How Do We Choose Between a Straight Reset and Starting Anew?

This is Johanna Rothman’s July 2026 Create an Adaptable Life Newsletter. The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. (Looking for the video? Go to the bottom of the newsletter for the video link.)

We’ve all had strange days, when we just could not get anything done. When we have days like that, we can often reset and restart the next day. Sure, I find those days irritating, but they happen all the time.

I had one of those days every single day this past week. I’m still growling in frustration.

I tried to reset and then restart every day. But nothing worked. Instead, I realized I need to reset my goals—and start anew. I can’t worry about what I might have been able to do. That’s all behind me.

Did I realize this right away? Of course not! I have big, hairy, audacious goals—and I was going to accomplish them this week.

This is an example of the old Yiddish proverb, “Man plans, God laughs.” Because life is so unpredictable, we need to adapt. And, when necessary, to reset and start anew. How do we know? It starts with data.

Which Data Helps You See When Your Plans Need to Change?

I’ll spare you my physical woes from this past week. They were partly due to my chemo, and partly due to choices my oncology team wanted me to make for pain meds for my challenging right knee. (I am sure there is another knee replacement in my future.) Yes, I monitored my physical health and abilities.

But that’s not all the data I monitor. I also monitor the number of words I write by type and by day. By the end of the day on Monday, I had zero words.

This is not normal for me. Even with chemo, I tend to write a few thousand words a week.

So I thought, “Okay, I can reset tomorrow.”

I still had time on Tuesday to accomplish what I wanted to, assuming I could focus and write.

Except on Tuesday, my right knee stopped bending and hurt like the devil. In my quest to make my knee feel better, I did not write. At night, I barely slept. So on Wednesday, I went to the orthopedic walk-in clinic. They sent me to the ER. (The clinic was wrong about my diagnosis.)

While I hoped to write something on Wednesday, I was now past the straight reset-and-restart time. It was time to replan and start anew.

Data Helps Us Notice When We Need New Plans

As a result of my ER visit, I took an Oxycodone on Wednesday night, so I could sleep. While the Oxy helped me sleep a little, it made me very tired. I slept throughout Thursday—in the regular orthopedist waiting room, at the cancer center waiting room, and literally at my computer.

Yes, I fell asleep at my computer while trying to type. (I think this is just hysterical. I could have taken a nap, but no, I needed to write!)

That is also data.

It was now clear to me that I needed to scrap all my previous plans and start anew.

Starting Anew Might Require More Slack in New Plans

Next week is another chemo week for me. Will I be able to write? Maybe.

But starting anew is definitely not a straight reset, which is often the equivalent of “roll over everything I did not do into next week.” That’s literally not possible for me. It’s not possible for you, either. Yet, many of us still try to do so.

Instead of trying to cram everything—and too often, more—into the next week, we can relinquish the tyranny of our previous plans. While I always thank myself for those previous plans, a new start requires new plans.

There are several project management principles here:

Never cram more into a week than you can do. If you don’t know what you can do, choose one thing and only that one thing. (I chose this newsletter.)
Don’t think you can catch up. Catching up is impossible. Instead, notice if you have started this task or project too late to succeed with your previous plans.
Since you’re doing a reset to start anew, see if you need breaks, slack in your system, to focus and finish this work. Is there objective or subjective data that prevents you from focusing and finishing?

I used to think that I never needed slack time in my system. Yet, slack time allows me to focus for short time periods, and refresh more often. That allows me to start anew.

I wish it mattered how we finish what we want to accomplish. Often, the how is irrelevant. Instead, consider what we choose to do, and how we create our environment so we can succeed. That is how I can pick away at my big, audacious goals. You can, too.

Here’s the video link.

Announcements…

I am happy to report that Effective Public Speaking: How to Use Content Marketing With Stories to Show Your Value is available on my store in ebook and audio. (The audio will only be available on my store.) I have also distributed the ebook and print books to all the usual stores. Pick up your copy today!

Which Data Helps You See When Your Plans Need to Change?

Data Helps Us Notice When We Need New Plans

Starting Anew Might Require More Slack in New Plans

Announcements…

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