Time Off for Reflection, Regrouping and Prioritizing

December 18, 2009 · Posted in Blogging, Chit Chat, Thinking Outloud, Time Management

candles I am taking the next two weeks off. Your regularly scheduled blog posts will resume on January 4th 2010. Why?

The short version – It’s the holidays, things are slow and it’s always good to take a break.

The long version – I need time to regroup and realign my priorities. Lately I’ve been scrambling like mad to keep up, I feel like I’m letting everyone around me down, including me. There are emails I haven’t returned, emails I haven’t written. I feel disconnected from my friends on Twitter and Facebook. Work takes up a large part of my personal time. I’m beginning to feel a little dazed and confused, like I’ll never be caught up. This is a red flag for me, time to take two steps back and regroup. I was already considering it when I downloaded What Matters Now from Seth’s blog. As I read through it this week so many passages struck a chord, professionally and personally. It confirmed what I was already thinking, I need to pause and regroup.

I am publicly declaring my holiday for two reason, the first so regular readers will know I haven’t disappeared, I haven’t run out of things to say (never!) and I will be back. Second, publically declaring it will help me stick to my plan, I’m not going anywhere so nothing external will change, but I need to slow down and take a breathe. That means no feedreader (and when I get back they ALL get marked as read), a more personal focus on Twitter and Facebook. It will be hard not to click on links posted by others so I may have to give up Twitter too. Disconnecting will be hard, but I also know how much I need it. The end of the year is a perfect time for reflection and regrouping, though I don’t do New Years resolutions.

So what will I be doing? reflecting, prioritizing, hopefully recharging, clearing my head, goal setting, deciding on boundaries and limits, reading, writing and thinking. So I leave you with these things to ponder for the next two weeks between turkey and presents and confetti and champagne

From What Matters Now:

“…constantly we fear we are not doing enough.”- Ease, Elizabeth Gilbert
“The echo chamber we’re building is getting larger and louder.” – Connected, Howard Mann
“Leadership is more than influence. It is about reminding people of what it is we are trying to build – and why it matters.” – Vision, Michael Hyatt
“Be honest, be authentic, and speak from your passion.” – Speaking, Mark Hurst
“Just because you win a hand doesn’t mean you’re good and you don’t have more learning to do.” – Poker, Tony Hsiech
“…the ability to draw lines and boundaries within which we protect and preserve the mental and emotional space to do our work and to be true to ourselves.” Tough-mindedness, Steven Pressfield
” You are immortal. The result of everything you do today will last forever.” Forever, Piers Fawkes
“What IS working, today, and how can we do more of it?” Change, Chip and Dan Heath
“Forget about working on your weakness -> focus on supporting your strengths.” Most, William C. Taylor

From elsewhere

Tags: down time, priorities, reflection, regrouping, Time Management, time off, vacation

Comments

Carleen

Good for you! I do this periodically too. I don't really blog anymore so that's not an issue really, but I give up Twitter/Facebook/RSS, even email and reading the news for short time. Happy Holidays and Merry Regrouping. :-)

elisabeth abarbanel

I am doing the same, but I became overwhelemd a few weeks ago. You expressed how I am feeling better than I did! http://archipelagoblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/tur... Happy New Year!