Breathing Room: Learning to Embrace a New Pace

One of the things I’ve really been marveling at over the last couple of weeks is how I even had time to work before. Okay, it sounds ridiculous - obviously I did have time to work before and I worked my life the way I needed to. Now though, I’ve been enjoying a different pace. 

Let me also be the first to say, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It is an adjustment. I do freak out about it now and then. I do have to remind myself that I can create something different and it’s okay to do these things (grocery shopping, going where I want to go when I want to go, take a break, go for a walk) when I want, which is usually during the day. 

When I think about my natural rhythms, I am a morning person and a day person - anything meaningful or important that requires deep thought or extra energy needs to usually happen by about 3 pm in my world on most days. So, I’m trying to honor my natural rhythm.

What has been so interesting about this is that my days are full, I am doing things, I am meeting with friends, I am taking care of myself, I am doing the work for my business, Shine Strategies, I am entertaining interviews occasionally for corporate jobs, I am learning new things, I am researching new ideas and diving deeper into my field, I am being an aunt to my nieces and nephews and a good daughter to my parents, I am enjoying hobbies, and my life is full. Like after a good meal - it’s pleasantly full - I enjoyed the food, it feels like it was balanced, I got all the nutrients I needed, and it wasn’t stressful, or at least not stressful like it used to be. Maybe different stresses. And here’s the thing. I am finding that I like this pace. I like, on most days, feeling that I’ve been productive in a variety of ways. I like trying new things and figuring out what I want now. And it’s not easy, and it’s scary, and it’s exciting. “Scared-cited” is how I’ve been describing my life these days. 🤣

And I’m wondering what that means for my future life. But for now, I’m learning to enjoy this pace, feeling more calm and peaceful, finding different ways to be - trying on different ways of being. And see how it all feels. And finding what I need now.

One of the things I have found is that I do need a little structure to my days. Not every day, and it’s not super rigid. But a little structure helps me make sure I’m addressing the areas of my life that I want to - so I use a combination of time blocking and calendaring and the tried and true  to-do lists (Love checking things off my list!!) to keep myself going through the week. This is then mixed in with a little grace and flexibility so that I can embrace the week and the opportunities or challenges it brings as well. 

In case it’s helpful, here’s what I’ve been doing. Just so you know, I tend to focus on a week-by-week view more than a daily view. For me, this gives me the opportunity to flex my time as I need to while also keeping me on track. So here are the details of what I’ve been trying:

• Time Blocking: I’ve been working on categorizing my time in those time blocks - so my categories might be in a given week (and they might also shift week to week): 
• Home (stuff I want to do around the house, chores, etc.); 
• Shine Strategies (all the things I want to get done for the business); 
• Me (these are the things to keep my wellbeing in check or that “future me” will be glad I did - like financial planning or vision boards or friend/family time); 
• Sometimes I have an “Other Category” - which might actually be called Other or it might be something more specific for that week;
• I’ve also been thinking about adding a “Fun” Category. This one is really because I can be SO naturally very serious. So, this helps make sure that I am intentionally building in some play, some fun into my weeks. And maybe a category or to-do list doesn’t make sense for everyone, but I find that it helps me make sure I’m building that in rather than ignoring it.

I then block off a couple hours here and there throughout the week to focus on that specific area. Again, usually tied to my natural rhythms right now - does it require a lot of thinking or fresh energy? I might do that in the morning then - that kind of thing.

• Scheduling appointments when needed. So this is really about making sure that I’m taking care of my life - so maybe it’s scheduling appointments with friends for time together - people are busy and so making sure that I don’t rely too much on spontaneity there; scheduling car inspections or doctor appointments; or time with clients or whatever it may be. Scheduling is part of our every day. I know people who once they were away from corporate relied on a paper calendar. For me, I like to have it always with me, so I put it on my Google calendar. It doesn’t mean that I don’t use paper, because I certainly do, but generally, I use my Google calendar for this.

• And finally, my tried and true to do lists help me with the specific tasks for those time blocks or appointments during the week! I do use paper to do this weekly - it helps me see it all on one page - I categorize these to do lists into my categories as I listed above, and it works well for me. Occasionally, I do add tasks to my Google calendar as well - which is nice because it reminds me throughout the week and it rolls over day to day if I don’t complete it.

I used to do a version of this on Sunday afternoons to help me plan for my week. I’ve been shifting that a bit to do this during the week - usually on Monday mornings to help me plan my week, and then on Friday afternoons I go through and see where I did it well and where I need to adjust, and what I need to move to the next week. This rhythm has been helpful for me as well. 

I’m looking forward to seeing how this pace evolves, to seeing how I feel honoring the natural rhythms of my life, and how that impacts my work life going forward too. I’ll keep you posted!