63 - Fresh Starts and Pivots
Fresh Starts and Pivots
Several years ago, I listened to Daniel Pink’s book When as I drove to and from work. This was in the time of life before I had an easy way to take notes on the books I read and listened to. However, as I listened to the book, one point sunk into my soul. We all have at least 86 opportunities for a fresh start every year (with thanks to Sam Davies who wrote an excellent summary of the book which included the entirety of the list below):
The first day of the month (twelve)
Mondays (fifty-two)
The first day of spring, summer, fall, and winter (four)
Your country’s Independence Day or the equivalent (one)
The day of an important religious holiday—for example, Easter, Rosh Hashanah, Eid al-Fitr (one plus)
Your birthday (one)
A loved one’s birthday (one)
The first day of school or the first day of a semester (two)
The first day of a new job (one)
The day after graduation (one)
The first day back from vacation (two)
The anniversary of your wedding, first date, or divorce (three)
The anniversary of the day you started your job, the day you became a citizen, the day you adopted your dog or cat, the day you graduated from school or university (four)
The day you finish this book (one)
As you looked at that list you may have also thought of things that are missing. Perhaps every month when you have a staff meeting with your team. Perhaps you’d add the day you get a new car. Perhaps you’d every May 4 (we all could use the help of the Force). Whatever the day or date is, we have opportunities for fresh starts all around us.
Why this topic and why today? I took a good part of April off to spend time with my friend Gayle who took a month off between jobs to attempt to rest and recharge. The month was only slightly restful for her and I was thinking over the weekend about how one month off is just not enough. I’ve been working for myself for over a year now and I barely feel rested from the drama and trauma of the last few years. So, it felt like a reminder that today - both a Monday and the first day of a month - may be the best day for you to start fresh. To begin again. To renew your focus. Focus on your goals. Your self care. Your health and wellbeing. Whatever it is, just be gentle with yourself.
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
I'm one of the showcase presenters at the Linking Your Thinking Conference 2023. Join my session on May 2nd at 10:00 AM PT where I'll be speaking about Knowledge and Productivity Living Together. Register here: https://www.linkingyourthinking.com/lyt-conference-3/showcase-power-hour
The Linking Your Thinking Conference is hosted by Nick Milo, the founder of Linking Your Thinking. During the conference, you'll experience a full week of practical examples, walkthroughs, and showcases using linked notes. Learn from prominent voices in the PKM community who use linked notes in clear and practical ways. Connect with a thriving Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) community to share insights, meet new people, and have fun!
Quarterly Retreat - It’s still a great time to get a refresh on 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”. Join now and get access to all future live cohorts for the lowest cost the course will ever be available for.
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. Join us! I’m doing a session this Tuesday on Automation and Productivity that’s available to all of his Pro subscribers.
Photos of the Week
The day I left my former employer, I called my Aunt Idris to let her know. She said, “You know, I want to go to Disney at least one more time and since I’ll be 80 this year we should go.” The plan was set in motion but life kept conspiring against us. We finally pulled it off though and enjoyed a great time at Magic Kingdom and a hot but still fun time at Epcot and the Flower and Garden Festival. So, so happy we got to make these memories.
Here are a few other pics from our time in Florida last week:
I made a little magic happen on our last day of the trip. We both wanted to do the Make Your Own Lego Mini Figurine but it always appears sold out on the website. Being there midday on a random Thursday was apparently the trick so we spent about an hour customizing our mini figs and having them printed.
We stopped in to check on the progress of Gayle’s favorite cake shop which will open sometime in the next year at Disney’s Boardwalk
The rain/weather was an interesting opportunity for flexibility and replanning throughout this entire trip.
Butterflies were a big part of Flower and Garden Festival this year so I enjoyed taking photos of and with a few of them.
I tried the “flight” of “dole whips”. I don’t recommend for a lot of reasons which we’ll get into in the blog post about the trip. Just stick with the traditional dole whip.
We stayed at the Cabins at Fort Wildnerness which gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the programming at that resort for the first time - including the campfire sing along.
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