Time Off for Reflection, Regrouping and Prioritizing

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

• Want to Innovate? Stop Working So Hard
• 11 Refreshing Ways to Bring Out the Awesomeness in Life
• How To Level Up
• Coding Simplicity: How to Avoid Feature Creep in Your Life
• How To Focus On What Truly Matters
• Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life