Do you know what month it is?
Not literally. Of course you know what month it is.
I mean…do you know what month it is?
We’re nearly a third of the way through 2026. And for a lot of people, the goals they set in January are exactly where they left them. Untouched.
You know what I mean. The diary’s full. The to-do list is long. But three months have gone by and the thing you actually wanted to do this year? Still not happening.
The antidote isn’t motivation or even a better system.
It’s a decision. A real one. Not the kind of thing you write down and forget about.
An actual, embarrassing-if-you-don’t-do-it commitment.
So this week’s newsletter is about that. The recommit. What it looks like, what gets in the way and a few things that actually help.
Resources to help with that
Toggl Track (free) https://toggl.com/track/
Simple, free time tracker. The value isn’t in the tracking, it’s in what you find out when you look back at a week and see where the hours actually went. Most people are surprised (including me). It’s useful in the same way that checking your bank statements is useful: occasionally uncomfortable but essential to get on top of things.
RescueTime (free plan) https://www.rescuetime.com/
This runs in the background and categorises where your computer time goes without you having to log anything. The free version gives you enough to see the patterns. If you’ve ever wondered where the day went, this tells you. Bluntly.
Super Productivity (free, open source) https://super-productivity.com/
A task manager with a built-in Pomodoro timer, time tracking and a daily work log, all in one app, all free and offline. It asks you at the end of each session what you actually got done. That question alone is worth the download.
Cold Turkey Blocker (free version) https://getcoldturkey.com/
The free version blocks websites and apps for a set time. Unlike most blockers, it actually means it – you can’t override it, uninstall it or work around it while it’s running. Good for the days when your willpower is flagging.
The Pomodoro Technique (the actual method) https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
The original write-up with downloads, not a listicle about it. 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes off. It’s old, it’s simple and it works. The reason it works isn’t the timer – it’s that it forces you to decide what you’re doing before you start.
“Eat the Frog” – Brian Tracy’s original essay https://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/the-truth-about-frogs/
The idea is old but the original source is worth reading. The frog is the thing you’re most tempted to postpone. The whole argument is that you should do it first, not because the morning is magical but because everything else feels easier once the hard thing is out of the way.
Focusmate (free plan) https://www.focusmate.com/
You’ve seen this in a previous roundup. It belongs here because it works and it’s relevant. Book a 50-minute session with a stranger, show up on video, say what you’re working on and work. The accountability is real in a way that accountability to yourself often isn’t. Three sessions a week free.
Streaks – habit tracking for iOS (paid, worth mentioning) https://streaksapp.com/
Not free but worth flagging. Tracks up to twelve habits, integrates with Apple Health and is built around the idea that you’re far less likely to break a visible streak than to break a vague intention. If you have an iPhone and care about follow-through, it’s a few bucks well spent.
“On Keeping a Notebook” – Joan Didion https://fs.blog/keeping-a-notebook/
A little different from the usual link but the reason we don’t get stuff done is often that we’re not honest with ourselves about what we actually want, as opposed to what we think we should want. Didion’s essay on why she kept notebooks is one of the sharpest pieces of writing I know on the difference between the story we tell about our lives and the truth of it.
Rize (free trial) https://rize.io/
Tracks your work automatically and gives you a Focus Quality Score across the day. You don’t have to do anything – it runs in the background and tells you how fragmented your attention actually was. Free trial worth doing if you want an honest read on your work patterns.
And a freebie from me
I put together a one-page reset for you to run through in five minutes. There are two parts – an honest look at where the last few months actually went and six questions to help you decide properly what the next six months are for. That’s a decision – not some resolution you’ll write down and forget.
This week’s TED talk
Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career – Larry Smith
Larry Smith is an economics professor who has spent thirty years watching bright people talk themselves out of the things they most wanted to do. This is fifteen minutes of the funniest, most uncomfortable truth-telling I’ve come across on a TED stage.
Let me leave you with this thought:
Most years (and even lives) don’t actually change because of what happens in January.
They change because of what you decide in May.
