2x2: I think I’ll read this book

Hello! Shawn here. And welcome to this week’s edition of the 2x2 Newsletter. Your premier Friday email for creative professionals and business owners like you who are doing the important work that matters while creating and protecting your free time to enjoy life. I’m so glad you’re here. Check this out 1: [Yesterday was special]( This week we [wrapped up the fall cohort of Focus Like a Boss]( (my flagship program for agency owners, freelancers, and consultants who want to run their full-time business on a part-time schedule). For me, I think the biggest highlight was watching Sonja, who runs a small PR Agency serving non-profits, and how she came into this program only having taken about 4 days of vacation all year. And now, she is plotting 6 weeks (!) of vacation onto her 2024 calendar. Let’s go! FYI: The January cohort is sold out, but if you’re interested in a possible alternative track (or the April cohort), hit reply and let me know. 2: What I’ll be reading next week I’ve been trying so hard to get through book 5 of the Red Rising series, [Dark Age]( for about 2 years. It’s an incredible series, but book 5 is not easy. What to do? Anyway… every holiday break I love to have a good novel to read, and a good friend recommended [Damascus Station]( and so that’s what I’ll be starting this weekend. I’ll keep you posted. Something to think about 1: Feel free to say no to your own ideasIt’s a challenge to have more ideas than time. But you don’t have to be a slave to all your ideas. You probably have lots of ideas that you want to do. But the existence of a good idea doesn’t mean you are obligated to spend time on it. Feel free to say no to your own ideas. Focus requires tradeoffs. 2: In Business: Build, Maintain, RestThere are three modes of being a business owner: - Building is doing work with the future in mind. - Maintaining is doing the work with today in mind. - Resting is taking time to pause from the work. There will be different times when the primary focus of your business trends more toward building, maintaining, or resting. I’d also suggest that you aim to be proactive with these as well: have regular pockets of time each week dedicated to these three modes. And, perhaps, even consider rest as one of the “big rocks” you account for first as you [plan your year](. * * * — Shawn P.S. If you’re wondering…. yes. We do have a Black Friday promotion in store for you. It’s one of the most (perhaps THE most?) aggressive promotions we have ever done. I’ll send you a preview next week on Tuesday, and then my team and I will open up the sale on Black Friday itself. Unlike a lot of small businesses that run their Black Friday promotion all month long, ours will ONLY be during the weekend. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday. So you’ll want to keep an eye out for it. 👋 Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you: 1: [Start with the]([free Focus Assessment]( to get your personalized roadmap to eliminate busywork, procrastination, and burnout. 2: Join 3,500 creative professionals who have declared their goals and reset their schedule to do more of the important work that matters. Get instant access to the [Focus Course](. 3: [Join our growing Membership community]( and get your all-access pass to our entire course library along with weekly accountability and ongoing workshops. (Recommended.) 4: Business Owners: Hit reply if you’re interested in running your full-time business on part-time hours. [In-Depth App Training for Power Users]( To unsubscribe, click [here](. Blanc Media, 714 Main St., Grandview, MO 64030, United States