I find both summer and Christmas to be great periods to think through what you will make of the coming 6 months. With this, I want to share how I think about the fall, and perhaps some of you give your fall an extra thought or two. I encourage you to have the ambition to make this fall the best 6 months in your life so far. Wouldn’t that be great? Also, I really hope that you will find this positively challenging instead of stressing out about what you will make of the fall. You are amazing.

I’ve structured my thinking for the fall in five dimensions:

Physical – Take care of your body, because it drives both your ability to perform as well as your wellbeing

Physical high-pulse exercise minimum 3 times/week for minimum 30 min – If you haven’t read Hjärnstark (Eng: The Real Happy Pill) by Anders Hansen I strongly suggest you do so.

Sleep minimum 7h/night – I can highly recommend this talk by Matthew Walker: “Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams” on YouTube.

Eat what is super healthy and/or super great tasting, not too much and pescetarian – I always skip the non-healthy food and sweets that anyways aren’t that great tasting. When I eat something less healthy, I prefer something super great tasting. Also, there are so many super great tasting things that are healthy and good for you.

Mental – Develop your brain and focus on the most important things at work, because that drives motivation and reduces stress

Pick minimum one big thing you will learn more about this fall as part of your lifelong learning – In my case I will research the field of how people learn as well as the field of intuitive design

Identify a few (max 3) big bets at work – Many people spread themselves way too thin at work, trying to do too much, which makes them end up doing lots of small things that don’t move the needle. If we all spend more time really thinking through what will move the needle, we will invest our energy much more wisely and actually work less, not more. This is a big one that I’ve made great progress on the last years and it has transformed the way I approach work.

Social – Grow your relationships, because well-working relationships is what drives wellbeing the most

Be present with my family and friends – When I get home from work I put my mobile phone away charging and I try not to use it until it’s time for the children to go to bed. The same goes when I’m with friends, then I’m with them and not with my phone. I also try to call a friend every day (different ones, not the same 😉 as well as dating my wife, have various retreats with each of my children individually and meet up regularly with friends.

Societal – Help others outside of your family and friends, because that builds a better society for everyone

Helping others is the right thing to do, and also very rewarding to you as a person. In my case I have one person whom I try to help piece her life together after a long period of destructive behavior. I’m also trying to take on mental health nationally in Sweden. I’m also researching the situation of Romani people in Sweden to conclude what the best help is to them with the goal of rolling something out before Christmas. I’m also contributing to various causes financially. Check for example out Pick1Think.com to start thinking about what you want to engage in.

Values – Because what you do as well as how you do them matter

To explain the power of values in a short way, check out this video on YouTube by Dr Russ Harris around the happiness trap. My values above around WHAT I invest my energy in (physical, mental, social and societal) I complement with the following five values around HOW I go about doing it:

Be true to my word – Never ever lie and honour my commitments

Try my best – It’s when I feel the best

Always ask for forgiveness when I fail – Everyone fails, it’s what you do when you fail that matters

Be kind – It just makes the world a bit more fun

Think big – In most cases there is a bigger idea hiding around the corner

With this, I encourage you to have a think about how you can make this fall the best 6 months in your life so far.

With love

Johan