8 Weeks to Go... or “On Good Resolutions”

I’ll admit it: on my desk there are almost always at least two or three to-do lists sitting side by side.
After all, different areas of life demand different kinds of attention — all, of course, absolutely essential.
Or are they?

This year has taught me many things, but if I had to name my biggest lesson, it would be this: learning to define what can be left out.
And yes – as I’m sure it is for most of you – that seems to be far more challenging than simply starting a fourth to-do list, hoping that somewhere a small, unexpected, magical door of infinity might open this week, one that lets us finally get to all the things for which there never seems to be time because... (fill in the blank).

8 out of 4,000

At this point, I’m afraid I’ll have to close that imaginary door right in front of you:
Our average lifespan amounts to around 4,000 weeks.
With that sobering perspective, Oliver Burkeman filled an entire bestseller (highly recommended!).
Eight of those 4,000 weeks are what we may still have left to experience in this year – if we’re lucky.

During my beautiful walk through Vienna’s Botanical Garden last weekend (see Instagram), this little number game once again brought me back down to earth — where, as it turns out, things often look much more beautiful than they first appear.

How do you feel when you hear those numbers? Do you feel pressure and stress because “30 of the original 25 good resolutions” of this year are still unfulfilled?
Or because you already see your fully optimized, color-coded, balloon-bright calendar staring back at you?

Today, I’d like to invite you to a different perspective.

8 – Infinity for mortals

Yes, I love the number eight. I could tell you many stories about how it keeps showing up in my life (including in number draws at auditions).
Most of us know its meaning through the infinity symbol, which – from jewellery to tattoos and logos – appears, hidden or obvious, throughout our everyday lives.
It’s fascinating how much longing seems to be contained in this idea of un-endingness. And yet, we all know that each night we only have a certain probability of waking up to another day.

So here I’ll lean out a little further – and risk being unpopular:
We will never manage to cram into our already full lives all the things we’d like to do, or even could theoretically do. Projects, hobbies, holidays, that new business idea... all of them must ultimately bow to the unchangeable facts.

“Sure, that’s obvious,” our mind says — “but what does that actually mean for my life today?”

At this point, I invite you to pause for just a few moments of your precious lifetime, to fill the coming eight weeks more consciously with what truly fills you.

The Performer’s Toolkit – 3 Tools

To-Do List Bankruptcy – Have-Done List – Inner Cheerleaders

You’ve surely had phases this year when it took all your energy just to get off the couch — let alone move yourself and your motivation into the practice room or to your desk.
Sometimes the reason is exhaustion from the sheer volume of tasks already completed; sometimes it’s the feeling of waking up with a kind of “time debt” you’ll never be able to pay off in 24 hours.
The overwhelming list of things to learn or do has simply grown too long.

In such phases, I practise something I call “to-do list bankruptcy.”
Yes, I consciously, openly, and unashamedly throw in the towel.
If you have €0 in your pocket, you have nothing to lose.
If you declare your tasks officially “unfinishable,” the same applies.
At that point, all it takes is a small shift — one that gives your brain space to realign itself and create room to breathe and be creative again: starting a “have-done list.”

The beauty of such a list is that it can be constantly adjusted to match your current circumstances and energy levels, while traditional lists stand there like immovable pillars — defying the storm of fluctuating motivation and towering ever higher.

The human reality is this: on some days, simply switching on the dishwasher counts as an achievement.
Or taking the dog out.
By doing this, we sharpen our awareness for what we are still capable of, even when it feels like nothing is moving — and we start to notice progress we might otherwise overlook.

But perhaps the most important part of this shift in perspective is that we move away from a mindset that says:

“You must accomplish... so that you can then live and do the things that bring you joy.”

How much creativity can arise from the feeling this sentence creates?
How much newness can emerge from it — and how does that feel in your body?

And yes, that inner voice rarely disappears overnight (but that’s a story for another post ;)).
That’s why I keep encouraging my coaching clients to bring their inner cheerleaders on stage — the inner figures who applaud you every time something lands on your have-done list, even if it’s just that pair of shoes that finally made it back onto the shelf.

If you’re wondering what all this has to do with the eight remaining weeks of the year — and how it can bring more clarity for this time — here’s a little suggestion on how you might use this shift in perspective right now (perhaps even adding one joyful task to your new favourite list):

Mini-Trance

Close your eyes for a moment and travel back to 31 December 2024.
Where were you? Who were you with? What was it like there?
Bring to mind all the sensory details of that evening.
What were your best hopes for 2025?
Maybe they were classic resolutions, or maybe just a feeling — “This year, things will finally… resolve / I will finally… start / I’ll have the chance to… change / I want to…”

What shows up?

Which of those intentions did you actually realise? Write them down!
Become aware of what you’ve moved forward, achieved, and completed this year — including the things that might not have felt like “work” at all — not only professionally, but also personally, across all areas of life.
Where did you make a positive impact on your own life and that of others?
Which obstacles did you clear from your path?
Where did you keep your commitments even when your energy level was at its lowest?

You’ll be surprised how long this list becomes!

And when you look at it — and your inner cheerleaders are celebrating you for the hero you’ve already been this year —

What is the one thing you know:

“If, by 31 December 2025, I can add this one thing to my list, I will have truly made a difference — for myself and for my life.”

What is that one thing you can do that will make you look at yourself on New Year’s Eve with a big, wide smile, thinking:

“In these last eight weeks, I really made a difference — for myself (and maybe for others).”

With this sense of clarity — from the perspective of a desired, already-lived future — I wish you a mindful start into the eighth-to-last week of the year.
I’d love to hear in the comments what that one thing is you’d like to devote your precious time to, or what difference this little exercise has made for you.

For questions, or if you’d like to dive even deeper into your untapped resources, feel free to write to me at:
📧 office@karinbonelli.com