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- Multiply your fresh starts
The best time to plant a tree was 27 years ago.
The second best time is now.
— Unknown
Yesterday, I turned 27. I’ve always preferred using birthdays over New Year’s as milestones for change—it feels more meaningful, more personal.
January 30th is my day.
It resonates more to say, I want 2025 my 27th year to be the year of…XXX.
On that note, I recently listened to Tim Ferriss’ podcast with Greg McKeown, best known as the author of Essentialism. They discussed New Year’s resolutions, and I really connected with Greg’s perspective.
He views moments like January 1st as opportunities for a “fresh start.” While many people mock New Year’s resolutions—citing the classic example of someone starting the gym on January 1st and quitting a week later—Greg frames even short-lived efforts as successes:
And if it was seven days, well, that was great because that was seven days you wouldn’t have done otherwise.
He calls moments like these temporal landmarks and suggests that instead of dismissing them, we should seek out more of them. Birthdays, the first day of a new quarter, or even your children’s birthdays—any significant date—can serve as a fresh start.
Think of it this way: if you identify 12 temporal landmarks throughout the year and use each one to build a habit—even for just seven days—that’s nearly a quarter of the year spent working toward your goals. Not bad, right?
You want to increase the number of these you have in 2025 so that you have lots of what’s called the fresh start effect. You want lots of fresh start effects supporting you in getting to the new you. So I think yes, celebrate. If it’s seven days, great. If it’s two weeks into January and you’re still doing that new thing, fantastic. Build in the next one.
Greg also emphasizes the power of small, consistent steps over overwhelming, ambitious goals. For instance, if you want to read more, don’t aim to finish a book a week. Instead, start with a single page a day. Focus on building momentum and repetition rather than overwhelming yourself with lofty targets.
And what normally happens with journals is the exact opposite. First day, people write three pages, and by day two […] they’re like, “I don’t have an hour for this.” And so then they go, “Oh, I’ll do it tomorrow.” And then day three, now they’ve got to do two hours in their mind, and so it’s over before they’ve begun.
Now that January is coming to an end, maybe you’ve already “failed” at your New Year’s resolutions. If so, remember two things:
This was just your first temporal landmark. You’ll have many more opportunities for fresh starts in 2025.
Perhaps your goals were too ambitious. Try simplifying them to avoid procrastination and give yourself room to succeed.
— James
Tools & Websites
News Feed Eradicator is a browser extension that hides social media feeds from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms. I've been using it for years, and it works wonders.
Bioregions Map is a One Earth project that visualizes Earth through natural borders instead of human-drawn ones, highlighting distinct bioregions.
Pieter.com is Pieter Levels' personal website. It runs a virtual Windows 3.11 PC in your browser—pure art, if you ask any developer ↓
James’ Library
Book | I haven't read it yet but it's been on my list for a while, as I've heard only good things about it. Essentialism by Greg McKeown is about focusing only on what truly matters, eliminating the non-essential, and making deliberate choices to live and work more meaningfully and effectively. The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the nonessentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage. In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless. |
Article | Super interesting blog post from Adam Mastroianni, aka Experimental History, which explores how the human mind often substitutes easy questions for hard ones, leading to biases and mistakes. HARD QUESTION: HOW IS THE ECONOMY DOING? EASY QUESTION: IS MY SIDE IN CHARGE? […] In fact, I don’t even need three data points. I can judge the state of the economy with a single fact: if my guy’s in the Oval Office, I feel decent. If my enemy is in there, I feel despondent. This is apparently what everybody else is doing, because you can watch these feelings flip in real time:  |
…Aesthetic Corner…
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The Touch Mouse by Lofree is a sleek, retro-inspired wireless mouse designed with a minimalist aesthetic and ergonomic features. Simply stunning.
Marius Kindler is an industrial designer who sketches like a god. I'm in awe at each new post he makes, definitely worth a follow.
Sustainable Living
Fancy living in a shipping container? Tamsin O’Neill and Tom Bodycomb, founders of Green Magazine, turned this unconventional idea into a sustainable family home along the Great Ocean Road near Melbourne. Designed with the help of Tamsin’s sister and Cantilever Interiors, their 115-square-metre prefabricated home blends seamlessly with the surrounding woodland. Its muted cork interiors, clever joinery, and minimalist design maximize functionality while staying connected to nature.
Sustainability is at the heart of this project. The house uses passive design to regulate temperature, with sun exposure in winter, retractable awnings in summer, and multiple layers of insulation. Double-glazed windows and an energy-efficient heat pump reduce consumption, while a heat recovery ventilation system maintains air quality. Powered by an 8.5kW solar panel array and 11.4kWh battery storage, the home meets nearly all its energy needs, including charging an electric vehicle.
This compact home proves that less can truly be more. By prioritizing functionality and environmental responsibility, Tamsin and Tom have created a low-impact, self-sufficient retreat that sits quietly in its idyllic surroundings, offering both comfort and sustainability.
Friends of James
Beehiiv — the powerhouse behind all my newsletters, helping me craft, design, grow my audience, and monetize effortlessly.
Notion — my go-to tool for the last 6+ years, where I store all my notes, manage tasks, and essentially run both my life and businesses.
Webflow — the engine behind all my websites, letting me design, build, and launch seamlessly without code.
Make — the tool that runs my business on autopilot, handling all recurring and time-consuming tasks
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