Sprint 4: Pivotal Moments

The last fortnight has felt like a blur. Writing the day’s memorable experience has been a good way to keep track.  Little things and big things, little frustrations and big joys.  8 weeks into the year, and I’m consistently tackling several meaningful projects.

• • Wordsmith subscription gave me a quote to write, and a human to connect with on the other side of the world.
  • Got frustrated with “the process” of corporate pole-climbing. I wrote a long letter to myself, exploring my feelings about work, and the options I have. Executed on a few of them.
  • My colleagues gave me a strong dose of inspiration to deal with the cynicism. Thanks JJ & KF
  • I practised listening, and what I heard gave me ideas to craft stories. Those stories affected the narrators, myself and eventually over 100 people.
  • A community formed around a work idea I helped to create. It’s taking on a life of its own, and gives me more material to craft more, other, better possibilities.
  • Strategizing in a volunteer capacity was draining, yet rewarding.
  • I began the exercise of writing the opposite party’s argument for them. Challenging.
  • I had loads of conversations that helped people. (I need to write more details!)
  • I saw the power of ‘owning your story’ before delivering it in front of an audience.
  • Someone recognised my combinatorial skills, and I received an invitation to speak to strategists about presentation skills – it surprised me.
  • One of the best Talks I’ve hosted was delivered by 3 women who would not ever be picked up to do a public speech. I was also devastated by my own speculation about how the “jobs for the boys” played out.
  • I wrote 250 days on a day I did not feel like writing. I simply wrote out how I was feeling, and the questions I was asking myself.
  • The volunteer job has become a non-trivial investment of time. I am  doing much of the writing for the grant application, and some of the coordination too. It feels disappointing to be let down by people not living up to their part, or perhaps procrastinating on it.
  • Got on top of tax and finance documentation, and ready to tackle the next phase of investments.
  • Created a set of drone imagery for our local community garden.
  • Kept up with daily writing and calligraphy. Wrote a bunch of wedding invites for a friend. Found a book “Finding your element” by Ken Robinson at a community event. Read “Draft No. 4” and got through a couple of chapters of “Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow”.
  • Read through my blogroll in a 6 hour block. Shared a number of interesting links with a couple of people I am going to create a “communal learning” group with.

I am never short of activities to do. The question to ask myself is: What are all activities these for? Why do I do what I do? And what am I not doing that I could be?