It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes - including you." Anne Lamott
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I want to spend a few weeks this month just talking about REST. Some of these things I'm exploring, thinking about and working to implement in my life.
I love this thought from Anne Lamott because it's so true.
There are times that I will spend hours trying to get my internet working again, or updating my computer, or even an alarm on my car, and it total desperation, I simply 'UNPLUG' it from the power source, count to ten, then bring it back online and everything works normally.
I usually let out some kind of gutteral sound at that point, but then move on, getting back to what I was working on before things all stopped!
It's the simple idea of a RESET.
Here's what I'm learning (even at my age), when I run at an unsustainable pace, there are things that I'm not able to keep up with, things that get thrown aside in the midst of the chaos I find myself in.
This is natural for everybody as we focus on the most important things at the time.
The problem is that sometimes I shed some things that ARE important just to save time, energy and to help me focus on the task at hand. I know when I'm doing it, I know why I'm doing it, but at the time, in order to get things done, I have to make some changes.
I just finished a pretty FULL run of events, travel, speaking, projects, meetings and family and personal things all mixed together. It was the perfect storm and I'm happy to say that I not only survived, but I saw God do some great things in the midst of everything.
But now, I need to pick up some things that I set aside and integrate them back into my life.
Here's the deal though, I don't know if this is true for you, but when I'm pushed with my calendar and my schedule, the things that always fall first are the things that are the most important: REST - EXERCISE - SOLO TIME - SPACE - NUTRITION - RELATIONSHIPS - REPLENISHMENT
These are the things that I time and time again, set aside, and they are the things that are the most life-giving.
Covey calls these things Quadrant II: Important - Not Urgent
I call them the high cost of a full schedule!!
When you get pressed, what do you immediately let go of? What do you set aside in order to keep up with your required pace?
DEEPER STILL:
What does a RESET look like?
Sometimes, it means you completely unplug, you do a hard reset, then you begin to dive back in.
A couple of years ago, Gina and I booked 4 days in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. We needed a RESET. We flew down, sat on the beach, laid by the pool and read books, slept and slept, and it was renewing and restorative.
If you need to UNPLUG, figure out how to do that. It might mean a week someplace, but it can also be a day. Figure out what you need and make that happen.
Sometimes, it's simply re-integrating some things into your life and rhythm.
This is the mode I'm in currently. Using the Atomic Habits model, I'm trying to create some new rhythm and routine with some things in my life that I haven't been doing.
Here's an example: I always talk about how important it is to walk and move. I've been on a pretty aggressive pace with regular movement everyday. For the past 4 weeks, I just haven't been able to stay in my rhythm. One day is good, the next day is half as much as I want to go, and on and on. This week, I'm trying to do a steady distance everyday, then I'll add some next week, working my way back to hitting my goals.
I could beat myself up for not doing what I know I need to do, or I can come up with a plan to do a little better today, then a little better tomorrow.
Sometimes a reset means you STOP doing things. Some of what you had been doing might need to NOT return, and it takes a reset to realize that.
Figure out why you're doing what you're doing, and don't be afraid to eliminate some things that are keeping you running at a pace that is unsustainable.
RESET and REST are 2 really different things, but they are connected!
What do you need to RESET in your life today?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
One of my favorite podcasts that I listen to regularly... This keeps my eyes and ears open to what God might be saying to me! Space by Harbor Ministries
I enjoyed this podcast on How I Built This interviewing Aaron Krause, founder of the Billion Dollar Spunge: Scrub Daddy. Of course, then I had to buy one to try! They really do work!
Atomic Habits: A great book on how to build and break habits!
I just listened to this new album today by Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Some really interesting jazz with bass guitar and trumpet. Check it out on Apple: Honora Good tip Riley!
The Barnabas Group of Orange County will host our 2nd Gathering of the year on May the 18th. We have a great lineup of speakers and ministries. If you want to come and experience Barnabas for the first time, please send me a note and I'll share with you how you can join us! Write Russ Here