This summer I set a new intention. It is time to care again. More specifically, it is time to care for myself again. Like many small business owners, I can fall into the trap of putting everything and everyone ahead of my self. This is NOT in practice with my favorite concept of “putting on your oxygen mask first”. When we are well cared for, we have more to offer to the world and to ourselves.

If the last 2 years have taught us anything, it is that when we do not tend to the care and feeding of our mind and body, there are consequences. Increased rates of depression and anxiety from 2019 to 2021 support this message loud and clear (See WHO article Feb 2022). In 2022 I put some stronger boundaries in place to prevent burnout and prepare my calendar for a summer strategy for the care and feeding of myself, both personally and professionally. I’m looking to create that ripple effect of momentum that I feel when I provide myself just enough time and headspace for thinking big thoughts and unplugging from the daily grind. This summer, my theme is “Care, Repair and Prepare”.

In preparation of this summer schedule, I created a list of current projects and things that I want to work on. Each month, I plan to start the month reflecting on that list and tackling one big rock - not everything. This summer is about being intentional and pacing myself for the marathon, not a sprint. Each month, I have planned some time off to retreat from the daily grind and focus on some of my objectives for 2022. Each week I will be dedicating a day to these projects, and permission to put my endeavors first feels like a gift I get to open each and every week.

Tomorrow I head off on a writing retreat with a few of my favorite female colleagues here in the US. Typically my type-A persona might rise up and create set expectations for the next 5 days. What I realized in my quest to prepare for this event is that I already have 4 irons in the fire that are related to my writing goals. Writing has always been a part of my life. I enjoy writing. Part of my self-care this weekend is permission to follow my inspiration - I have 4 projects and only 1 with a deadline. I could follow Brian Tracy’s method of “eating the frog” but in all honesty, none of them feels like a frog. So, I have laid out thoughts on each of the 4 and will use my plane time to see where I land on this. In essence, I have blocked out the time to allow myself some uninterrupted thinking with the added support of 3 friends/colleagues as my accountability partners. My open-ended preplanning feels more organic, and whatever I work on will ensure that I am prepared for the next phase of the project.

In June I will be writing. In July, I will be relaxing as Mr Bigstuff and I will be heading on our first-ever family vacation that doesn’t require our immediate family to participate. Psuedo-empty-nesters is where we find ourselves this summer. Another large transition that deserves acknowledgment and space. The kids have all been invited to flow in and out of our plans, and that in itself is quite liberating. A vacation that I do not need to be in charge of is just what I need to unplug. This new adulting phase with the kids is quite lovely - it probably helps that I enjoy each of them in entirety. With most of my life quite scheduled, I am relishing the idea of no schedule.

In August, I am giving myself permission to focus on whatever surfaces this summer for me. August is my ramp-up to the return of my fall semester clients, I I want to be ready and rested for them. I hope to have complete a chapter in a collaborative book, earned a certificate in an organizing course, and completion of a group course for students that will launch in the fall. My monthly check-ins will help me stay on track. My weekly targets will help me tackle the chunks to accomplish these with greater ease, and my schedule boundaries will enable me to hold the space for thinking, doing and resting along the path. And putting these intentions out into the universe with you today makes it all the more real. I’ll report back to you on how I am doing as the summer progresses.