BTD Newsletter – September 2025: Seasons, and Pre-Mortems

Well, it looks like autumn has arrived suddenly (in the South-West at least). The house is empty of children, and full of wet dogs. And for the first time ever, I feel like I am ready for winter. We took the necessary steps in the summer. New windows, front and back, so the December north-easterly wind will no longer howl through the dining room while we are enjoying spaghetti and petty arguments. The garden nearly complete, with access to The Bunker (BTD HQ) via actual stone steps, rather than a lethal, damp, grassy slope. Chimney sweep booked for late September, and three cubic metres of logs seasoning in the log shed. As you can tell, I am really pleased with myself. But, honestly, it's down to two things. Firstly, my Kanban has given me the forward visibility to plan ahead through the immediacy of the summer. Second, my reMarkable Paper Pro has given me the enhanced focus to help me do things that I would normally procrastinate about until it's all far too late.

So, my challenge to you is: are you ready for winter? What outcomes do you need to achieve, before it strikes? Have you clarified what you need to do next, to achieve those outcomes? And, if not, will you please get on with it?

The Stoics tell us that we need to always be considering what may lie in wait for us. A "pre-mortem" is a great tool for this. Not "What could go wrong?", but "Disaster has struck. Let's imagine paths back to the present, then act to nullify those paths". This approach has three benefits. Firstly, adversity, when it comes (which it always does) then feels like a repetition ("I've seen this before"), rather than a surprise. This softens the blow. Second, by pre-imagining the worst, we will be "emotionally vaccinated" so we don't react; we respond. Finally, we can only feel gratitude. If things go well, we are grateful for that. And if things go badly, we are grateful to have prepared properly.

So, today, pick a project or life domain and do a pre-mortem. And let me know if it helps.

In the "It's all relative" category… Next time you are fretting about your commute, think about the school run shown below.