48 - Ebb and Flow
Hi all. We’re getting close to issue #50 which will feature an “Ask Me Anything” again so hit reply with any question you want answered and I’m happy to do a little research or share a story.
Photo of the Week
This was a quiet week. I grabbed this restroom photo on the morning that inspired this week’s essay. I also noticed this nest in the bush outside my house. Whether it is the bird who annually builds a nest in the place where my downspout meets my house or a new bird remains to be seen. I’ll call it the first sign of spring.
Ebb and Flow
On Tuesday, I met my friend Sarah for coffee after dropping Kona off at the groomer. We had planned to meet at a coffee shop in a large outdoor mall space but when we arrived we realized that it might be a coffee shop, but it opened at 9. So, we diverted to another adorable little coffee shop near by.
I returned to the outdoor mall area after we said our goodbyes so that I could grab a couple of things from stores there.
As I was walking around the outdoor mall space, I had a moment of joy. Joy at the complete freedom of living life on my own schedule.
My ability to ebb and flow is high right now - especially high as my client work is all virtual at the moment so no big travel coming up. I’m trying to embrace the ebb and flow of it all - the ability to do what feels right in the moment while also getting done the things I’ve committed to do.
Where do you need more ebb and flow in your life? How could you create it?
Where’s Kara?
A quick summary of where I’m going to be hanging out online and IRL over the next few weeks. Join me, and if I’m visiting near you, hit reply and let’s meet up!
In Real Life (IRL)
Nothing on the books at the moment right now except lots of time with friends and family around Indiana.
Around the Virtual World
Quarterly Retreat - It’s still a great time to prepare for an awesome 2023 by signing up for the Quarterly Retreat All Access Pass or the Quarterly Retreat Workshop. Visit https://karamonroe.podia.com and download the workbook for free and check out all of the offerings.
Join My Course and Community - You will often find me hanging out in the course and community for my course “Facts of Life Book” that launched on January 1! Do you need to organize your most important stuff for life’s most important moments? If so, then the Facts of Life Book course is just for you. With loads of templates, tools, and guides I’ll help you get your most important information organized. Newsletter readers - get in now for the low cost of only $25 for life! This price will be going up on February 1 so act fast to get in on the lowest price ever and be a founding member giving you access to every update, every live cohort, and every new feature I ever launch of this course.
Creative Work Hour - Every single day of the week, at 10 a.m. eastern, a group gathers online in Zoom to do a quick check in, a brief meditation, work for about 50 minutes on whatever they want to do, and then check out with one another for 5 minutes. Creative Work Hour is one of my favorite places to hang out online and I’ve been there every single day that I could be there since about March of 2022. Come as often or as little as you need to get projects done. To register for the sessions (they are free but you have to sign up to get the zoom link) and to learn more, visit https://lu.ma/CreativeWork.
AP Productivity - I’m once again joining my friend R.J. Nestor as a mentor in his exceptional course AP Productivity. The Cohort 7 just started. You can sign up now to join us in Cohort 8.
Tools, Tips, & Tricks
What 3 Words
Gayle and I were watching the Netflix show Treason over the weekend. In a scene in Episode 1 the main character is attempting to decipher a clue and pops 3 words into the website https://what3words.com. We immediately had to pause the show to see if this was a real thing and - IT IS!! From the website:
What3words has given every 3m square in the world a unique 3 word address. The words are randomly assigned to each square and will always stay the same. Now it’s easy to find and share any location with just three words.
Here are a few fun ones to try:
///prep.speak.kept
///easily.powerhouse.atop
///prices.slippery.traps
The next time you need to give someone a precise location in secret code, you’re prepared.
Habits for a Better Life
There is a LOT of research available on habit change and the importance of cultivating good habits in our daily lives. This article presents 9 habits that are important for a better life and the list very much surprised me. It’s hard to find original thinking in the area of habit change but I actually found this article to be very useful.
What I Published This Week
What is a Facts of Life Book and Why Do You Need One - Medium Article
Bring Your Notes to Life with the Google Photos Plugin - Medium Article and YouTube Video (below)
My Digital “Garden”
As a part of the Obsidian Vault Rebuild Series that I wrote on Medium and YouTube, I began using Obsidian Publish. This add on tool for Obsidian allows you to easily publish your “in progress” notes to the web. If you want to see what I’m thinking about, this is a great place to see inside my head. It’s always available at https://publish.obsidian.md/iwannabeme
This Week’s Featured Book Note
Each week, I’m featuring one book note from a book I’m currently reading. Click the image to view this week’s note as a PDF file.
No booknote again this week because I’ve just been binging a couple of fiction books including Book Lovers by Emily Henry which is the first book for the virtual book club I joined! I’m finally really enjoying fiction which has been a struggle for a long time.
Diversion
This month I’m doing some prototyping of home office configurations. I’ve moved the things in this office around so many times I can’t even remember all the configurations I’ve had over the years. But I’ve still not found something that works as well as I’d like. So, instead of a massive one day move of everything, I’m moving one or two things at a time and testing out some configurations. It’s slow going, but I’m hoping to get to a configuration I finally actually like.
I offer this as my office is roughly 140 square feet - modest but comfortable. For an intriguing read on space use in New York City, check out this article about how a 21 year old lives in a 72 square foot NYC apartment - for which she pays $1345 a month. Which, by the way, is more than my mortgage payment.
Ways You Can Support Me
Purchase one of my digital courses and/or products
I offer courses and digital products focused on organization, planning, productivity, technology, and personal development. Check out all of the offerings currently available at
https://karamonroe.podia.com
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