Happy New Year! I hope you had a fantastic, restful, and warm holiday. And by warm I'm not talking about the temperature, I'm talking about the time you spent with family and friends, no matter if it's in the 80's like in Los Angeles or 40 below like in Wisconsin where my parents live (I picked the right year to stay home). I spent an entire week completely off the grid and it was bliss. It was the best stay-cation ever spent with family and friends...and a lot of time goofing around with my kids. Probably the highlight of the week was playing at "DojoBoom," a new trampoline park and indoor obstacle course where we got to meet American Ninja Warrior superstar Kevin Bull! In my first newsletter of the new year I'd love to tell you all about what to expect from Optimize Yourself in 2018, but before doing so I want to focus on your dreams and aspirations, because helping you design the optimized version of you is the whole point of this program. January 1st is traditionally when most people begin to make "resolutions," but if you've been keeping up with my emails and podcasts, you know I'm not a big fan of making resolutions. Instead of vague resolutions like, "I want to get healthy," I set concrete goals and create daily habits, and I teach others to do the same in my online programs. Furthermore, I'm not starting to design my roadmap for 2018 today. I've already been working on it for weeks and today I hit the ground running. Plans have been made. Calendars are created. Budgets have been calculated. Now it's time to Get. Things Done. Whether or not you've already begun designing your optimized version of 2018 or not, I want to jumpstart your progress by helping you create (and stick with) your first healthy habit that will lead you closer to reaching your goals this year. » Click here to join the (FREE) 21-Day Healthy Habits Challenge What to expect in 2018 I will be making a few changes to the program this year as it evolves and grows, and I have high expectations for what I can achieve. Here's what's on the roadmap: 1) Expect a lot more articles (and less podcasts) Since beginning this program four and a half years ago (when it began as 'Fitness In Post') I always prioritized the podcast before anything else. This year that will change. Having now done over 150 interviews with experts in a wide range of fields all of the world, I've provided you with hundreds of hours of free content all of which is available to you on the site as well as iTunes. What I've learned, however, is that listening to podcasts is a commitment. And given that I prefer my interviews to be in-depth and over an hour long, that means so many people miss out on the lessons in this program because they don't have the time to listen. Therefore my #1 goal for this program this year is to reignite the blog and write more. Given that I'm still working a demanding full-time job editing a tv series and want to spend quality time with my family, if I'm going to write more articles on a regular basis, the podcast has to become a lower priority. To be clear, I'm not quitting the podcast. But I will be releasing fewer interviews (probably 2-3 per month). The idea is to release one new piece of content per week - sometimes a new podcast interview, and sometime an in-depth blog article. That way even if you only have 5 or 10 minutes free you can still skim an article and take away a few pointers that will help you improve the quality of your life with less of an investment of your time. 2) It's time to FOCUS Yourself 2018 is the year when 'Focus Yourself' becomes a reality. This will be an 8-week online learning program that will walk you through every single detailed step of how I prioritize, manage, and execute everything in my life. This will not be yet another productivity program that simply demonstrates the HOW, e.g. 'Learning Omnifocus' this will be an in-depth look at the science of focus, creative flow, and productivity and teach you WHY focus is so important, WHAT you need to be doing every day to maintain your focus, and then ultimately the HOW as well with tutorials on everything from inbox zero and managing social media to organizing your calendar and to-do list with Trello and Omnifocus, just to name a few small things. Expect the first round of beta enrollment to open up in February or March. » Click here to add your name to the waitlist and get a steep discount 3) 'Trello Made Easy' Is Coming... You've asked for it, and this year I'll be delivering it: A comprehensive look at how to use Trello from the ground up. This will be my next online course for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) titled 'Trello Essentials Training' designed for beginners unfamiliar with the brilliance of Trello. This will be different than my "Trello For Video Post-Production" course and apply to a much broader range of uses. Expect this course mid-year. I have high expectations for this year, and I hope you do as well. Because life is no fun living it within your comfort zone. Outside your comfort zone is where the magic really happens. Be well. Zack Arnold Creator, Optimize Yourself P.S. For the highest achievers on my list, if you're interested in challenging yourself and working with me 1-on-1, I still have one slot open for my 'Optimize Yourself Elite' coaching & mentorship program. Email me at contact (at) optimizeyourself (dot) me if you're interested in working with me over the next three months and achieving your biggest goal of 2018. Featured image courtesy of Nicolas Tissot on Unsplashed.com