Issue Nine – More Like a Monthly Checkin
To be candid, the original date for this post was as August 18, 2024. Life occurred, other priorities took priority, I opted to do other things, my blog (and podcast) have continued to look around in my head and on my ToDo List.
Now, here I am, sitting in my car at the bus stop, in the midst of a storm with nothing else to fill my time ,while I wait an undefined amount of time for my daughter’s bus to (1) leave her school and (2) safely transport her the 30ish minute trip to me so that we can continue on with the rest of our night.
My other daughter has fallen asleep in the backseat and my wife just called to let me know she left work and will take over bus stop duty when she gets here.
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Everyone is home fed and ready for bed.
I’ve decided that I might as well continue what I’ve finally (officially) “begun” – this post….
Let’s rewind….
Not sure to which chapter; this is the problem that delaying weekly updates brings to light: a lot has happened over the last 6 weeks.
A Bullet Point Recap
- Vacation – Road Trip – New Jersey and Asheville, NC
- Perfect timing to take a relaxing week off of work
- Great time seeing and hanging out with family and the new puppy in New Jersey
- The cabin we rented outside Asheville, NC was beautiful! Great location and views.
- The Biltmore Estate was quite the place. The mansion was humongously amazing. Never need to pay for the tour again, but would definitely take a look at staying at the Inn on the grounds and/or visiting the grounds again in the future.
- Asheville looked like it had a lot of breweries, eateries and musical venues. We are at a BBQ spot and walked over to check out a yoga festival.
- Finished Reading ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear
- Back to the Grind, Back to School and Back to Routine!
- Amanda did work from home/mommy daycare for a week before our trip and the following two weeks before the new school year began.
- There were a few days we had to split and Clara hung out at the shop with me.
- We do what we have to in order to make it work and I’m very glad we are able to have the flexibility to make it work between her career and my business.
- Hurricane Debbie blew through and brought about some flooding that may have been exacerbated by some infrastructure and rapid/over development/population control issues.
- The New School Year has begun! 🎉
- We are back to a set schedule and routine again!
- Amanda did work from home/mommy daycare for a week before our trip and the following two weeks before the new school year began.
Priorities and Level of Importance
As with the change of seasons comes the change in the hierarchy of priorities.
A large reason I have not followed through with my weekly desire to compose these updates is that my mental bandwidth needed to put more energy into other areas of importance and maintain my sanity.
Here are some examples of items that took precedent:
- Business/work demands while watching a toddler while daycare is on break.
- Adjusting to changes in schedules.
- Focusing on fitness, nutrition and sleep along with adapting the routine to make it work and do what is necessary for a healthier/ healthy lifestyle.
- Vacation and spending time with family.
- Natural disasters and their aftermath, like Hurricane Debbie.
A ‘My Core 5’ Update
- Health
- Activity- over the past month, I have been meeting my step count goals almost everyday. I’d have to consult the Oura stats for exact numbers, but the record is there
- Fitness- Cyclebar on Sunday morning; morning workouts at HealthFit every Tuesday and Thursday; walking on the Treadmill everyday/as necessary to meet/exceed step goals. Typically this means 2 miles of intervals on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saturday is typically a lawn care or family activity day.
- Sleep – most nights are better than others. It’s all a work in progress.
- Wealth / Business
- There have been quite a few good projects for clients keeping me busy at the shop.
- Always working on improving processes and systems.
- Relationships
- Amanda and I have celebrated 7 years of marriage. I still love her more every day!
- The girls are doing great! Learning, growing and entering the next phases of their youth.
- Got to spend time with friends and family.
- Spirituality / Mindset
- I completed Atomic Habits and have adapted some thoughts and actions into my life.
- I am currently reading Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”
- I meditate as necessary
- I have been putting focus on scheduling/ planning and what my typical/ideal day/routine is/needs to be
- Podcasts in my Rotation:
- The Game with Alex Hormozi
- Build with Leila Hormozi
- The Tim Ferris Show with Tim Ferris
- Deep Questions with Cal Newport (I’ve gotten a couple mentions about some hats I made for the host and producer, Jesse)
- Huberman Lab Podcast with Prof. Andrew Huberman
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck Podcast with Mark Manson
- Noah Kagan Presents
- Trevor Noah’s Now What
- Activities/Hobbies/Interests
- Podcast – I recorded, “edited” and posted the “My Core 5” episode. It was messy, boring and imperfect, but I did it. I also shared all the episodes on Spotify.
- X (Twitter) has been fine for posting my thoughts and sparingly seeing what the few podcast hosts I follow are saying. Might change that “protocol” though.
- In an effort to lessen barriers, I figured out how to post blogs without needing to get out my laptop. We’ll see how well it comes across when I ‘Publish’ this. I’m hopeful that it works well enough to inspire more desire to write and post.
- In preparation for travels to Japan, I have begun completing daily courses on Duolingo in an effort to learn Japanese.
- I’ve been watching Fargo on Hulu during my treadmill sessions.
- I’m working on my landscaping and household maintenance todos
- Borderlands 3 has become my wind down activity
I’m sure there’s more.
Until Next Time …
My bedtime has passed and my eyelids have been getting heavier. Until next time and hopefully soon (especially as I plan my time better) 😴💤
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