So, it appears that I have had a seven month lapse in posting here. This may be the third or forth time that this has happened. Blog... work.... distraction.... no blogging.
A multi month lapse is usually the point in the process where I delete the blog and try to forget I ever started it. I keep coming full circle. I spend three to six months building, I get distracted, it hangs out there half built, my professional standards kick in, then delete it forever because the last thing that I want on the internet is a half built blog with incomplete ideas.
"Fish or cut bait.." my friend John Glabas used to say when deciding if he was in or out one of our ill conceived climbing trips. I guess I need to do the same when it comes to this blog.
Diagnosis of a Lazy Blogger
I really like the idea of a blog... journaling and sharing, even if it is just to myself. Writing for fun has a number of benefits, the biggest being driving clarity of thought and ideas. So if blogging is a good idea, why am I idle for seven months? As I hovered over the "delete" button earlier this week, I realized that my blogging problem is actually an energy problem. Blogging takes energy and I'm not getting back what I am putting in.
Sometime in 2018 when we were knee deep in the Juno Therapeutics start up, our site head at the time Snehal Patel taught me one of the simplest but most important hacks when it comes to getting things done: to manage my energy, not my time.
Here is the key concept:
The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource. Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings: the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. Tony Schwartz / Catherine McCarthy - Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time
Blog Pivot
So on that note, I'm planning to redirect the blog and get this thing restarted, but it's purpose and process is going to need to change.
This blog was originally intended to be a blog about business and organizing teams... I'm in the middle of a cool transformation project and learning a ton about LEAN manufacturing. But that's kind of the problem right now. By focusing in only one area the blog became another work task and didn't cross over into my other interests.
So I'm shifting gears now and flipping the script. I still plan to use the process of collecting field notes, organizing the ideas that intrigue me, learning and sharing, but this process is going to need to be broader than business and LEAN manufacturing so that it becomes a source of energy rather than a consumer.
More to come on this, barlow out....
