It is so often easy to tell how busy a week has been by the reactions of our entire family on Friday night. We all had gotten back into the swing of real life and had a lot of stuff going on in between school and work. Couple that with the recent holidays and it was evident we were all exhausted.

After supper we all loaded up on the couches in our living room and fired up an episode (or several) of Ted Lasso. As we watched and laughed together I had LuLu up on my lap much of the time. It was pretty peaceful chilling out and relaxing while snuggling with LuLu.

Nights like this don’t happen often in our house, but sometimes they feel necessary for all of us to take a deep breath and chillax. It is so easy get caught up in my desire to get much done, to move from project to project, to start and complete new things, and to be productive. My soul is restless by nature and left to my own devices I’d be busy constantly. Chilling on the couch with my family is a great way to remind myself to relax and breathe. It’s tough to do anything but relax with a dog on your lap snuggled into you.

Thanks!!!

With the COVID cases going up almost as fast as the mercury in the thermometer is dropping I made the difficult yet easy decision to have one of my offices go remote for the next handful of days. Unfortunately it was the office closest to me and the one I had been planning on working out of today and tomorrow. Such is life, good thing we’ve had practiced switching gears back to remote work as needed.

One of the upsides to working at home has always been the ability to start work a bit earlier and on my terms. When the spirit moves me and I want to get rolling before 6:00 I can do that when I have a commute timed in seconds rather than minutes or hours. Today I was able to shower up and dive right in. So nice to be able to start working with work rather than a drive.

When I decided to pause after lunch and get a workout in I was able to do the workout I wanted, a bike ride. I only had to walk a dozen feet or so into the living room, hop on, and pedal until my heart was content. The decision to shower was one I was able to make rather than a must do (though, truth be told, I was way too sweaty to not shower, even when working from home the rest of the day).

Sure, it wasn’t the same as in the office as I would have liked to be, but I was able to make the most of it… while continuing to find the upside. Not everyone has the ability to work from home, it is a privilege that I will not take for granted. The ability to hop on my bike part way through the day, get my sweat on, hop in my own shower, and then get right back to work is pretty awesome and a very sweet benefit.

Thanks!!!

Funny how much spare time I’m finding throughout my days when I make a few behavioral changes. A couple of the big things I’ve been focused on are cutting out internet usage (except for Wall Street Journal, travel, and recipes), not pulling out my phone as a time filler, and making better use of the time I have. Without those instinctual reactions to a lull in the action I’ve been left exploring what the heck to do with all the extra time I have on my hands. Case in point – the past five days have seen my phone’s screen time tracker dip below 60 minutes each day – significantly lower than the embarrassingly high total it had been averaging.

Throughout the day I’d hit this little pocket of time when I had a chance to breathe. I caught myself as my hand reflexively went towards my phone and would do something different. Earlier this week the new action was reading a book. Yesterday it was pausing to collect my thoughts and jotting notes to myself about a future book idea. Today it was going back to an old homily from one of my favorite priests. Tomorrow? Possibly back to one of those three previous ideas if the weather is still bitterly cold. If it’s just a tad nicer out maybe I’ll get a little bonus outdoor time on a walk. Maybe pause and do a little exercise? Who knows?

What’s I’m grateful for is the feeling of accomplishment I’ve already had from choosing right actions rather than reaction. The focus on intentionality is already helping me focus more on the long term goals I have for this year and beyond. There’s a lot for me to work on and do, I’ve now got more time to to get it all done.

Thanks!!!

Our morning run conversation this morning was much deeper than normal. Usually Becky and I are shooting the bull, talking about our upcoming days, and so on. When I’m up and out the door a little before 5am my brain doesn’t always keep up with my feet (not that they are moving that fast either!).

This morning was quite different. A little after a mile in we started talking about the question that had been ringing through my head since yesterday afternoon. We spent time on the question itself, ideas working around it, and ways to put it into my next writing project. Somehow we got onto the topic and stayed there for the majority of our run.

I am very grateful for the insights Becky shared this morning. The ideas she brought to the table really rounded out the concept and have helped me to start fleshing it out. I’ve already got a pile of notes as my brain had it working in the background throughout the day – many of them bear her fingerprints.

Talking about a topic this deep early in the morning on our run was oddly refreshing and helped embed the idea into my brain more completely. Having Becky’s insight added in was a huge bonus.

Thanks!!!

My early morning bike ride two to three times each week is my opportunity to indulge in watching TV alone. Left to my own devices I’d binge watch an entire series. Stacking my TV watching onto exercise helps me stay focused on my goals.

This morning there was a line which really hit me. “Remember to ask the RIGHT question.” For whatever reason my mind stayed fixated on those words much longer than it had any right to.

Later in the day that phrase prompted an epiphany. When a specific situation arose the phrase rocketed out like an over powdered cannonball! Much like the splinter of glass lodged in my fingertip the idea erupted out of my mind. The sense of relieved pressure was palpable.

Within seconds my mind was awash in wave after wave of inspiration as the depth of my idea reached a depth akin to the Mariana Trench. The idea itself with wait for a different day to be shared, there must be work done to extract the diamond from the coal.

What I am most grateful for today is the fact that I have myself the space and silence my brain needed to put these two seemingly unrelated thoughts together. Had my mind been more full of useless stuff I could have easily missed this opportunity.

Thanks!!!

Huh, funny how a seemingly small change can have a tremendous impact. One of the changes for me in 2022 is a focus on less technology. Rather than pulling out my phone for random moments of quiet and boredom I’ve replaced them with books and notes for myself. I had no idea just how much time I was slowly and quietly wasting online.

Late in the afternoon I picked up a library book Becky had finished earlier in the day. As I type this I’ve finished the book and enjoyed every page of it! It was a heart warming story reminding me of the power of faith in the face of extreme diversity. I would highly recommend and am sure to have it in mind often.

Had I not changed my behavior a bit I would have most likely skipped reading it. I would have had the intentions of reading it but would most likely have been caught up in some time wasting habit instead. Completely unintentional, but the results would still have been the same. My heart wouldn’t be as full as it is before I go to bed tonight.

One subtle change, one very full heart and a smile on my face before bed.

Thanks!!!

So far so good for 2022! I had much of my plan in place to start the year and I only slipped in one little spot while staying the course for multiple others. Yes, I know that the new year really is only a date on a calendar, one of 365, but there is a power to be harnessed as a life hack. This year I’m using it as a starting line for a race for the year.

In concept I look at the relatively minor behavior changes as opportunities to improve and live better. Once again I’m chuckling to myself at the level of awareness that occurs when I change a behavior pattern. I was often pausing while my brain struggled to keep up with the operating system update I installed causing me to stop and almost glitch as I realized just how engrained certain behaviors (reactions?) had become. How funny that one little thing can slowly develop into a habit without even realizing it.

All that said, it was an excellent start to the year. I got my exercise in. I made better choices with my time. I avoided unnecessary “noise.” Best part, I spent time with family, time at home working with my hands, and enjoyed a mind boggling movie – Tenet (which really should have come with a warning about how fatigued your brain would become as you try to keep up).

2021 was a wonderful year, based on the start I’m thinking 2022 could be even more grand.

Thanks!!!

Holy crap, what has happened today? I’ve been going ever since the alarm went off at 6:43am. Hit the road for a run with Becky. Got home and hopped on my bike trainer for over an hour. Showered up and went to work to move into my new office. Wrapped up my book and sent out my final(ish) revision to my coach and editor. Got home and went for a walk with Becky and the dogs. Eat supper. Now we’re off for some family board games to close out the night while also talking about our upcoming trip to Iceland in June.

Rather than slowly slide into the new year I guess I opted for crashing right through the end of this one! What a great feeling to knock out so much and to get this much out of the day already (and who knows how long we’ll be gaming for tonight).

2021 has been a nonstop thrill ride of action and excitement, it only seems fitting to end it in the breakneck pace it sustained throughout most of the year!

Thanks!!!

Wild to think that 2021 only has a day left. The year has flown by at such a seemingly rapid pace my mind is still struggling to truly understand how it could have followed 2020, they seem so unrelated in some ways and yet 2021 was born completely of 2020.

Much of the day was spent wrapping up goals and tasks better done in 2021. Tomorrow will see the end of a year long goal, so pumped to put the checkmark next to it! Throughout the day my thoughts kept drifting back to random events throughout the past year while also thinking ahead to 2022.

I paused for a bit and went into my photos from this year. My mind is blown with all that we’ve done and all that’s happened in the past 12 months! How did we live that much life in the last year? Crazy!

Tomorrow I’ll see if I can talk the family into going through all of our pictures from 2021 together. There’s a bit of magic in going through the pictures from the past year. Each one gives the gift of memory, a moment frozen in time to go back to.

So much more of 2021 to unpack before it is gone, more planning for 2022 before it begins. I’m glad I started wrapping up 2021 today, there’s a lot more to it than I initially remembered!

Thanks!!!

For the second straight year we spend a night in the woods to wrap up the year. While it wasn’t quite as close to the last day of the year as it was last year there’s no question that we’ve started a bit of a tradition. Fingers crossed for keeping it up again in 365 days or so.

The nonstop snow, crazy wind, and freezing temperatures only made the camping all the more memorable. We had so many laughs all day and night long. There were a couple of times in the middle of the night when all three of us happened to wake up at about the same time and jump right back into conversation and laughs. Quite honestly, I don’t remember ever having so much fun packing up gear on a frigid morning. The entire time was a blast!

Spending time with my boys in the woods like this is amongst my very favorite activities in the entire world. This camping trip was another memorable experience I am very grateful for. We’ll keep laughing at the memories for years and years to come, especially moments like when we attempted to make popcorn over the fire (spoiler alert, it didn’t go so well). I am thankful they share the passion for the outdoors and can find the beauty and meaning in being out in nature.

Thanks!!!