back of the right habits. The 21/90 rule explains that it takes 21 days to create these necessary habits and 90 days to make them a solid part of our lives. That’s about the span of 3 months, which is also the same as the first quarter of the year. This explains how vital the months of February and March are in making or marring our year. (I feel like a genius! Lol)

However, as much as the arguments above seem logically correct, I’d advise you to take them with a pinch of salt. I strongly believe it is possible to reinvent one’s self at any point in life. All it takes is a concrete decision and the will to work out a change. Every new day is a clean slate and you get to write on it what you desire.

My Quarter in a Glimpse

College

For most of this quarter, I’ve been out here trying to graduate from college. I’d be the first to admit that I did underestimate the workload that came with this final lap when we resumed back in September. Consequently, I was blindsided when the rubber did hit the road and I’m kinda playing catchup.

Anyways, I’m giving it my best while counting down to the finish line in summer.

Books I’m Reading.

With a lot of academic reading waiting to be done, this part has slightly suffered. I try to squeeze out some pages in-between activities though. I discovered that I spend a lot of time on commute throughout the day, so instead of aimlessly scrolling through social media on the bus, I’m learning to do more reading on the go. You’d be surprised how much you can cover per ride.

My reading goal for 2021 is to hit at least 30 books by the end of the year. Currently on the 5th and 6th simultaneously and I’ll most likely be taking them into April. My pace is not as fast as I would love, but on a broader scale of events, I believe it’s good enough.

Other Things I’m up to

I’m yet to kick off on most of my personal projects for the year yet, with some in the budding stages. The only one actively on course right now is this blog space and I consider it a big win to have consistently made entries in here every single week.

As for the other projects, I’ll keep giving updates as they unfold:)

Going Forward.

April rolls around in a few days, officially launching us into the second quarter of the year. As always, the goal is the same. Grow constantly, Learn continually. What you currently know is not all there is… There’s so much more that we don’t know. There’s even much more that we don’t know that we don’t know.

And in case you’re feeling stuck at any point and for whatever reason, it’s not too late to get the wheels going again. There’s still a lot of time to intentionally create the year you desire.

How is your 2021 shaping up?