Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

This morning, for the first time in a long time, I actually stopped to smell my coffee.

Literally.

I didn’t use the coffee to kick-start the day or jolt myself into motion. I just stood there for a moment and noticed the smell.

I’ve always thought “wake up and smell the coffee” meant to come to your senses. Get real. Snap out of it. Maybe it does…

This morning I interpreted it differently.

I forgot everything else for a moment and just enjoyed the coffee.

Pretty simple, and it set the tone for the day ahead. Maybe the year ahead.

Because this simple little moment is indicative of where my focus and intention has been directed this week, and even last year, and where I intend for it to be directed for the year ahead.

A few days ago, I had a really good conversation with Tony, a fellow member of a coaching group I’m in. We were talking about the year ahead.

We realised we want very similar things from our support of each other, but we go about it in different ways. He is very methodical. I enjoy more flexibility.

We chatted about that, about cadence, expectations, and how we each like to show up when things are going well and when they are not.

It was simple, honest contracting.

Before you jump ahead and make plans or set goals for your team, business partner, company, or spouse, pause and check in with them:

• How do we actually want to work/be together?​
• What does it look like for you?
• What does support look like for me right now?

That kind of clarity saves a lot of hassle, mixed messages, or disappointment down the line.

Yesterday, I had a discovery call with my new coach. She’s just qualified in focus-oriented coaching. Not focus as effort or discipline, but focus as something you sense.

It’s kinda linked to the ‘coffee moment’ this morning. Same same but different!

We can all pay more attention to what our body is telling us, not just what the head is analysing. There’s another layer of information available if we’re willing to slow down enough to listen.

This isn’t woo-woo bullshit. It’s about levelling up human potential and intelligence. It’s about minimising interference and enabling more performance.

It doesn’t replace thinking. It complements it.

I want more support around it this year. Not to be vague or airy, but to be more accurate.

In a similar vein, I’ve committed to a daily practice applying the ideas from The Big Leap book, by Gay Hendricks.

Each day offers a short reflection. I dictate my responses and observations into ChatGPT. Not because I want it to coach me, but because it gives me a single place to hold my thinking.

• My review of 2025.
• My ideas for 2026.
• Daily reflections. Half-formed thoughts. Commitments that might change.

It has a better memory than I do. I’m keen to up my AI game this year. I’m equally keen to up my human game. The two don’t need to compete.

One final reflection.

For years, when the kids were very small, I used the space between Christmas and New Year to review the year gone. Long walks. Coffee shops. Pen and paper.

That’s changed.

Now that they’re a bit older, I want to be around more during that downtime. I want to lean into the rest or the festivities and switch off completely. That’s been true for the last two or three years.

Instead, January has become the space where ideas start to surface. I don’t rush to pin them down. I let them ferment a little. I notice what keeps returning. I tend to turn those ideas into clearer commitments later in the month.

Some people plan in quarters because their work demands it. That still makes sense.

I don’t plan that way anymore. I think more in seasons.

1. A quieter surfacing phase at the start of the year.
2. A building phase through to the summer.
3. A few lighter months.
4. Then a final push before switching off again from September through to December.

So if there’s an invitation in this note, it’s a gentle one.

You don’t have to rush into the year.
You don’t have to force clarity.
You don’t need technical language or a perfect framework.

Start with something simple.

• Pause.
• Notice.
• Listen.
• Trust what keeps showing up.

Sometimes, the most useful thing you can do is wake up and smell the coffee.