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- 🏟 2025 Halftime Score (Probably Not What You Think)
🏟 2025 Halftime Score (Probably Not What You Think)
3 activities that will transform your next 6 months from intended to executed
Michael Hatfield
June 29, 2025
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Halftime 2025 - Do you know the score?
As I look at the 2nd half of '25, we left it sparse, a bit to chance. Sound familiar?
What does that look like? There’s very little locked into the calendar other than our son’s known school activities. That means we are just hoping that we workout for our health, that we’ll remember to book a date night “someday”.
My wife and I, rightfully so, put all our focus into the new bundle of joy that would arrive midyear in 2025. In January we did some light planning for our “partner, person, parent” categories to ensure milestones and a few other imperatives were recognized well in advance. But as I provide bottle feedings every 3 hours these days, I have some time to stare at a calendar.
Why do I want to change that? And why should you?
If you don't get intentional about the second half of 2025, it'll look exactly like the first half. Same autopilot routines. Same "we really should" conversations that never turn into action. How many times have you had the “we should really…” convos that never turn into action 🤚 ? We don’t have to be maniacs about planning, but we do need to put a little grit on the calendar practice if we want awesome things to happen.
And if you're willing to spend 3 hours in July planning together, you can transform the rest of your year from reactive to intentional, on multiple fronts. You probably spend more time planning your fantasy football draft or a kids birthday party than planning your actual life together.
Let’s adjust.
Can you do 1 or more of these things? I’d be grateful.
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Channel Some Jessie Itzler
I believe in life résumés. Do more. Create memories.
Jesse Itzler is an entrepreneur and author who co-founded Marquis Jet and helped grow Zico Coconut Water, selling both to major companies. Beyond business, he’s known for extreme challenges, prioritizing family, and designing life around big adventures. Learn more at jesseitzler.com.
He uses a big ass calendar to plan out the entire year. And it’s less about work meetings and kid activities, but more about adventures, challenges, and meaningful experiences. Most couples have calendars packed with obligations but empty of intentions. Work meetings, soccer practice, dentist appointments – all the stuff happening TO you, but none of the stuff you want to happen FOR you.
That changes this week, and you only have to do half the work ($100 calendars optional!)!
Your 3-Step Halftime Reset
Appairent’s concierge does a great job filling in the gaps of this calendar with some intention, so you don’t have to run yourself ragged planning/thinking when you’re already too busy. But, planning to plan is a huge step to give big or important stuff the space it needs in your life…before the time required gets gobbled up.
Use this to start with the “big rocks” you care about. Less they become the little bits of sand that can only fit around everything else…
Step 1: Big Ass Goals Session (45-60 minutes)
Right now, block out an hour when you and your partner won't be interrupted. Phones in another room. Kids occupied or asleep. Or get a sitter and go sit somewhere with coffee, cocktails, whatever and make it an enjoyable session of brainstorming.
Each of you separately brain dumps onto paper:
Big Audacious Goals (BAGs) – Don't hold back. Marathon in Antarctica? Writing a book? Learning to sail? Building that side business? Renovating the kitchen? Write it down.
Known ‘25/’26 Milestones – Anniversaries, big birthdays, graduations, work conferences, family reunions. Even if dates aren't set exactly, capture what's coming.
Smaller Meaningful Stuff – Weekend getaways, friend trips, date night goals, personal challenges, creative pursuits you keep putting off. You don’t have to know when but if you know you want X things to happen, get them on a list to map.
Then come together and share your lists. This isn't about judging – it's about dreaming together. Discuss:
Which BAGs could you tackle as a team?
How can your individual goals support each other instead of competing?
What trade-offs might you need to navigate?
Channel Itzler: Think like the couple who says “hell yes” to life instead of “maybe someday”
Step 2: The Reality Filter (Prioritization)
Most of us faill b/c we try to do too much instead of making hard choices and prioritizing. Look at your combined list. It’s likely too long to accomplish in 6 months.
So prioritize first:
1-2 individual non-negotiables: personal or for the family, you get to declare something without compromise.
1-2 partnership non-negotiables: now you’re deciding together what items won’t be negotiated with the world.
~5 high priority: Very important but may have to get scaled down or moved around.
~5 nice-to-haves: if time or treasure make themselves available, these can be on the calendar holding space. If something else requires that time or treasure, you knew these were negotiable.
Everything else: maybe these slot in through spontaneity. Maybe they don’t make it in ‘25, but become important in ‘26. You have less focus on these, but you still have them listed to tick off if you can!
This step makes the actual calendar intention much more manageable.
Channel Itzler: Your time is your most valuable asset. Don't waste it trying to be someone else…or left to be used up by other people’s priorities for you.
Step 3: Calendar the “Chosen Few” (60-90 minutes)
In this session grab your shared calendar and start with big “rocks” first, going in the order from Step 2. You can’t get up until the first 2 are done. Aim to complete thru 3. 4&5 are up to you.
If you’re still having trouble with prioritization, think in terms of these categories to make it easier to decide what your time gets invested into:
Adventure time – vacations, weekend trips, "just because" days off
Relationship investments – monthly date nights, quarterly couple getaways, anniversary planning
Personal growth – conferences, courses, challenges, creative time
Health commitments – races you want to train for, wellness retreats, gym partnerships
Known 2026 events – even if you're dropping placeholders
Look specifically at Q3 and Q4 of 2025:
Plot the big stuff first, then fit smaller goals around it
Leave some white space for spontaneity (busy couples and families need breathing room, I’m not insane)
Coordinate who's "leading" what – this avoids resentment later
Channel Itzler: If it isn’t on the calendar, it doesn’t exist. Your dreams deserve real estate in your schedule.
It’s Your Time, not the World’s
The happiest people create systems that work within the chaos that external forces fling your way. What they deem important already takes up elbow room on the proverbial table before life’s chaos comes ripping through your life. They aren’t anal retentive, overachieving planners. They are intelligent about matching the vapor we call time with the experiences and efforts they yearn to own…before “the world” tells them what IT wants for their life.
💀 Autopilot: just assuming life will fly itself and take you where you hoped.
😎 Cruise control: staying in the driver’s seat to ensure you go where you intended, but not having to try so hard every minute of everyday to get there.
Let’s come off autopilot and set the cruise control on our terms. Calendar these 3 sessions for July. When I get done this exercise, WE are going to win 2nd half ‘25. Not the World. I hope the same for you.
🍻
Hat