The Fuck-It List: Your Anti-Waiting Strategy for 2026
Why January is a scam, why profanity might save you, and how to write the list that changes everything
January is a scam.
You know it. I know it. We all know it.
Cold. Dark. Broke. Sober. Your inbox exploding with “circling back” and “let’s revisit in Q1” - all the stuff you successfully dodged in December is now hunting you down like a debt collector with a grudge.
And you’re supposed to face it while:
Pretending you’re not exhausted
Eating sad salads
Paying £75/month for a gym you’ll abandon by February
Performing “new year new me” energy you absolutely do not feel
Meanwhile, everyone’s posting their vision boards and their word of the year and their 47-point action plans for Q1.
I have a different suggestion.
What if instead of another list of things you SHOULD do... you wrote a list of what you’re finally saying FUCK IT to?
This Is Not a Bucket List
Let me be very clear about what we’re talking about here, because I’ve seen people get this confused.
A bucket list is dreams for someday:
“Someday I’ll start that business”
“When the kids are older, I’ll write the book”
“Once I’ve saved enough, I’ll take the leap”
Someday is the most dangerous word in the English language. It’s where ambition goes to quietly suffocate while you’re busy being sensible.
A Fuck-It List is also NOT the opposite of a bucket list - a list of things you won’t do anymore. That’s just running away. That’s negativity dressed up as productivity.
A Fuck-It List is saying FUCK IT to everything that’s keeping you stuck:
Fuck it to fear
Fuck it to perfectionism
Fuck it to “what will people think?”
Fuck it to waiting until you’re ready
Fuck it to other people’s rules about what’s possible for someone like you
Fuck it to the voice that whispers “who do you think you are?”
And then saying YES to the bold moves you’ve been circling:
The conversation you’ve been avoiding
The raise you’ve been too scared to ask for
The project you’ve been “planning” for three years
The leap you keep talking about at dinner parties but never actually take
It’s the anti-”shoulds” strategy.
It’s manifesting, but with creatine.
It’s what happens when you stop asking for permission and start giving it to yourself.
Why Profanity Matters (Yes, Really)
Some of you are reading this thinking: “Does it have to be called that? It’s a bit... aggressive.”
Yes. It does. Here’s why.
Adam Grant’s research shows that swearing predicts higher rates of honesty and integrity. People who curse aren’t crude - they’re authentic. They’re signalling that they prize candor over courtesy.
The word “fuck” carries energy. It’s a pattern interrupt. It’s the linguistic equivalent of slapping yourself across the face and saying “WAKE UP.”
When you say “I should probably ask for a raise,” nothing happens. Your brain files it under “someday” and moves on.
When you say “Fuck it, I’m asking for the raise,” something shifts. Your nervous system wakes up. The stakes feel real.
The profanity isn’t decoration. It’s activation energy. It’s the difference between thinking about change and actually moving toward it.
This isn’t about being crude. It’s about being honest. And sometimes honesty needs a bit of edge.
The Data on Waiting
Here’s what the research tells us about playing it safe:
The Silver Ceiling is real. When managers see identical CVs - one aged 28, one aged 48 - they give structurally lower “potential” ratings to the 48-year-old. Same skills. Same experience. Lower score. You’re not imagining the bias. It’s documented.
Corporate support is retreating. Only 50% of companies now prioritise advancement for underrepresented groups, down from 87% in 2019. The programmes that actually work - remote flexibility, sponsorship, targeted development - are being quietly dismantled. You cannot wait for someone else to advance your career. Nobody’s coming to save you.
But, yet… Women over 50 are the fastest-growing entrepreneur group in the UK. They’re almost twice as likely to build high-growth companies as 30-year-olds.
Not because they finally felt ready. Because they finally stopped waiting for permission.
The biggest risk isn’t taking action. It’s waiting.
While you’re waiting to be ready, someone less qualified is taking the opportunity. While you’re asking for permission, someone else is building the thing. While you’re strategically stalling, the moment is passing.
My Fuck-It List (The Messy Truth)
I’m going to share mine. Not because I’ve got it all figured out — I absolutely do not — but because I think it helps to see what this actually looks like in practice.
Done:
✓ Leave Google at the peak of my career (everyone thought I was mental)
✓ Do stand-up comedy at Edinburgh Festival and The Comedy Store (bombed first, killed second - both were worth it)
✓ Co-found HERA Media with zero experience in fund-raising
✓ Start Glittersphere in a crowded market where everyone asked “why would anyone choose you?”
✓ Wear sequins to boardrooms that have never seen sequins (now it’s my signature)
✓ Say the quiet part loud, even when my voice shakes
✓ Launch this Substack and call it what it is
✓ Start a YouTube channel at 52 (my first video was terrifying and imperfect and I did it anyway)
Still on the list:
□ Ask for the speaking fees I’m actually worth (getting better at this, still uncomfortable)
□ Pitch the book to publishers (terrifying, doing it anyway this year)
□ Launch the video podcast (filming in Feb!)
□ Build the Reinvention Rebellion into an actual movement
□ Get an actual gig to DJ at (preferably in the sunshine/on a beach)
□ Stop apologising for taking up space
□ Stop checking if everyone’s okay before I say what I actually think
□ Say no to opportunities that pay well but drain my soul
□ Charge what I’m worth without explaining why
Every single one of the “done” items felt impossible before I did them. Every single one felt inevitable after.
That’s the magic of the Fuck-It List. It turns “I’ve been meaning to...” into “I did it.”
The Three Principles
This is the Reinvention Rebellion. Three principles:
𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. The Fuck-It List is defiant action over delayed dreams. No more “someday.” No more “when I’m ready.” No more waiting for permission that’s never coming.
𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜. Master the tools. Compete without permission. AI is the great equaliser - but only if you use it. My new YouTube video on asking for a raise? That’s rebellion. Knowing your worth and demanding it? That’s rebellion.
𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Human resonance is the only differentiator left. Your Fuck-It List makes you unmissable. It forces you to show up as yourself - not the polished, palatable version you think people want.
How to Write Yours
Today, Sunday, before Monday’s chaos reclaims you, I want you to write your Fuck-It List.
Here’s how:
Step 1: The Movie Test
If your life was a movie, what would the audience be screaming at you to do?
Leave the job? Start the thing? Have the conversation? End the relationship? Ask for the money?
It’s obvious to everyone watching. Write it down.
Step 2: The Deathbed Test
In three generations, no one will remember your name. So why are you playing it safe? What would you regret NOT doing?
Write that down too.
Step 3: The Trade-Off Test
To pick something up, you have to put something down. Assume you can do no more than you’re doing now. What matters enough to trade something else for?
Step 4: Get Specific
Not “be healthier” but “sign up for that 10K by Friday.”
Not “change careers” but “email three people in the industry I want to enter.”
Not “be more visible” but “post on LinkedIn three times this week.”
Not “ask for more money” but “schedule the conversation with my boss by Wednesday.”
Vague intentions are just sophisticated procrastination.
Step 5: Pick ONE
Circle the item that scares you most but excites you most too. That’s your focus for the next 90 days. That’s your first Fuck-It.
The Workbook
I’ve created a free Fuck-It List workbook with all of these exercises and more:
The Movie Test
The Deathbed Test
The Trade-Off Test
Small / Medium / Large Fuck-Its spectrum
The Energy Check (fear vs. genuine wrong fit)
A Permission Slip to sign (because sometimes you need to give yourself permission in writing)
Subscribe to get it. It’s designed to take 20 minutes. Today. Before Monday hits.
The Invitation
And if asking for what you’re worth is on your list, my new YouTube video drops today: How to Ask for a Raise - the perfect first Fuck-It item for 2026. Because nothing funds your other Fuck-Its like getting paid what you deserve.
But here’s what I really want:
Share your Fuck-It List.
In the comments. In Substack Chat. Reply to this email. Wherever feels right.
Because something magical happens when you say it out loud. When you write it down. When you tell someone who will hold you to it.
It stops being a someday dream. It becomes a commitment.
The Rebellion Starts Now
The ground is shifting. AI is reshaping everything. Economic uncertainty is real. The corporate world that promised stability is quietly breaking its promises.
You can spend 2026 the way you spent 2025 - waiting, planning, preparing, hoping things become clearer.
Or you can write a Fuck-It List and start moving.
The rules are being rewritten. The old playbooks are failing. The people who’ve been overlooked, underestimated, and told to wait their turn? This is our moment.
But only if we take it.
This time, we hold the pen.
Write your list. Say fuck it. Start moving.
Welcome to the Reinvention Rebellion.
Nish x
P.S. Coming up: Anne-Laure Le Cunff Spotlight event on January 13th at Shoreditch House (tiny experiments and building a life you don’t need to escape from), and the Fuck-It List Supper Club on January 20th. Links in my profile. Come hungry - for food and for change. 🪩
There’s a few tickets left for Spotlight on Anne-Laure Le Cunff. Please join us.
I promise you, your future self will thank you.
Book HERE
