The End of the List
I’m writing this post as I find myself in a space that I don’t really find myself in regularly. There have been a number of major events in the past year of my life that have kept me “busy”, per-se:
Dealing with a major accident and a long road to recovery.
The inevitable business chaos at the start of the fiscal year.
Completing a significant renovation to our home (new siding and windows, yay!).
As a lot of this starts to settle down and I look ahead to the summer season, I’m finding that my task list and list of projects is starting to wind down a bit. There’s part of me that thinks that I would enjoy this, as I tell folks that I operate best when I don’t have a lot “on my plate”.
However, I’m finding as some of these major initiates start to settle, I find myself in a place of discomfort. It’s almost as if my mental state defaults to being busy and having a long list of tasks/projects ahead of me. This is likely true due to spending 20+ years in the tech industry where the work never stops, dealing with young kids and being a homeowner.
I realize that a lot of life comes in cycles, and this is just naturally part of that cycle. Heck, I wrote back in March of 2021 that I was doing a “whole lot of nothing” at that point in my life, and it’s been a wild ride since then (navigating the pandemic, taking on a new role at work, purchasing a home and much more). I need to reflect on this and welcome the fact that I might be moving into a slower cycle in my life right now, where I don’t have a ton of big projects or initiatives. I should enjoy this time as it won’t last forever and I’ll likely have big problems to solve in the not-to-distant future.
I’m also taking this into the context of my values for this year that I wrote about in my previous post, and seeing where these values intersect with my thinking on the current cycle of my life:
Adventure - Having less big projects gives me more time to explore and live an adventurous life in nature, particularly as the summer is approaching here in British Columbia.
Order - Much of my life is organized well now, particularly after the chaos of a major renovation. I should be grateful for this.
Wellbeing - This is tricky as I balance the fact that I’m navigating a cycle of growth here, while also being mindful of its impact on my mental wellbeing. I think the awareness that I have is actually a good thing.
Who knows what the summer holds for me and how it will impact my lists and projects for the remainder of the year. Heck, I was blindsided by a major injury last year so let’s hope that doesn’t happen again! In the meantime, I plan to lean-in to this part of the cycle and continue to challenge myself to be OK with less on my plate. I will fill up at some point in the future, no doubt!