Weekly Musing #39 Halftime 2025

July. Again.

Just finishing off late spring and leaning into summer.

I had my last big delivery last week with the KTH Innovation Readiness Level Summit, and I’m now in the last two weeks at work, winding down into the holidays.

I like this time of year — the last quiet weeks at work, clearing up, getting those chores done. You know the ones I mean: the ones you keep putting off, the ones that take at least a couple of hours of focused work to get through.

But I also like this moment because it marks halftime.

Six months gone. Six months left.

A halftime whistle. A pause. A breath.

We always talk about the end of the year as a time for looking back, setting intentions, making promises (some kept, many not).

But for most of us, the year doesn't really run January to December — it actually runs August to July.

In my almost 10 years in the Swedish Armed Forces and my now almost 16 years at KTH Innovation , the cyclic year starts with new recruits / new students in August, and graduation in June.

Which has made me come to appreciate this middle point even more.

It’s less noisy and a lot more relaxed that the often more stressful Christmas and New Year and for this one we have no fireworks, no forced reflections (or even more forced resolutions).

No top ten lists…

It marks the end of a season and offers an honest chance to actually stop and reflect — before slowly starting up again for the fall.

So… how was your first half?

Mine was fast. And jam-packed.

Faster than expected, and too jammed to see what was going on.

Things have passed in a blur — many of them worth a lot more attention than I had time to give them.

And that’s what stings a little — not the pace itself (I like moving fast), but what got set aside or neglected because of the speed of things.

Like the moments I should have lingered in — not for much longer, but just long enough to take them in fully, and the conversations I wish I’d had more time for and not shrugged off.

And of course, the wins that deserved to be celebrated, (and some losses that needed to be processed).

But when you're in delivery mode, head down, ticking the boxes, those things get swept aside — and by the time you lift your head, they’re already behind you.

So what are my midyear reflections and resolutions?

Well, first of all, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that time will pass any slower in the coming six months. And let’s definitely not imagine we’ll somehow have less to do.

It’ll still be super busy. Time will fly. And before we know it, we’ll be standing there, huddling in the dark and cold, counting down from 10 and longing to get indoors and go to bed.

So with that in mind, I’m making a short list — giving myself some well-deserved feedback:

What do I want to keep doing?

What do I want to stop doing?

What do I want to start doing?

Keep – LinkedIn. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, plus the occasional extra post. I don’t feel the need to “maximize my LinkedIn presence” — I feel quite comfortable with my current level of effort and gain.

Keep – My booked meetings with close friends. With my closest friends, I have recurring lunches or breakfasts booked — locked in the calendar — so we actually see each other and don’t just keep saying “let’s have lunch sometime.”

Stop – Booking 10 meetings back to back, which makes my days evaporate faster than ether on a hot day.

Start – Booking more time with myself in my calendar, giving me space to catch up with my day and reflect.

Last year I actually blocked my calendar every working day until 09:30, giving myself those first 90 minutes — when I’m most efficient and focused — to get everything shipshape for the day ahead.

Might start doing that again.

The busier you are, the more time you need to plan and book for yourself.

Start – Going to the cinema. I’ve always loved going to the movies: big theatre, big screen, sitting in the dark with a tub of popcorn and enjoying the film the way it was meant to be seen and experienced. I’m going to try to go at least monthly.

How about you?

Keep – Stop – Start?

Anything come to mind?

Let me know in the comments.

But first — let’s take some well-deserved time off and just enjoy the simple fact that we can.