🌱 June 2023 (Retro and Planning)

how often are you in nature?

How often are you in nature?

Once per day, once per week, once per month?

As someone living in the city, I personally aim for at least once per week. But sometimes, it feels like this isn’t enough and nature is calling me.

Last week, I answered the call and went hiking in Sweden.

I would pitch my tent somewhere and go to bed just when it became dark. And wake up the moment the sun started rising (which the birds announced by shouting violently through the woods). The rest of the day, I walked through forests, meadows, and along the sea.

I felt rather lonely hiking on my own. For the first few days, I craved the presence of other humans and wanted to be back at home.

But a few cold mornings later, I woke up and the feeling was gone. I felt a light sense of peace.

This feeling is still with me. It’s like I left something in the woods and exchanged it with calm.

Have fun with the Retro and Planning.

(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 is your relationship to nature?

How can you use it to relax and recharge? How can you make spending time in nature part of your week?

🙏 Thanks!

Thank you for being part of Mental Garden.

If you feel like it, I’d be super curious to receive some of your answers for the questions above. It would be interesting to know more about the people I’m writing to (you!), and to turn this into some kind of conversation.

With gratitude,
Marc