What Could You Do With 100 Days?

Because politicians shouldn’t have all the fun

may1985 / Adobe Stock

American news headlines in late April of 2025 were obsessed with President Donald Trump’s completion of his (second) “first 100 days.”

Numerous commentators, from journalists to online writers, have shared their opinions, from “President Trump’s first 100 days marked by DOGE, tariffs and deportation” at NPR, to “Promises made, promises kept” at Fox News; “The Most Consequential, Damaging, Head-Scratching Things Trump Did in His First 100 Days” at Politico, to “Trump Struggles to Defend Economy Upon 100-Day Milestone” at Inc.

For anyone tired of current events just now, however, it might be a good time to adapt the “first 100 days” trope to our own lives. Even if you’re not a political leader, now might be the best possible time to ask: What could I do with these next 100 days?

“Forever” self-help suggestions need not apply

Here’s one thing politicians could teach all of us: Stop being a long-term thinker.

I joke, of course. But not completely.

Sometimes thinking of every decision we make in terms of a choice or a decision that we have to make forever can be too daunting to even contemplate.