Morning prayer at 6:30. Exercise three times a week. Weekly date nights with Jan. Monthly financial review. Quarterly sabbath days.
By March, exactly two items remained. The rest? Gone.
This was years ago, back when I thought the problem was me. Not disciplined enough. Not committed enough. Not trying hard enough. I spent years in that cycle, making lists every January and quietly abandoning them by spring.
What finally changed wasn't my willpower. It was asking a different question: Why did some rhythms stick while others didn't?
That shift in thinking transformed how I coach leaders today. Because once I learned to look at failed rhythms as data instead of character flaws, everything changed.
Let me show you what I mean.
A few years ago, I started taking a supplement at dinnertime. Within a week, I was inconsistent. But instead of defaulting to "I'm undisciplined," I tracked the "why" behind each missed day. The pattern was obvious: out to dinner with Jan, at a friend's house for a meal, evening meetings. The supplement was on my kitchen table at home, and I wasn't there.
I got a small pill bottle, stuck it in my backpack, and suddenly I was consistent. The rhythm became effortless, not because I tried harder, but because I understood why it wasn't working.
This is what I've learned after years of coaching: failed rhythms aren't character flaws. They're data points. And December is the perfect time to collect that data.
I see this pattern constantly with clients. One leader tried implementing a morning routine from a podcast, but she has three kids under five. Another committed to Sunday planning sessions, but Sundays are his sacred rest day. Once they stopped judging and started investigating, they found what actually works. The leader with young kids discovered her car became her prayer space during the commute. The other moved planning to Friday afternoons.
Different rhythms. Same principle: Build for the life you're actually living, not the life you think you should be living.
Before you think about new rhythms for the year ahead, spend time with what already happened. What worked? What didn't? Why? Those answers will tell you more than any productivity framework.
Maybe your morning routine failed because mornings are chaos, but lunch breaks are quiet. Maybe you stopped going to the gym because what you really needed was walks outside. Maybe weekly planning didn't stick because you need daily check-ins instead.
The best foundation for new rhythms isn't more discipline. It's honest reflection about what actually works.
Edens View makes this easy for you! Our client portal allows you to set up tracking metrics and have a check-in text or email sent to you daily. No need to log in -- just a quick response including the "why." No friction, and data become information that leads to action and decision.
