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Greetings!,
Have you heard the old adage, "How do you eat an elephant"? I was thinking of this the other day as I was wrapping up 2025, and looking at planning for 2026.
Many of the platforms we use send out reminders to take advantage of the year-end to max out accounts such as IRAs, 401(k), or 403(b), HSA accounts, and so on. However, with all of the added expenses and distractions in December, you may have a tough time sitting down to analyze just to what level you can contribute to these.
The end of the year can feel rushed as well. Sometimes we just want to get through the holidays and deal with all of this in the new year.
Thinking about this also reminded me of a couple books I have read in the past. These include: Atomic Habits by James Clear and The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran.
I have talked about Atomic Habits in the past. As a refresher, the premise is to create daily habits by making small changes each day or each week. Establishing these habits in small increments helps them become sustainable. Think of going on a diet, or the desire to get healthier (popular this time of year). Taking small steps, repeating, and then building on each step creates repeatable actions.
The 12 Week Year illustrates how shortening your time horizon can improve results. For example, if we think of a goal we want to accomplish in 2026, we may feel we have a long time to work on this. Since the goal is so far in the future, we may put-off getting started until later in the year. Then we may have to rush in the last part of the year to reach our target.
What if, instead, we broke the goal into 4 levels? Our target may be smaller and feel more manageable. By trying to reach this goal in 12 weeks instead of at the end of the year, it may be much more attainable.
With these ideas in mind, maxing out investment accounts, getting healthier, or any other accomplishment we are pursuing might be completed more easily.
So the answer to "How do you eat an elephant?" One bite at a time.
As always, thanks for reading.
Bernie & Chad
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