Sustainable Ambition Forum - 03.08.22
I can’t seem to stop thinking about time and how to play with it to have my life+work feel the way I’d like it to feel. If you’ve been reading the newsletter and/or listening to the podcast, you know I keep returning to this theme.
This newsletter is no different. Over the last three months, I’ve proactively practiced creating space (in my calendar), setting my pace (not getting pulled into the frenzy narrative around me, slowing down), and focusing on place (where I place my energy and attention; what are my top priorities, areas of focus, and what I want to test and prototype next).
Gardening is an analogy that comes to mind when I consider those elements, am inspired by springtime, and get called to gardens this month (the botanical garden near my home is bursting with flowers—see beautiful magnolias above—and my own garden needs attention). Gardens need to be pruned, cultivated, and prepared for planting and new growth.
This week’s newsletter curates pieces around these themes:
Prune: Why do we find ourselves so busy? Author Oliver Burkeman of Four Thousand Weeks implores us to rethink our approach to productivity, to-do’s, and how we use our time. And tips to manage that never-ending to-do list.
Cultivate: Make space and free your time. Get outside for creativity and wonder.
Plant: What seeds will you plant? What happiness Rx activities are worth practicing?
I’ll leave you with a few questions to ponder:
How can you make space for your next growth projects to spring yourself forward?
How can you cultivate creativity or courage to embrace a beginner’s mindset and to start something new?
What are you excited to explore and try next?
As Spring approaches, I hope you enjoy the longer days and more hours of sunshine. Dare I say it might make us feel like we have more time!? 🌞
Kathy Oneto
Founder of Sustainable Ambition
The Round-Up
Inspiring: Want to fuel your creativity? Let yourself step away. It’s a much needed part of the creative process to allow connections to happen and create the space for inspiration to show up.
Wondering: Research has shown how getting outside has a ton of benefits, like fueling creativity. Additional research shows that when you plus it up with a mindset of wonder, it further enriches our happiness.
Reading: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman. Who but a recovering productivity guru to listen to on the subject! I finally picked up this book at several people’s encouragement. It definitely makes one rethink time, which furthers the conversation I’ve been having with myself and others on the topic. If you want to shift your perspective on how to think of our time here on this planet, highly recommend a read.
Listening: And if you’d like to hear another conversation with Oliver Burkeman, I really appreciated this one with Krista Tippett on the On Being podcast.
Watching: Why are we all so busy? Hear Dorie Clark share insights around why it may not be what you think. By looking deeper you just might identify the unlock that can help you easy the busy burden.
Smiling: Another prescription! In this case for happiness. I think it can be a part of your Resilience Rx, too!
Featuring: I am delighted to share that my friend Jenny Blake’s new book comes out on 3/22/22, Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business! 🎉 This book is packed with practical strategies to free your mind, time, and team to do more of your best work. The best part? For a limited time, she’s offering a Buy One, Get One, Give One bonus bundle. If you purchase the hardcover edition, you will get free access to the audiobook via private podcast feed, and you can gift audiobook access to a friend. What will you do with your newfound free time? (Note: This is not an affiliate link; just love Jenny and her work.) You can also take her Free Time Quiz here.
The Sustainable Ambition Podcast - Episode 48
Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.
And if you want to hear a conversation with the author herself, join me for this conversation with Jenny Blake. We talk about the new book and also how Jenny finds the courage and conviction to build her business her way and create Free Time for herself. After 10 years of running her own business and sharing her lessons with her private community, now called BFF, Jenny shares her tips for eliminating business stress through systems and non-traditional ways of running one’s business, like following your intuition and a Jenny-ism I love, “Let it be easy, let it be fun.”
If you are already a small business owner, someone looking to go out on your own, or a creative person looking to find more spaciousness to your best work, check out the book and Jenny’s podcast of the same name, Free Time with Jenny Blake.
Find it on Apple Podcast here
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The Monthly Progress Practice: March
At the beginning of each year, we share our Monthly Progress Practice. Progress is made through small, consistent action. Practice makes progress. We offer a monthly guidance on small actions or inquiries to inspire positive change this year.
Our guidance for March: Spring forward. What small seed do you want to plant now to cultivate a curiosity and explore a path that might lead to what’s next? How do you want to learn, grow, and experiment?
Find Your Guide:
Find the perfect guide to match your journey.
“But it’s only by having some distance from the world that you can see it whole, and understand what you should be doing with it.”
— Pico Iyer
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