🌱 July 2023 (Retro and Planning)
PASSION!
I have a big sign on my door that reads like this:
During the last two weeks, I felt the effect of passion on my motivation. I started arranging a beautiful song for a choir, and this gave me so much joy that it’s almost effortless to work on it (well, at least most of the time).
I’m wondering – why don’t we spend more time on projects like this, so-called passion projects? I’m sure there are a lot of activities that would give us such a boost of motivation and joy (and replace the more discouraging activities). Maybe we just need to allocate some time for them to grow?
(Like always, you can download the Notion template to take structured notes.)
✏️ Retro
What goals did you set for yourself last month, and how well did you achieve them?
Make a list of your goals (even if they were only implicit) and score them from 1 (low) to 10 (high). You are not allowed to pick a 7. Take notes as you go.
Is there something that is blocking you?
What held you back last month? What can you do to avoid this next month?
What did you learn?
Did you learn something about yourself, your environment, or about the work you do?
🔭 Planning
What are your top 3 priorities next month?
Why are they important to you?
What goals do you set for yourself in light of these priorities?
To beat procrastination, make sure to split every higher-level goal into small subgoals.
What are potential obstacles or challenges you may face?
How can you prepare for them?
🌈 Bonus
What are the passion projects you will work on next month?
They can be big or small – just pick something that lets you overflow with enthusiasm and energy. How will you make space for those projects?
🙏 Thanks!
Thank you for being a part of Mental Garden. I sincerely hope you found this email useful. I’ll now continue with some “Hell yeah, I get to work on my arrangement.”
With gratitude,
Marc
PS: Next time, we’ll revisit your Yearly Reflection from last year. If you haven’t got one yet, now is a good time to get started 🎉