Each month I write out a calendar in my room. February is made of circles because I’m trying to implement a few daily and weekly rhythms. After I make draw up the calendar I fill in the days with items of health and wholeness that I know, if I follow them, will make me feel better and be better for others. It’s helpful for me to wake up and have these items be some of the first things I see in the morning. Eat an apple. Go running. Be silent for 3 minutes. They are all fairly simple, but if I don’t put them in front of me I’ll ignore them as ideas in my head. Writing them out reminds me that I’ve thought of these things as important in the past, and that encourages me to fight the resistance to not do them in the moment. Inevitably, there will be failures, but there will also be successes. The proverbial Both/&.
Theme for the month: Fight Resistance
How about on the circle for the 10th you write, drive to Portland and drink wine with Holly and Ryan. I think that would be healthy for everyone.
You could also pencil me in for a few Saturday mornings.
Holly: You think you can edit my schedule from 150 miles away ok I’ll be there.
Jarrod: See above.
Steven Pressfield would be very proud!
can you write more about this?
partly because a) i’m a little confused about your calender lists and b) if you write about it more i will be more productive.
also, would you consider yourself to be an organized person?
how do you manage to live off of not much money? (that is an assumption. and possibly too personal.)
i’m glad you wrote in circles and not squares. that shows underlying character.
Really like your calendar, especially the circles. i use a moleskine calendar. This year, it’s the one with a booklet for each month. That means I get to rewrite my annual goals in the front of each month and then think about how to do those goals for that month. Mostly, these goals are around how to be healthy, both physically and spiritually, and how to love others. Like you, most are not new but rather what experience has shown to be important. This month I added a new one that I write in daily: to deliberately pray for my husband, a version of my month goal to bless him daily. I’m a bit embarrassed that I have to write that on my “to-do” list, but it’s important, and now it doesn’t get lost in the hubbub of the day. I like that it stands out.
I have a similar sort of thing on my whiteboard, only it’s prayer sqaures. I love that something like “eat an apple” is considered being whole. I think we often over-do trying to live authentic, whole lives by feeling the need to read 10 chapters a day, run for 60 minutes, pray for 40 minutes ect. to feel like we’ve _really_ done something. It’s living in the small, deliberate actions we take to become a more whole person that end up intrinsic habits in our lives.
P.s - Thanks for circling my birthday!
ha! love the idea! simple/beautiful.
longtime listener, first time caller.
I really appreciate this blog entry. I want to take opportunity to agree with Louise. Small deliberate disciplines are too often overshadowed by the lie that we need to do much, and do it often.
Do you think trying to live a more whole life is a lonely place to live? I often find myself feeling very awkward in social situations in my attempt for a more authentic life or hard to connect with people who come across as being merely products of everything but themselves.
I’ve thought about this as well, Louise. Sometimes I brew unnecessary stress for myself in an effort to be “whole.” My little sis, wise beyond her years, taught me that friendships have seasons.
She always says, “just be where you are, love the people in this season.” That helps me…I don’t feel obligated to be part of awkward “wholeness.” :)
brilliant
oh, how beautifully inspiring.
thank you for sharing this idea.
[also. i found you through Pictory's latest showcase. you tell beautiful stories through your lens.]