TEN STEPS THAT MADE 2025 MY BEST YEAR
- James Rule
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
At the end of 2024, one message wouldn’t leave me alone: Practice what you preach.
I spend my working life helping leaders find clarity, build resilience, drive performance, and enhance fulfilment. I advocate reflection, action and the creation of momentum.
As I reviewed 2024 I was conscious that there were areas of my own life where I was drifting. Not failing, just… underperforming. It felt suboptimal. I was not practicing what I preach.
So at the start of 2025, I committed to ten simple steps which I am sharing in this edition. I want to stress that in isolation these are not ground breaking. I have not reinvented the wheel but therein lies the positive. These are not revolutionary, but they have transformed my performance, my mindset and the fulfilment I have derived from this year!
Below is a brief summary of the steps I took. If you want to enjoy a more comprehensive exploration of them please enjoy the associated The Lonely Leader Podcast via the links at the foot of this article.
As 2025 draws to a close I hope they inspire you to reflect on the year and consider what steps you can take to make 2026 your best year ever.
1) A full news ban
Radio. TV. Social media. Online.The constant doom and gloom was draining my mindset, energy, creativity, and presence. I ran a one month experiment. The world didn’t stop turning but I felt lighter, calmer. I was more present, focussed and productive, so I kept going. I have stayed away from the news for an entire year.
2) I removed another “quick check” habit
For me, it was reading sports reports and articles online. Your equivalent might be social media, shopping sites, travel browsing, endless WhatsApp threads. I hear everyday that immortal line... "I don't have time" BUT we do have time we just fail to allocate it to the things that really matter. Step 1) and 2) really hammered that point home to me.
3) I replaced the time leak with a reward
Golf is my passion. It provides exercise and being outside in nature is a invaluable reset for my mindset. With the time saved from 1) and 2) I booked an extra round of golf every week because it forced accountability. If I kept scrolling and added golf too, something would break. So I held the line and did not drift back into reading news, and having a quick check on sporting websites. The more I enjoyed my golf the easier it became to stay disciplined.
4) Sleep became a priority
I stopped telling myself “I don’t sleep well” and started acting like someone who wants to sleep well. The 3-2-1 rule helped:
3 hours before bed: Stop eating.
2 hours before bed: Stop working.
1 hour before bed: No more screens.
10pm lights out became my target with the same 6am wake up time every day. The results made a massive difference to my resilience, energy, and mindset.
5) I reduced alcohol
I did not go teetotal. I simply became more intentional. If sleep is the priority, the habit had to change. I stopped drinking six nights out of seven but enjoyed a few drinks on a Saturday night.
6) I anchored a proactive morning routine
Reading is a passion of mine, it relaxes me and feeds my need for growth and learning. In 2024 the habit had become sporadic so I anchored in 30 minutes reading every morning (with a coffee) before the house wakes up. It facilitated a completely different way to start a day.
7) Presence non negotiables
I recognise how quickly time flies and how limited our time with our children is and yet I found work bleeding into family time all too frequently. I implemented some simple non negotiables.
A bedtime story every night with my youngest. Playing table tennis after school and walking the dog with both of my daughters each day. Implementing these simple steps consistently facilitated a big shift in connection.
8) Journaling and tracking
Ticks, tallies, simple accountability. Momentum loves measurement. I started to track these steps and the more I could see my progress mapped out on paper the more determined I became to maintain them.
9) Press ups and planks
I was frustrated at my physical health and fitness. So I took the first steps and committed to sets of press ups and planks every single morning. As the year progressed my consistency allowed the numbers to increase. The progress I felt from this simple step was the catalyst for starting to jog more frequently.
10) NET time discipline
We all experience dead time in the car, commuting, waiting around for appointments. I am as guilty as anyone of making my default response to pick up my phone and start scrolling.
Instead of scrolling, I embraced 'No Extra Time' and read or listened to podcasts whilst doing other tasks I needed to do and especially when I encountered any so called Dead Time.
The amount I learned this year went through the roof and it’s made me a better coach, mentor, and trainer.
The outcome?
I have felt more presence in every single one of my relationships. I feel healthier and my stress levels are significantly lower. My business has grown on every metric that matters.
The reality and the key message of this newsletter is all of this is not because I found a secret, or some form of new life hack. Rather it is purely because I made disciplined commitments and stuck to them.
You can do the same. Please find the time in the coming days to reflect on 2025. What has gone well? What are you proud of? What has not gone well? What would you like to improve?
Once you have established that clarity ask yourself .......What are the key steps I wish to commit to in 2026? Write them down, share them with somebody, start shaping the accountability and make 2026 your best year yet.
I wish you the best of luck!
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