Reflecting has become a major part of my weekly routine. Not only do I utilize Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner, I also have begun using his journal. The journal gives 8 questions/prompts that help one reflect on their day. My routine is to use the journal Monday through Thursday, and the weekly review in the Full Focus Planner on Fridays, leaving the weekend to recharge.
I share this because I have come to realize the power reflection has in one’s life. Setting aside a few moments to think about what you have been up to is powerful. Course-corrections are a necessary part of self-leadership. And let’s be honest, this world is moving faster than ever, so reflection of any kind is counter-cultural. As the cliché goes, sometimes you have to go slow to go fast.
This blog was born from reflection. As I have mentioned before, I started writing consistently after realizing in a reflection period that not keeping up a blog was one of my biggest disappointments of that particular year. Hundreds of posts later, the consistency of writing is one of the things I am most proud about in terms of the blog.
Blogging helps me clarify, and make sense of, events happening in business and life. Going forward, expect more of that. In fact, I am challenging myself to open up more, especially about my faith in Jesus and how it intersects with work. But, more about that in the weeks to come. And as always, I realize that even mentioning the name of Jesus might turn some readers off. This is not my intention. So, before going any further, a friendly reminder that everyone is welcome here. And that means everyone!
What outcomes do I hope to achieve through writing blog posts? I ask myself this often, so here are several thoughts:
Posts that lead to genuine relationships.Posts that encourage business leaders.Posts that challenge me, as well as the reader.Posts that humble me (writing about failures).Posts that share how broken I was, and in a lot of ways still am.Posts that are vulnerable, transparent, and even uncomfortable.Posts that make other people think, and possibly change. Posts that challenge people to think differently about Jesus and Christianity.Posts that inspire people to action.
One of the most powerful reflection questions for me is asking myself whether “I am practicing what I am writing about?” If reflection has taught me anything this year, it has taught me the need to slow down and become more intentional about implementing the various inputs (Bible, business books, podcasts, etc.) that I have in my life. Similarly, I have to be careful in what I create because there is an alluring power to LinkedIn and Facebook “likes.” In short, the ego craves more, so it is tempting to keep posting in pursuit of what, in actuality, is futility. Notice, more “likes” is not one of the outcomes listed above.
Therefore, upon reflection, I have decided to change the frequency of the posts that I write from 2 posts each week to “1-ish” post per week.
What can the reader expect with this change?
- My main post will come out Monday afternoons or Tuesday mornings.
- I commit to have it out before lunch on Tuesday.
- You don’t have time to read War and Peace, so I do not plan on changing the length.“1-ish?”
- There may occasionally be more than one post per week.
- Video will only be used for the occasional extra post, as I have gotten mixed reviews on those.
- The content will be largely the same.
- More interaction with you. Seriously, I’d like to build relationships off writing the blog. (Solicitors be warned: The few small hairs on my head stand on end when someone writes me an “I love your blog” email and then tries to sell me on something. I understand you have a job, but resist the marshmallow.
- For the team at Hoffer Plastics, I want to re-allocate the hour or so a week that had been reserved for blog writing, and use it to build more one-on-one relationships with individuals, especially those of you that work on our manufacturing floor.
- In sum, I want to spend more time practicing what I am writing about.
I have gone on long enough, so I think you get the idea.
I love writing this blog. Thank you for reading it. Thank you for putting up with my craziness. And thank you for taking your own leadership seriously.
(A special note to those who subscribe to this blog. As I alluded to above, the blog will be undergoing a “refresh.” Stay tuned because when that “refresh” occurs (probably in November), you will need to re-subscribe to get each post delivered to your inbox. Don’t worry, I’ll be reminding you as we get closer).