What Has My Attention Right Now

What has my attention right now is what is serving me, not what is draining me.

Over the past few months, I’ve been on a journey with my brand designer to refresh my branding and website. At some point along the way, I gave myself a goal: Have the new site live by 1 January.

It felt symbolic. A clean entry into a new year.

But December had other plans.

I was hosting Christmas and New Year.

I wanted to be fully present with the people I love during those moments.

And very quickly, I realised I had a choice to make.

An artificial deadline, or the space to be present and make memories.

Being present won.

Which is why my first proper appearance on LinkedIn this year is happening on 16 January, not the 1st.

As the year began, I realised I needed quiet space.

Not to rush.

Not to perform a “fresh start”.

But to focus properly.

To build the site in a way that felt like me.

To clear the small, nagging to-dos that were creating noise in my head, and give my attention fully to creating something coherent and grounded.

I didn’t need the deadline.

I needed the space.

And once I let go of the arbitrary timeline, the work flowed more easily.

The decisions were clearer.

The result felt more aligned.

That decision to ignore the cultural pressure of “new year, new everything” and go with what felt right has stayed with me.

I suspect it’s going to set the tone for the year ahead.

There’s a principle in this that I think many of us ignore (sometimes consciously, sometimes not).

So much of our working lives are governed by deadlines imposed from the outside.

Some of those are real, important, and non-negotiable.

But some aren’t.

Some are inherited expectations we never stop to question.

The distinction comes down to intention.

How consciously we choose to spend our time.

What we decide matters now, and what can wait.

This past month, I chose the Christmas Eve ritual of making my mom’s trifle.

I chose hosting friends and family on Christmas Day.

I chose welcoming the New Year with people I love, watching fireworks from my balcony after making my (fast-becoming-legendary) baked cheesecake.

That’s where my attention went.

Not to getting a website live by an arbitrary date.

The internet was still there on 16 January.

LinkedIn was still there.

The work waited.

The memories and rituals of the festive period were worth the delay.

As I enter this year, I’m paying close attention to what genuinely deserves my energy. What supports me.

What sustains me.

And what sneakily drains me under the guise of urgency.