Speaker #0Hi, welcome to The Pulse, the podcast where we explore the heartbeat of life and work. I'm Julie, your host, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this journey. Every two weeks, I will bring you a regular dose of inspiration, practical tips, and regular stories about personal development, wellness, and career growth. Whether you're looking for motivation, fresh perspective, or just a reminder that you're not alone, you are in the right place. So welcome and let's dive in. Hi, welcome to the polls. I hope you're doing well. Today we are actually Sunday and already in February, life is going crazy and I'll talk in a minute about Jen, but... Wow, I cannot believe we're already February and life is going at a fast pace. And I have to say myself, I've been overwhelmed in January. I had to find my new rhythm. I have a lot going on on the side. And it was the first two weeks were fine, but then I felt really out of whack. And it's very interesting because I usually put in place. I'm very type A. And I put in place my to-do so then I know what I have to focus on. I also have always my goals for the year, at least like key things that I want to achieve. But I still felt very out of sorts and I felt like I was not able to manage to get everything sorted or to do everything that I wanted. And so I had a bit of a moment of reflection of where I was coming from and why was this happening now to me? Because I usually feel like the beginning of the year is when I have my rhythm and more toward the end of the year I feel tired. And I actually talked to a few people who also told me that they felt at the end of January as tired as they felt at the end of December for some reasons. And I can't explain it where it's coming from, but I do feel like the beginning of the year has been also from economic, politics situations, news has been very intense. And I think that has weighed on a lot of people, including me. for different reasons. And I also think that it is quite tough when it comes to work at the moment, also due to the economy. So it was really a more stressful and difficult January that I've had. I have to say that last year was also very difficult because I heard that my dog was sick at the time. So I also tried to think, okay, was I feeling that bad last year? And yeah, for some of the reasons. But here was more that I couldn't figure out what I was doing or where I was at. And that helped me, that helped me. That kind of made me rethink at the end of the month. So we are recording actually on the 8th. So it's been a week now that I've been thinking. So I spent the first week of Feb just rethinking what's working, what's not working. Did I put too much on my plate as well? What's the overall goal? Because if it's already feeling so stressful, so tiring, After months, it's not good. And here's where the two days episode come from, because I realized that actually I'm at, I'm getting toward the end of my 30s. I have some friends that are celebrating and family that are celebrating their 40th birthday this year. I have some friends who are turning 39s. I will be turning 38 in the summer. And that kind of reminded me also of... where I'm at and what I want to achieve and why do I want to achieve what I want to achieve this year. And so even though I had done a bit of a recap at the end of 2025 for myself and preparing 2026, I realized, well, actually, maybe instead of just thinking of 2026, I need to look at it from until I'm 40. So the next two and a half years, what do I want to accomplish? Where do I want to be by the time I turn 40? And I know this sounds like a big, big number. For me, it's not. that life is over or that we're in the midlife crisis or that I have to hit certain steps or be in a certain stage, you know, personally, but what I would like to do. And it doesn't mean that it has to be final, but more like giving me a bit of intention toward that goal. And where it's coming from a deeper piece is that I remember doing the same thing at the end of my 20s. At the end of my 20s was so interesting because, as I said, you know, I have some friends and family that turns one to two years before me into the 30s. So the same way now they're turning 40s. And I remember having this discussion with one of my friends who was so scared of turning 30. And I told her, why don't you make a list? You have one year to go. Why don't you make a list of the thing you would like to accomplish? So at least it doesn't feel like a big deal in terms of like this huge step and I have not moved forward because that's really how she felt at the time and I remember at the time I also made for myself a 30 before 30 list and then life happened and then 2017 happened and I couldn't do the list that I wanted to do because things completely changed I had to deal with chemo for six months I had to deal with recovery so by the time I turned 30 it was like the last year and a half before, or at least one year before, was completely gone and I had not achieved what I wanted to achieve. But I remember going on a week vacation with my closest friend. They all came to France and we celebrated my birthday and had a lot of fun. And I still take it as a very positive passage. And in the same way, I want to take the next step. And I know I'm talking about it two and a half years ahead, but... I'll talk in a minute in terms of those different lists and what that impact, but I still wanted to kind of prepare to have the same level of enjoyment I had when I turned 30, because I think we can celebrate this passage and we can look back in terms of what we accomplished and not forget to. So today's episode is basically going to be talking about how can we set up lists and remind ourselves that of what's important on a day-to-day. I have to say that I had in mind really to do to talk to you through all my to-do lists that I have in my life to help me feel settled and avoid me feeling bad but I didn't want to overly prepare again because for me it's really talking from the heart and I just wanted to talk to you through those lists tell me what they meant to me why I have created them And then the lessons I'm learning from them and what I would still do and what potentially I want to change in the future. So the first list I usually have is my to-do list for my week. But I won't start with this one because I think let's start maybe back with another list that I've created for myself out of a podcast that I listened to in 2025. So the... It's actually, even if 2024, I think the podcast came out, but I think I listened to it in 2025. And it was a French athlete. He actually was working full time for a company or actually now I think he's working part time. And next to that, he's a trail runner. And he talked about a list that he had really with his spouse. And the two of them had decided to have a list where. Whatever they have in mind or they could do or they want to do or maybe, but it's not settled, it's not a sure thing, they would put it out there. And it's kind of like a sky is a limit list. That's how I called it for myself, where you can put whatever you want, even if it's potentially not possible or ever going to be possible. Or maybe it's going to happen when you're 60. You should put whatever you would like to happen one day, even if potentially it's not planned to happen. Yeah, anytime soon. you On those lists, I have places where I would love to live one day. And potentially, my career will bring me there. Potentially, my career will not bring me there. Potentially, I will change my mind and this will be gone from my list. But I thought it was a good way to say, hey, actually, it's somewhere. It's written somewhere. It doesn't stay on my mind. And potentially, like 30 years from now, I am thinking I should have done that. Because potentially, things happened and I will remove it. but for now I want to keep those places or I also have some experience I would like to do or even some long-term project or dedicated goals that I have but it's not anything that is happening tomorrow it's more like if one day I have nothing to do or if one day I don't know anymore where to look or where to go or what to do maybe this is where I should look into because this was like aspirational and I know that, for example, this couple, they had to move back to France. They were living in the US at the time when they started this list. And actually, they moved back to France. Great. But it could have been that they ended up moving back to France when they are 60, 70. Who knows? So it's really that list is really meant more in terms of really aspiration. I'm not working toward it in the next two years, but it's more it's out there. It's written. So that's the first list I have. I can also maybe read you a little bit of some of those objectives because I don't mind sharing. So I've talked to many of my friends. I don't know if this will happen one day, but I would love to live one year in New York. Not more than a year because I know New York is expensive. I know I would love to keep traveling. And I know when you live in New York, it's very difficult. difficult to travel on top because again expenses and there are other places where I would love to live I have also some personal growth topics that are more general or more like looking out in term of long-term things that you know could be is not something it's more like written than actually go where there is a pure achievement so in there I have cultivate lasting happiness and I feel like I'm working on it on a day-to-day. Will I tick this box one day? Potentially not, but having it written on that list feels like something that it's a good reminder to have. And I have in there also speaking some languages. Will I one day speak Portuguese? I would love to. My best friend is from Brazil, so I would love to speak her language some days. Will that happen? Potentially not. I don't know. It would depend on time, on efforts. If I'm ready, if it's the right timing. There is a lot of reason. It could be also to work towards speaking as a TEDx. Is this something that I want to do tomorrow? No. Maybe it's something that in 10 years, it's not going to matter. It's not going to make sense. So we'll keep it there and then we'll see if it happens someday. So you have the ideas. So I have done some of them. I have, of course, some adventure like hiking the Kilimanjaro that I would love to do some days, but I'm not. in a rush. This is more of a long term. There are some pieces that then I take from that list and that I'm adding as a closer goal. But that list is really more of an inspiration or yeah, like visit all seven continents. I know one of them will be difficult for me because I get seasick and to get there, you have to go by boat. But you know, that gives you some peace of mind or some ideas of where I'm going with this. So I hope that first list is inspiring to you and maybe you can make your own sky's the limit. The second list is really the one that I actually made almost second to last. So as I mentioned, because I realized that some of my friends were turning 40 very soon or even in a few months, I realized as well for myself that in two and a half years, I am turning 40s. And so I thought, OK, maybe I should do a 40 things before 40 list. And of course... It's not like on top of everything else. It doesn't have to be fully structured. But is there something that I really would like to achieve? Or is there something I would really like to experience before I'm 40? And funny enough, when I was trying to build the list, I got stuck at 15 things. And I was like, wow, okay. Is it that I'm looking too big? Maybe there are some small things that I would still feel good and proud to accomplish. So I started to rethink and then I reached out to my friends. And funny enough, I received from some of them telling me, well, you've already done a lot. And I was like, well, I hope I have not done everything that there is to do in life. I'm pretty sure there is a lot more to do. But they were right that I accomplished a lot. And because of that, that kind of inspired me to rethink the list and to be OK. think about it from multiple angles. So health and wellness, career and knowledge, experience and sports. And it's not about having a split, even split across all four categories, so 10, but more in terms of like, out of this list, does that inspire you some pieces? And also because experience and travel, there is something that, you know, I can do that would be very helpful in that concept. So, After that, I actually have to look at it. Right now, I'm at 26. So I still have a few more to find. So it's a work in progress list. And I think also that's okay that it's a work in progress. Because maybe I get inspired in six months with something else. But I'll read you through again some of it. And I've talked about it. I've been asking for it for now already since 2025. So I want to paraglide. I want to see the Northern Lights. I've talked. To my friends, maybe it would be good for me to do a retreat, maybe a wellness or spa or yoga retreat. So this might be on the plan for 2026 or 2027. And then it's things like reading a book in German. Because while I do speak German and I understand German, spending a certain amount of time reading in German is not easy. So this is challenging, but it's still fun. I have, of course, also a lot when it comes to sports, half marathon. running a marathon, maybe let's see how my body does with that, and more and more. But I wanted to turn that list into something fun. And I actually have, and I mentioned it in the previous podcast, right last year, I have this challenge of every week. And of course, I am still doing that. And it's important, but not all of the challenge have to be part of the 40 things before for the list. but some of them can be and some of them can help me build on one another. So it's not like you do one list plus one list plus one list. It's more like within one list, some of it is going to go into another list, it's going to go into another list. So it's like... organizing so that I feel like I achieved but I also don't put pressure to achieve all of them this year but I thought it was fun to have this in mind to remind myself by the time I'm 40 hey remember when you set this up early 2026 and here is all the things you've done and and also to note it down and to avoid forgetting so why am I talking about forgetting because funny enough As I was reading through a list of things to do, yeah, 30 before 30, I think it was a list about that. There was also the idea of doing a reversed list. And the reversed list was saying, write down the 20 things you're proud of that you have achieved. And I thought, well, easy peasy. Looking at everything that I've done in my life, for sure, it's not going to be a... a problem for me to write down 20. And then I realized, well, it's actually harder than I thought. And that reminded me that the reason why I'm doing those lists, so 40 before 40, or the sky, not the limit to-do list, is not about just ticking boxes, but it's almost like for me a journal. And it's a way for me to remind myself of what I've done so far. Because as I mentioned, this reverse bucket list. was helping me try to go backwards and to think, okay, what did I achieve in the last 10 years, 20, 30 years, almost 40 years, and to write it down. And it doesn't even start, I think I would have to keep going, but I struggled to get to 20 first, and then I started to think longer. So this list is not for me to spend my life like rehearsing, but more since I've not done those other lists before, I think it's a good way to... remind myself of everything I've done in the past. And that reverse bucket list really was helping me to put things into perspective in terms of how much there is I still want to achieve is clear, but how much I've already done. As I said, I was surprised that some of my friends told me you've done already a lot. And it's true that I've done a lot, but I do not consider it to be so exceptional. And the reason why I don't think it's exceptional is because I've achieved them and it's like I moved on from it. But if I don't write them down, then they are forgotten. If you don't find a way to remind yourself or to... Yeah, so it's a bit like I don't like to write a journal. Well, I do love to speak and I do like to write. For me, I just... I'm more being straight to the point. So those lists are helping me remind myself of what I've achieved. So my hope also through this and with the 40 things before 40 and also the other list I've made is... to ensure that I fuel this list into my reverse bucket list to say this is what I've achieved. And it doesn't look so, not so tiny, but it can look bigger. So, for example, on the reverse bucket list, I have things like living abroad, being bilingual, getting my bachelor degree, paying one Michelin star restaurant to my parents, or finishing a Rubik's Cube, finishing a half marathon and still. When I'm looking at the list now, a couple of days later, I'm realizing, well, there is some things that you have not written. I wanted to ski tour forever and I did one session. And yes, of course, I put on the 40 things before 40 list. I put instead of three hours, I would like to do a full day. And that's good. But I can still put the first one in and remind myself, this is all the things that you accomplished. And there will be a lot of small things, but there will be a lot of big things. that reminds you how much you have achieved, how much you've moved forward. I sometimes do feel like the days are passing by and life is passing by quickly. And we have our day to day, we have our job, we have our spouse or kids or dog. My dog is sleeping on the couch right now. And it's like next day, next day, next day, next week. And all of a sudden you realize this much happened. But can you remind yourself of what happened and how much you grew, how much you evolved? And so this is where this reverse bucket list comes in. It's a reminder of how much I evolved, how much I accomplished. And this is the same way as when my 40 things before 40, or my sky is not the limit list, are complete, are ticked. It's a way to say this is what I accomplished in the last whatever years. It's I have moved forward. I have grown. I have developed. I have evolved into this amazing person. And that's also how... I think it's important to look at life, at least for me. That's my perspective. So the next lists I have are a lot more practical, but I think they host also a lot of value. And this is where, going back to the very first part of this episode, when I was mentioning that I was out of work and I was not sure where I was going, When I defined 2026, I defined... some goals and so I have my goals written on my computers I have those lists I'm actually FYI I'm using Notion so I have the goals I want to achieve I have also the goals that come from the now 40 things before 40 list and that kind of create goals sports and wellness challenge and fun and then some others that I want to achieve like ensuring I have certain vacation plan diplomas I want to achieve I will maybe talk about that one in another episode but I have this kind of list as a reminder of everything that I want to plan for the year and then I have my to-do list that is more my weekly base and within that to-do list I have now actually split it into a monthly list and within that monthly list I kind of take chunks to avoid that I get lost in terms of like how much I'm expected to achieve by a certain date. Because basically when in January I went through my days, I was like, okay, all of a sudden a day is gone and I have only taken four, five, six boxes out of the 10 that was planned for a certain day. Or whatever is missing out of the whole week. And actually by setting back those monthly goals, so taking my early goal into monthlies into then. weeklys that help me feel okay this is really my focus of the week I need to ensure I do those things and if not then I should say no to others and those lists for me have become a way to ensure that I make the right decision but also it's not stopping me from flexibility so I'm flexible to decide when within the day when within the week I do some of those tasks so it's not that they're... expected on a certain day. They are always sometimes expected on certain days for work, for example. But I am not letting the list dictate me. I'm more using the list to, first of all, empty my brain and ensure that it's written somewhere so it doesn't have to stay on my mind, helping me sleep better. But it's also allowing me to ensure that I'm still on the right track and not making all of a sudden a short-term decision or a... decided to work on certain things that has nothing to do with what I had expected. Because this happened to me sometime, I get excited, motivated, inspired by others. And then I want to do what they do, I want to do something related. And then I forget, well, yeah, that sounds amazing. But maybe that should go into your, this guy, not the limit list, or your 40 things before 40 list. And potentially, it doesn't have to be now. And this is the way it really helped me. So I've already kind of prepared a template for each month with the different goals. And within those goals, what I have to achieve. And same thing for the week. It's very simple. I have Monday through Sunday. And then I can move the boxes and like play around. Some cannot move, for example. Or I have some dailies, like doing 30 minutes of German per day. But there are some that create flexibility. But for me, it's more in terms of ensuring that I don't forget something that I have to do, also admin-related, and that I advance on the right topic. So that's basically the list. And I could go further because I have a backlog, because I don't believe that everything fits in within one week. But I think you understand based on what I've shared, the concept of my two loops. So yeah, this is all my to-do list. This is not on my to-do list, but this is all my list that I use on a regular basis to help me feel more organized, structured, and feel more settled. And I think... Because I said at the beginning of the episode that I wanted to talk about the pros and cons. And of course, I hear people that are more type B than type A, that are like, this doesn't create any flexibility or anything. But for me, it's actually giving me the opportunity also to feel flexible, to feel like I have time for other things. Sometimes I do feel like we get overwhelmed with life, with to-dos, with important topics. and for me my to-do list is not to put... things that will be that will not create the right intention or or not bring me forward and it's just going to be how to say not frivolous but more in term of not giving me the right yeah the right direction and I have a lot of fun I decide when I go on a walk with my dog depending on the weather I decide also to see my friends to hang out to so it's not like I'm stuck in a schedule It's more like it's helping me ensure that by the end of the week, by the end of the months, I feel like I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. And that helps me feel focused and feel positive toward where I'm going. Because I do feel lately the world feel like things are going faster and faster. And I work in digital transformation. And looking at now how I'm working with AI compared to a few months ago, compared to a year ago, has evolved so much. And I feel like you constantly have to learn faster, deal with things faster. And the speed is increasing. And having the to-do list is helping me feel like, OK, I'm still under control. I still know what's my focus. And even if people are going at 100 kilometers an hour left and right, I can just breathe. and like do it in my rhythm, I know my rhythm will work for what I want for me. So that's where those lists also are coming from. And I do feel like by re-updating them or improving them a little bit, that has helped me in the last couple of days to feel settled. And I hope this will continue. As I said, I was very overwhelmed at the end of January, but now I feel a lot calmer a week later where I feel like, okay, no, this is what I want to achieve. This is where I'm at. This is also how I'm feeling and this is how happy I am. And so, yeah, so that was quite helpful, I have to say. Where it can be tricky, however, because I also want to say that there are some negative points, is that having those lists every day can feel sometimes overwhelming that you have so much to achieve. So I have tried to make some easy take for myself, work easy take. Taking my dog on a walk, easy take. Cleaning my kitchen, easy take. Things like this. And not to make it also too harsh in terms of heavy topics every day. Like read a book. I'm going to say read five pages. And then maybe I'm going to read 10 or 15. And I'm going to be happy. But if I'm reading five, it's usable. You know, it's not like a burden. I do think that sometimes I take the time also not to look at this list to avoid. being too focused on it and I have those days that is kind of like free day where I decide okay like all those pending topics all these heavy topics that I have to do I will not do them today and I will move them away and for example if I look at it today I went running this morning and it was just out of the blur was not planned I took my dog on the long walk I had to base him because he was completely dirty. the problems of being in February. And then I watched TV and I was watching an episode and then the Olympics are on. And yes, I could have done my taxes. I could have done a paper that is due for my studies or I could have done whatever else. And instead I was like, no, I don't want to do this. So it's just going to be easy peasy. Now I'm recording the podcast and you could think, okay, yeah, now you said you didn't do anything, but then here it is. You're doing the podcast. Actually, I had not planned to do this episode today, first of all. It's not on my to-do list at all. I know that I have one episode that is already recorded that I have to edit, so I'm not in a rush for next week. But also, it just felt like it because I've been working on those lists all week. in a fun way, as I said, chatting with my friends all over the world and asking them for feedback. And it was like very cool to see. And so this is where... I did not do it based on the list. And I think that's what you have to take out of it. Also, sometimes it's out of the blur of the moment. It feels right to do these episodes. Is it super prepared? No. Do I feel the episode will be okay? I hope so. I hope you still enjoy it. But I do feel like when I overly prepare as well, it's not as good quality for some reason. So yeah. So I think it's about finding who you are. Type A, type B. Do you like this or not? But at the end of the day, remind yourself of what you accomplished I think is always important so I would highly advise if it's not a list if it's writing it on a journal but something to remind yourself of everything you've accomplished how much you've grown in the past in all your past and having a bit of a objective toward where you want to go can can help you feel more comfortable and feel more self-aware of where you're going and I'm the number one that will tell you that don't over plan because life happens when you don't realize it. So that those lists, those plans needs to be flexible. And this is why I like this sky not the limit list, because it's really not about in two years time, I will be there. It's just like one day, I want to do that. And potentially, it's going to be next year. Potentially, it's going to be in 20 years, who knows or more. you know, sometimes I talk about living in New York and sometimes I'm like, it would be nice as a professional in my early 40s to live in New York. And sometimes I'm like, maybe I can do that when I retire. So let's see how life happens. And I'm saying New York, but I also have some other places I want to travel to, I want to visit, I want to do and some other experience I have planned before. But no matter what, I take those lists with a grain of salt. I take those lists with a lot of fun. Yes, it is Taipei. Yes, it is very structured. And when I read the difference between Taipei and Taipei, and I see that Taipei is flexible, and I'm like, well, but yes, I do get that my lists are not so flexible. But at the same time, there is a form of flexibility because those lists constantly evolve and don't stand still. And it's just, for me, a way to feel more comfortable and ensure that I grow. So I will leave you with those last few words. I hope you liked it. I hope this inspires you in whatever way. If you're a type A to-do list, if you're not a type A, maybe that just inspire you to get a bit of a reminder of what you've done in your life. And yeah, I wish you a very nice day and talk to you soon. Bye. And that's a wrap for today's episodes of The Pulse. If something resonated with you, I would love to hear about it. So drop me a message on Instagram, LinkedIn, or leave a review wherever you're listening. Your feedback fuels this community and I much appreciate it. Make sure to follow The Pulse on your favorite podcast platforms and on social media so you never miss an episode. And if you're craving for more, check out the show notes for links, resources, and ways to connect. Until next time, keep trusting your journey. Because course happen one step at a time. See you soon. Bye.
