What’s NOW! October End of Month

Hello October and the end of the month!

I didn’t expect October to end so quickly. Maybe that’s because I still thought it was summer with the unusually warm weather I’ve been experiencing in this part of the world. Also, the end of the month I had a week (this past one) that I just pumped out to much and had a little burn out. I’m back after taking a few days off, sometimes you need those and I do recommend them. Clear your agenda out and just not have one for a few days. Of course, my writing and posting suffered as well. But, I’m okay with that. Let’s get into the month and what’s left of it.

Reading. I’ve wrapped up a few books related to the series on IBtP (In-Between the Pages) these past couple of weeks. Here they are:

• Unplug by Suze Yalof Schwartz
• The Blue Zones by Dan Butler

What I have on deck:

• The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
• Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg
• Are You Fully Charged? by Tom Roth

All focused on the work of wellness we play in: physical, mental, spiritual, intelligence, environmental, and social.

IBtP. Moving into a new month I’m looking at posing a challenge after wrapping the series this month on wellness. I want to challenge myself to create a better habit of short blogs, everyday, that I can provide. Simple 1-2 minute reads about what I noticed in my day. I’ll kick this off with November and we won’t have a series that month. I’m going to see if I can maintain a daily post for the 30 days we have in November. You’ll have to weigh in with views and comments to let me know what you think.

Physical Wellness. You won’t believe me, but I haven’t run in over a week until last night. The training plan kind of bottomed out during my burn out last week with things. Back at it again this week before November kicks off. I’ll have a plan by then too for marathon #2. I’ll be using Run Everything by Bart Yasso to kick me in the butt. By January or February 2018 I’ll have a second marathon on the books.

Work. Incredible development for the team is in full swing. Great start to FY18 already. Feeling really great with the team’s overall engagement and the leaders are doing the work only they can do. Heading into our busiest season, this focus and work could not have been better planned. This will be a tough first QT for me to beat, as it was my best QT of the four I had last year. There is plenty to keep me super engaged all the way through January. It’s going to go by super fast and I’ll need some pause points to just scope out more regularly to see the work, celebrate it, and pace it all out.

Me Time. Everyone needs it, yet we don’t give it enough of it to ourselves. We feel guilty for doing so. Part of my burn out this past week was because I didn’t prioritize me. It is not being selfish, it’s being smart. I have to be better each day in giving myself some time to engage in what I am most passionate about: reading, writing, running, and gaming. I’ve noticed when those things are missing in my weeks, I am not myself. If I cannot be right with myself, I will not even be close to being effective for others.

That’s what is left in my October month. Last week, I got this. I’m really looking forward to the holidays and winter. For some, it’s the worst time of year. For me, it’s the most engaging and goal focused time of the year. Have a great week, enjoy the seasonal change.

Shawn 👨🏻‍💻