I don’t know about you, but it usually takes me until the end of January to get through all me review and reset rituals—word of the year, vision board screensaver, learned and unlearned from the previous years, etc.
I like taking January slow because it means I don’t burn bright and then burn out. I’m ramping up and feeling really rooted in my intentions for the year, where I used to feel completely defeated and disheartened.
Where I would head into week three of January realizing:
The shiny new-year energy is starting wearing off
Fresh calendars and good intentions feel ill-equipped
Making change amongst the chaos post-holidays left me drowning
And here's what usually happens next: “I’ll fix it when things calm down.”
After this busy season.
After tax season.
After Q1 ends.
After it warms up.
After we hire that person.
After we launch that thing.
Someday. When things calm down.
But here's the thing about someday—it never actually comes.
Because there's always another busy season, another deadline, another thing that needs to happen first. We keep waiting for the mythical moment when everything aligns perfectly, when we'll finally have the time and space and energy to build better systems.
Meanwhile, we're still operating in systems that are actively draining us.
And I know, I know. Shouldn't we wait until things settle down to make big changes?
It sounds counterintuitive to build better structures while everything is still on fire. But thankfully, this is a metaphor and not a literal fire, so we can been the rules of physics a bit.
And in some instances, absolutely, waiting can be best.
If you’re in survival mode, do what you need to do.
But here's what I've learned through my own cycles of burnout and through working with other high-achievers: Waiting for calm to fix your systems is more likely to keep you stuck in chaos.
Because life will always throw us for loops. Especially when systems contribute and uphold the chaos.
There's this pervasive belief that sustainable change requires perfect conditions.
A clear schedule. Abundant energy. No pressing deadlines.
It's the same thinking that says you need to "get organized" before you can build organizing systems. Or that you need to feel motivated before you move your body.
But sustainable change doesn't require perfect conditions.
It requires working with your current conditions—even when (okay, especially when) those conditions are messy.
Think about it: When have you ever had a completely calm, stress-free extended period in your life or business?
If you're like most entrepreneurs I know, those moments are rare unicorns. And when they do appear, we often fill them immediately with the next thing.
So if we only make changes during calm periods, we’ll never make changes at all.
I say this all as someone who spent way too many years waiting for the next city, next job, next season, next month, next Monday.
It wasn’t until I was so sick of dragging my ass through the fatigue and symptoms from had to be a chronic condition, that I finally commited to change despite what life was like around me.
And oh, was that one of the smartest decisions past-Hannah ever fucking made.
Because from 2018 to 2022, I got married, lost a pet, found the right dosage for my conditions, lost my mother-in-law, adapted to a pandemic, and left my 9-5 to focus on burnout recovery.
If I hadn’t started then, I’d probably stilllllllll be waiting.
So instead of waiting for a perfect block of time to overhaul everything, I committed to changing one thing at a time.
Be present at my wedding.
Make time for grief.
Find a healthcare provider I trust.
Make even more time for grief.
(Okay, there was a fuck ton of grief. I’ll move on, lol.)
One day. One habit. One boundary at a time.
While still managing a full time job. Then while getting my own business off the ground. And while consistently dealing with the chaos.
And here's what happened: That one small change created a little bit of breathing room. Which gave me the energy to make another small change. And another.
Rebuilding my day-to-day piece by piece, while everything else kept moving.
Not because there were perfect conditions.
But because I stopped waiting for them.
Building in the chaos is about:
Making small changes within current constraints. You don't need to rebuild everything at once. You need to identify the one thing that gives you the most back and adjust that first.
Building incrementally, not perfectly. Each small change creates a little more stability. That stability gives you the foundation for the next change.
Accepting that it will feel messy. You're building while the house is still standing. Of course it's awkward. That's not a sign you're doing it wrong… it's a sign you're doing it at all.
The chaos isn't going anywhere. But neither is your capacity to change things within it.
The messiness isn't a sign to wait—it's confirmation you're ready to build. You're not waiting for calm anymore. You're building from right here.
Try This
Chaos Compatible Change
This week, you're going to make one small adjustment to something that's actively breaking—without waiting for perfect conditions.
HOW-TO:
1. Identify what's breaking hardest right now. Not what "should" be fixed. Not what would be nice to improve. What is actively causing you the most friction this week?
Examples:
You're rewriting the same email every time
A specific type of task consistently derails your day
You keep forgetting to do something until it's urgent
2. Make ONE small change. Not a complete overhaul. One adjustment that makes that specific friction slightly better.
Examples:
Create one email template for your most common client question
Block one hour this week for the task that always becomes urgent
Move one recurring task to a specific day/time instead of "whenever"
3. Implement it this week. Not someday. Not when things calm down. This week, while chaos is still happening.
The goal isn't perfection. The goal is minimum viable. Because that’s proof that you can change things in the chaos.
Reply to this email:
What’s the best change you’ve ever made during a chaotic time?
Currently Obsessed
Dog piles. These temps in the teens mean the doggos are actually all cuddling together. It is certainly Cade’s favorite time of year.
I did it. Welp, I finally read 1,000 books. If you had told me as a teenager, I would have been like “sure, by the time I’m in my late 30s, I should be that high.” But if you’d told me at 29, I would have laughed in your face and swore you had the wrong number. Yet here we are, 1,000 books in 1,100 days. 341,406 pages. ~100 million words. That’s roughly 38 miles long. 🤯
