Listen to that Little Voice

How often is that “little voice” inside our head right? How often do we listen to it? Your instinct has been honed by knowledge, experience, and judgment. Trust it.

Postscript: Walking down the street in Madison, Wisconsin, on my way to the CASE Summer Institutes to talk about Generative AI, I passed a man wearing a shirt that said, “Pardon me a moment while I question my decision." Wish I'd been brave enough to ask if I could have photographed his shirt!

A Wish for Your Week (and Mine, Too)

Wishing you a safe, productive, and fulfilling week.

When our son lived at home, I would write weekly (sometimes daily) notes to him. This post is inspired by one from about 10 years ago that I recently found. Strikes me as good advice as we start a new week. Wishing you a safe, productive, and fulfilling week.

When Do I Get to the Important Stuff?

The plumbing springs a leak. Laundry piles up. The dogs need a walk. It’s time to change the oil in the car. And that’s just the tip of the responsibility iceberg. 

When do I get to the important stuff? The stuff that matters? The book project? The t-shirt design? The blog post? The answer is that if I want to, I will. 

One of my favorite quotes is from the writer Robert Haas: “Take the time to write. You can do your life's work in half an hour a day.” Words I try to live and work by.

Keep pushing that important project forward, even if today between the dogs, laundry, and wet floor, you only get a few minutes to spend on it. 

If I practice focus, intention, and consistency every day, especially on the most challenging ones, something interesting happens. I finish.

A version of this article is also published on LinkedIn.

My Mantra On A Sticker: Listen, Learn, Share, Grow, Adapt

Listen, learn, share, grow, adapt — It’s a mantra or slogan that helps guide me when I’m aware enough to keep it in my mind, intentions, and actions. So, I put it on a three-inch weatherproof sticker and am offering it on my Etsy shop. And this little bit of mindful intention comes with free shipping.

Preserve and Persevere

Photo by Ray Shrewsberry on Unsplash

“With an open heart, we pour love into the world.” ― Donna Maltz, Conscious Cures: Soulutions to 21st Century Pandemics

My goal is to wake each day with an open heart, open arms, an open mind, filled with loving-kindness to share.

But sometimes I forget. I become distracted. I wake up tired. I stub my toe. 

On those days, I remember my mom. I think about how she spent summer days peeling peaches and pears, boiling jars, and putting up preserves so that we could taste summer sweetness during cold, dark January mornings. 

I’m trying to make it my goal to be aware and mindful of my every day. So, when I’m having one of those good days, those abundant days, when I’m filled with loving-kindness, perhaps I can preserve some of these feelings and intentions. Then, when I stub my toe, when I’m tired, or when I forget, I can reach into that pantry in my heart and open a jar of kindness I’ve preserved for just such a day. 

I’ve learned that when I’m able to find those stores of kindness on my most challenging days, it’s delightful and nourishing, just like a jar of Mom’s pear honey opened on a cold, dark winter morning. 

A version of this post appeared in the Mind Tools forum as the Thought of the Day.

What really matters?

Work. Work. Work. Project. Project. Project. Deadline. Deadline. Deadline. Yes, it matters. But bigger picture, what am I here for? To share even the smallest act of support and kindness. To be fully present for those in my work and personal life. To remember I can't be the best for others if I'm not taking care to be the best for myself. To breathe the spring air and notice the goldfinch has returned to the front yard garden after a long cold, gray winter. Wishing you a day filled with what matters most. (Mike Barzacchini photo)

Mike Barzacchini photo

Renewable Energies

Grace, compassion, and kindness are renewable energies. I’ve found the more that I give, the more I get back in return.

Don't Get Derailed as February Begins

My “don’t get derailed” watchdog.

I enter each year with fresh energy and enthusiasm. I'm not a resolution-maker, but I do set goals and I create what I call my "more list." These are things that I want more of in my life during the year.

As we start February, I consider what will keep me on track? Will I be able to stay focused and succeed without getting derailed?

Last year, I put a sticky note over my desk that featured a photo of a Labrador Retriever and a word balloon. Inside the word balloon, I wrote, "Don't get derailed." That simple bit of self-advice has helped me stay more focused on achieving my goals and getting that important "more" into my life.

But that doesn't mean I still don't get derailed. If it's for an hour or even a day, it may not be a big deal. I can recover and get back on the path toward my goals. But sometimes getting sidetracked picks up a momentum of its own. It may become more difficult to find my way back.

Lately, it's helped me to note what sidetracks me so that I'm aware if I'm straying from the path. I've also started to keep a list of those strategies and tactics that either help me stay on track or get me back if I've fallen off.

It's not perfect, but I'm learning that awareness is critical, followed by intention when it comes to moving forward with what matters most in my work and my life.

What gets you sidetracked? And how do you get back on track?

Create. Finish. Ship. Repeat.

Create. Finish. Ship. Repeat. So far in 2021, this is what’s working for me. It takes daily focus, intention, and attention. But when I ship, there’s nothing like that feeling. What’s working for you?

When It Comes to List Making, Work With What Works For You

I’m a listmaker. I even make lists to organize my lists. I use journals, a planner, notecards, Trello, the back of envelopes, whatever’s handy. Sometimes I even text myself a list just before going to sleep so it will be in my face first thing in the morning.

The last time I visited my brother, I noticed that he’s a listmaker too. Post-It-Notes™ on the steering wheel was one of his tactics that I noticed.

But when it comes to list-making and organization, I declare Jonathan, my son, the winner. When he still lived at home, I noticed a large whiteboard on the floor in front of his room’s doorway. There’s something beautiful about putting a physically larger-than-life to-do list between yourself and where you need to go. My favorite part about his list in the photo above is the last item — “bigger whiteboard.” That’s not just planning. That’s planning ahead.

While I continue to try out new formats, patterns, setups, and configurations, for me, it all starts and ends with a list. What’s most important is that we find a system that works for us and go with it. And if that doesn’t work, get a bigger whiteboard.

Back to Go Again

Photo by Pedro Santos on Unsplash

Early in our marriage when we still lived in Ohio, Susan and I took a long weekend trip to downtown Chicago. During a cab ride to dinner, we engaged in lively conversation in the backseat, probably making plans for a visit to Navy Pier or one or another museum the next day. The cab driver found an opportunity to join in.

“You know,” he said, “life is like a game of Monopoly. No matter where you go or how far you travel, you always end up back to go again.”

We all laughed, but that insight has stuck with Susan and me for nearly 30 years. In fact, it’s become one of our marriage mantras. We run into a challenge, Take on a project. Start a new job. And one way or another it feels like “we’re back to go again.”

Instead of viewing this as a negative, like I’m stuck in a rut or I can’t move forward. I tend to view it as a positive. And I think that’s what our cab-driver philosopher intended.

By declaring “I’m back to go again,” I’ve acknowledged that I’ve made it around the board. Maybe I’ve collected $200. At the very least, I’ve gained wisdom and experience that will make my next trip around more fun and fruitful. This “back to go again” approach also helps ground and reset me when I face a big or unexpected challenge.

We drove back to Cincinnati from our wonderful Chicago adventure only to be greeted by a for-sale sign in the front yard of the home we rented. Our landlords had decided to sell and hadn’t bothered to tell us. We found ourselves, not for the last time, back to go again.

Eleven Months Later: Doubling Down on Kindness and Empathy

As we entered the pandemic last March, I wrote this series of mantras and pinned them to my Twitter profile. That was almost 11 months ago. I had no idea the year we were in for, and of course, I have no idea what’s to come. What I can impact, as Carrie Newcomer’s song “Three Feet or So” reminds me, is what happens in my immediate world. I will fill my “three feet or so” with kindness, empathy, and intentional, positive action, with faith that it may radiate out into the larger world. So I’m reaffirming these mantras, this creed, for the next 11 months and longer, with hopes that you all stay safe and well.

• Let us be strong.

• Let us stay positive.

• Let us take care of ourselves and each other.

• Let us not give in to fear.

• Let us not blame the "other."

• It will be hard.

• Some days harder than others.

• But let us stick together.

• And let us build something better on the other side.

Photo by Randalyn Hill on Unsplash