Hello, hello, and welcome to today's podcast. Today we're talking about this gigantic calendar behind us — the one covering the wall. If you're watching, you get the drift; if you can't see it, it's the "Big A** Calendar." And the reason we're talking about it today is that we're at that time of year when so many people say, "I'm going to start this in the new year, January 1st. I'm going to get going." What we're here to do today is invite you to let go of that idea and start now.
So many people get disappointed with what they have or haven't done or planned, and we're hoping we can help you do a little better with the planning part — and see that, yes, you do have accomplishments, and yes, maybe you've got a lot going on, and maybe you need something else, or maybe you need fewer things going on.
The Three-Part Framework
This calendar comes from Jesse Itzler, who has a lot of events and ideas, and it's built around three things.
The first is a **misogi**, taken from a Japanese ritual — one big, hard undertaking. It might be super difficult, long, or expensive. There are different definitions of what counts as a big event, but the goal is to have one main event each year that you can always look back on and say, "That's the year that big thing happened." It's also about looking forward and planning for the future.
The second is having **many adventures** — say, six mini-adventures spread across the year, maybe every couple of months. For us, that could be a hunting trip, running races, or biking events around the country.
The third is incorporating a **winning habit four times a year** — every 90 days, work in a mini or winning habit. This is a piece we're just starting to incorporate this year; we haven't really done it consistently in the past. Consistency is the hard part, whether it's family dinners once a week, exercising more regularly, or something similar.
A Place for Everything
It's also a great place to record family events on a calendar this large — milestones, kids' milestones, appointments, and even recovery weeks between big events. The idea is that you do this ahead of time so you know what to expect and what's coming up. There are color-coded stickers, so you can get as organized as you like, and it really helps create excitement, build accountability, and align priorities.
The color-coding is my favorite part. I can walk by and see how many big trips we have, how many race events I'm going to fit in the year — that's all part of our lifestyle.
One of the main reasons we started using a calendar like this is that when you have a big goal — like running a marathon in all 50 states, which Mark is now down to only 10 left on — it takes a lot of coordination, because certain states only have races during certain months. Unless you want to run in the snow or the heat, it's good to plan those out. This really helps us be intentional about meeting our big goals and keeping our lives planned.
Better Together
Everybody gets busy, and if you have kids it's even harder to juggle. We like to use this as a couple. We live together, work together — all the things together — so it's great to sit down and get on the same page, whether it's for goals, activities, or appointments. Our health goals are what we use it for the most. You can see when a race is coming up and know when to start honing your training or when to recover.
We put our date nights up here, along with trips and even weekends where we want to unplug from technology. It's good to mark that time out so you can let your family know when you won't be reachable. It's also great for family goals — getting the kids, grandkids, or grandparents on the same page. And one piece we haven't used as much but intend to this coming year is business goals. When you plan your life intentionally, you can get your personal things on the calendar first and then fill in the business and work around them.
Avoiding Burnout
These things help us avoid burnout and any resentment. It helps us space out events, both physically — we don't want to do too many races or bike rides in a row — and mentally. Knowing what's coming helps you prepare and be less surprised. This year I was excited to have nothing planned in August. We said, "We are not putting anything here — we're going to stay home." It's nice to have nothing going on sometimes, because we can fill our lives up with a little too much activity. Managing expectations and surprises helps smooth the curves so there's less stress.
Even our CME and continuing-education meetings are nice to have on there, so we can see how many events we need to attend. And as a marriage-building piece, this is something we look forward to doing together. We write things down, connect, and understand each other's priorities and how we're supporting each other. We make room for the connection instead of just waiting for it to happen.
Motivation to Live Well
Looking back at our examples: our RAGBRAI ride — the big bike ride across Iowa — was our misogi this year. We also did the 29029 climbing event, which we covered in a separate podcast, plus a lot of local races. Knowing these big events gives us the motivation to train, sleep, and fuel better. We can't just go eat ice cream every night — we've got to keep our diet cleaner.
What we're trying to help people understand is the mindset of doing something about it instead of just drifting through life. Most people drift year to year, saying, "I wish I'd done that," or "I'm going to plan that next year." This gives us the motivation and encouragement to plan for these events — and it doesn't have to be an activity. It could be a getaway with your spouse or family, or a camping trip. It's good to be intentional. We're not looking for perfection; we're just looking for direction. And it's always up for change — that's the nice thing about the stickers. You can peel one off and move it to another week or month.
Build Your Own
I'm a visual person, so I love how visible this is. It's huge — about four feet by three feet — with roughly one line per month. We put it in our closet next to the clothing racks, so we walk by it multiple times a day, and it keeps everything in perspective.
You don't have to have a calendar this big. Just get started, even today, by brain-dumping what you think of for next year: adventures you want to take, health goals, learning goals, family time — and work the rest in. It's not just about sleep for health; it's also about rest. "Nothing" is not nothing — it's a good time for recovery, and that's where we get our repairs.
Choose your one big goal as a starting point — maybe it happens in March, maybe June — and move your six mini-adventures around that misogi. That big thing can be designed to be inexpensive; it doesn't have to cost a lot. Planning it lets you plan financially for the rest of the year, too. Then add your winning habits, and as you think about your goals, think about the actions that will actually get you there.
Start Now
We want to encourage everybody to take a look at your life and see what needs to happen. Once you do this and look back — or look ahead — it's like, "Wow, that's one big thing a year plus a half-dozen big adventures." Add that up over a lifetime and it gets significant. Don't wait around for the new year to make this calendar. Start it today so you can plan your year in advance. If you don't start, you're never going to finish. As we make these plans and set these goals, we can build momentum right now and hit the ground running.
Don't feel overwhelmed — you don't have to plan a whole year perfectly. The point is to start with a small step, the same way one small lifestyle change improves your overall health. Pick one big thing, put it in the year, and start filling in the gaps. Come back to it, knowing the stickers come off so you can change your mind.
You can really learn from the way you're living, too. One thing we've noticed this past year is that it used to be easy for us to buzz in and out for an event, and it's getting less comfortable to do that. So we plan a little rest and recovery on either side of what we do. There's nothing worse than getting back from travel and being up at 6 a.m. the next morning, back to work — that's fatiguing. As you learn, you can change and adapt.
All this planning helps reduce stress, improve your energy and mood, and strengthen your relationships and connection. It also helps you say no — when something comes up on a weekend you've already intentionally planned for yourself, you can say, "I'm sorry, I've already committed to myself to do this other thing." We've had weddings we committed to and skipped events for, and it's nice to have that downtime protected.
If anyone's interested in this kind of calendar, we can put a link in the show notes. Otherwise, we hope everybody will try to get a little more connection, plan themselves out a bit, reduce stress, and be a little happier with healthier living. We hope you enjoyed today's conversation about our personal calendar. Have a healthy day.