Most of the successes I've had in my life have come from identifying a trade-off and making a choice.  Too many choices or trying to have it all has more often than not led me to confusion and/or inaction.  It's been a great struggle for me at varying parts of my life.

This knowledge however has forced me to give a great deal of attention toward condensing wherever possible and striving to 'do less'.  This is an everyday practice that has helped me even out the ratio of activities to actual meaning and progress.  There's a new question that I've been asking myself -- "what's important now?".  So far, it's helped a ton in allowing me to center my focus and move things forward.

Ultimately, this choice overwhelm is why I started Favor in the first place.  The health and wellness market is filled with trends, cure-alls, fancy functional name sets and fads that often conflict with each other.  And business wise, there are countless sales channels to pursue, productivity apps for optimal work and third party services that we could potentially benefit from pursuing.  Luckily, I've been able to harken back to this question and focus on only what's necessary and important right now.

Don't get me wrong, the answer has required a ton of trial and error.  I've had to continually and systematically identify and remove things that aren’t aligned with the Favor purpose or may actually be holding us back instead of helping.  With this however, has come greater clarity that I hope will continue to lead to progress for us.  And ultimately, that's what it's all about - minimum viable progress:  identifying the next goal or milestone and what we can do right now to prepare for it.  

Less but Better is not only how I plan to move Favor forward but it also ties directly into our mission.  We want to provide people with a trustworthy daily health boost in the simplest way possible.  Less but better in this sense speaks not only to our ingredients ingredients and quantity, but also our packaging and messaging.  We want to identify the benefits that people are getting from drinking our shots and take out anything that is not contributing to them.   Sounds simple enough!

I’ve spent the last five days in my apartment.  I’ve left twice: once to the bodega to get paper towels (next building over) and once for an early morning jog.  There's an unprecedented amount of uneasiness right now, and it's growing by the day.  I’m certainly not immune to this. 

I have, however, decided that the best (and potentially only) use of my energy is to focus on the things I can control and be super deliberate with my time.  I see quarantine as an opportunity to slow things down and reset.  It's something I've been nudging myself to do for some time now (refocus on the things that are most important) and have now ultimately been forced into. 

I am also hyper cognizant of the fact that this time abundance given the circumstances, coupled with tight quarters and no roommates, can be dangerous.  As a result, I've been implementing daily routines that center around productivity, wellness and ultimately, making me feel better.  The main idea I'm building off of is that Momentum is Everything.

I’ve become obsessed with gaining and keeping momentum.  It became more of a focus when I started Favor, but the realization came from my hoops days (long ago).  They say basketball is a game of runs.  And while this is largely just something analysts say because other analysts say it, there’s a ton of truth in it.  When I was playing, I always knew that a good practice or warmup would lead to me balling out in the game.  Not to say that never happened if I didn't, but the confidence I’d get from that series of prior, smaller victories, always manifested when the lights were on.  This idea surfaced in game too.  Making a couple easy shots early, allowed me to get into a rhythm and have that confidence of seeing the ball go through the hoop.  From there, the rim became bigger.

This same concept has been critical for me in isolation.  I treat every morning as my warmup or pregame. It sets the stage for the day, allowing me to accomplish small things right off the bat, that I can take with me to the next task.  Some routines may seem small (making my bed, meditating, cold showers), but each one sets me up for the next.  Then when it’s time to tackle the difficult, I’m riding a win streak.  This sense of consistent accomplishment has been surprisingly helpful these days.

Momentum also aligns directly with the Favor mission.  I often say that 'Apple Cider Vinegar is not going to cure you’.  While I do believe that is the case, our shots will most certainly provide benefits to improve your well-being.  The better you feel, the more equipped you are to tackle each task the day brings on.  Action begets motivation, and that one quick morning swig can make a big difference.

It's these smaller details, I've found, that are incredibly helpful in maintaining motivation and being able to stay focused on controlling the controllable.