How To DEFEAT Blue Monday... or Tuesday, or Wednesday

Jan 16, 2024

Apparently, today (as I write) is ‘Blue Monday’. Until about 2019, that was just the name of a banging New Order song. But now, it’s the name given to the third Monday of January, and so called because it’s apparently the most depressing day of the entire year.

Now I understand why… to a point. Especially if you live somewhere like the UK, it’s brutally cold (although Canadian subscribers are likely sneering at me right now), it still gets dark at 4pm, Christmas season is nothing more than a rogue disembodied tinsel strand stuck under chair leg… plus, people keep calling it fucking BLUE MONDAY.

Realistically, though, this IS the time where a lot of people’s New Year’s Resolutions and Good Intentions start to fall apart And it might be because of those factors - it might be easier to eat healthily or exercise or start a podcast in better weather… I suppose?

But let’s actually examine what’s happening. That burst of motivation and inspiration borne out of the annual reset has inevitably waned. Not because you’re weak or because it’s -2 degrees or because Last Christmas isn’t on the radio any more...

Motivation is always fleeting; an indefinable burst of positive energy that inspires action… but like a battery on an old iPhone, it doesn’t last very long. And when it does wane, you fall back into your long-trained habits, the ones where you’re eating biscuits with a look of consigned disappointment on your face. Feel free to exchange biscuit-eating with your less-than-idealised habit of choice.

In the book Atomic Habits - pretty much the bible for practical, actionable productivity, (especially for disorganised procrastinators) James Clear says

You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your system

But here’s the good news. We've decided we want change. We want to stop doing certain things, and to do other, better things. So, in order to maintain this new identity, you need to build a system around it, until it becomes so ingrained that motivation isn’t relevant.

If you’re feeling like it’s time to quit, it’s probably worth knowing that it’s a normal feeling, or at least a normal pull - your old identity is terrified it’s going to be erased forever and will do anything to survive. But you’re not killing it, you’re just casually locking it in a dusty cellar to forget about for a few generations. If you don’t have a system to fall back on, the old you is going to burst through that cellar door and jump back into the driver’s seat like a 9 year old playing GTA V for the first time. Carnage.

Fortunately, building a system is pretty easy. It’s all about small adjustments that compound over time. Minor changes to your routine can have huge impacts when you adjust the finish line.

I’m currently writing this newsletter, because I blocked out a chunk of time in my Monday (not just the Blue ones) calendar to do just that - sit down and write. I also blocked out some time to draw up a list of ideas and templates for future topics, and some time to decide what today’s would be.

All I have to do is commit to showing up at those times. Show up. Do the work. If you can’t focus - put the phone in the other room, turn off the wifi etc. And when you start - just fucking start - you’ll begin to figure out where you’re going. This is me, telling myself to do this, about twenty minutes ago by the way. We’re breaking the fourth wall over here.

In the space of two weeks, this small change to my behaviour and weekly schedule has already had a significant impact in multiple areas of my life. Over 17000 of you signed up to this newsletter in its first week. Just think where it can be in a year, once my system becomes so robust that it is as ingrained as eating breakfast or, to give it a more relevant context, as ingrained as shooting reaction videos on a Friday.

Just keep showing up.

It’s a model I’ve used forever in 15 years of working for myself, but I often forget about it or get dishevelled and disorganised and fall back on self-destructive habits. It’s an ongoing battle, but there’s something consistently true - when the work does happen, when the words flow or the camera rolls, the biscuit gets left in the jar (I’m still thinking about it but I reckon I’m going to win this particular sparring match) or the car door slams shut on the drive to the gym, the sense of internal pride, the sense of ‘oneness’ with an identity I’m keen on inhabiting, it’s palpable. And I don’t mean the wrinkly guy from Star Wars.

Let me know in the comments about your creative, business or health goals, and how you’re moving towards them.

I cover and react to music on my YouTube channel, imaginatively titled ‘Jon Denton’ which has over 460k subscribers and 90+ Million Views. You really should subscribe on YouTube.

ON THE RECORD

Some words on the music hitting my eardrums this week

21 Savage - American Dream

A solid, ‘safe’ project from 21. Excellent production, that familiar nonchalantly aggressive flow, plenty of hilarious and brutal one-liners, and adlibs for days.

Standout tunes: Redrum, nee-nah, redsky

Kid Cudi - Insano

I was worried this would be the soundtrack to a midlife crisis, but instead its the sound of another artist hitting that mid-career slide into mediocrity. Cudi takes some risks here, mostly for the worst, and when he tries to capture his old sound it shows glimpses of magic, but often feels like a cheap remake.

Standout tunes: Blue Sky

Idles - Gift Horse (single)

Caustic, snappy post-punk from the UK powerhouses. This new album can’t come quick enough.

Yard Act - We Make Hits (single)

The UK is in a great place when it comes to post punk. Yard Act have altered their sound slightly, but haven’t left behind their brilliant wit - like LCD Soundsystem if they lived next door to Wakey Wines. Or Pulp. By the way, if you haven’t heard Trench Coat Museum, their single from last year yet, that’s essential listening.

Heard something amazing this week? Leave some music recommendations in the comments for me and the rest of the community

Right then, see you on the next one! Drop a Like if you made it to the end, connect with me in the comments, and if you enjoyed this, it would mean the world if you shared it or forwarded the email to a friend who might like it too.

Peace. JD x