"Simplify Strategically" - Jan. 2025 Life Recap

For people who, like me, like to snoop on others' lives.

Feb 04, 2025

With the world deep in discussion about the trade-offs of social media, I’ll keep throwing in my two cents, which are… It’s pretty freeing not using it much lately!

But I did love my 2024 experiment of sharing a monthly recap on the grid as a piece of my monthly reflection/planning. (You can find them saved on my profile highlights.)

On the first Tuesday of the month, I plan to share my monthly recap right here on Substack. I’m SO curious if seeing my process inspires any thoughts in you, so please shoot me a message or a leave a comment if it does!

January’s Recap

January’s theme was: “Simplify Strategically”

Big wins: Ski Day Mondays (big mental health boost!), hosting 3 comedy shows with a pro who came to town, a triple header escape room day with friends, a solid start with a new business coach, and feeling CALM (in a relative sense, but hey!)

Challenges: Balancing all the sports (more on bike training below), feeling the stress of the sheer amount of time put into a passion project (For The Love Of Podcast), and ummmm all the devastating political news (but which is fueling my fire to keep adding positive impact to my communities)

January’s experiment: Not drinking alcohol all month! I typically feel okay with my alcohol consumption, but this holiday season I started to fatigue with how much was around me. Through January, a set of criteria formed in my brain around how I’d like to be more intentional with drinking. Playing around with this: When debating whether to have a drink, I’ll ask myself 4 questions, and must say “yes” to at least 3 of them to decide. Q1: Do you actually crave this drink right now? Q2: Is this a celebration or holiday? Q3: Do you not have a “big day” tomorrow? Q4: Have you not had more than X (not sure yet) drinks this week?

Core 4 and Angie 3.0 progress: Stoked on both the qualities and the behaviors outlined here. For January, I went 27/31 on breakfasts, 24/31 on out by 11, 14/31 on check-out routine (it will help to clarify what the routine actually is), and 9/31 on rambles (it will help to stack that behavior with an existing habit). YAY FOR ME for scoring a high average across the board on my Angie 3.0 qualities, especially for the Calm one!

Bike race training progress: TBH I am stressed AF with this one. The cut-off times seem so tough to make… On my last long ride I got SO down on myself mentally, which I rarely feel in sports. But today I’m chatting with a coach so I can get some more experienced perspective! My biggest ride was a blast— 35 miles with 4,000’ of gain!

Best thing I spent money on: My business coach! This is quite an investment but I could tell almost immediately it’d pay off. She does Voxer coaching so I can chat with her via voice memo whenever, which is key for me since set meetings are a big stressor right now.

Worst thing I spent money on: While in Bellingham, WA and not drinking, I spent $12 on a tea and a hop water at a brewery then stood outside on the cold dog patio shivering as I tried to chug it. NOT the vibe.

Newly released: Way more Angie-specific stuff coming in February, but FTLO aired: How a Former Olympian Evolved Her Career Over Decades of Pro Snowboarding and The Journey of Addiction and Falling in Love with Recovery.

February’s Focus

February’s theme is: “What’s the minimum success?”

I’m excited for: A trip to Taiwan and Okinawa! The launch of an incredible podcast for a favorite client (I think you’ll love it…).

I’m looking for:

Brands who want to support the Wild Woman Trail Runs (yes, I’m now co-directing a race)! Tell a running or other biz you love to reach out!
Podcast hosts who want to have me on as a guest. There are a few coming out later this month I’m stoked on. Help me keep momentum by telling me what women’s focused show I should connect with?

Work together: