Questions from the Road
Running Thoughts #94
Hi, I'm Scott, and this is my often weekly newsletter about life, learning, and whatever else runs through my head.
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Question of the Week:
Why is this important?
Running Thought:
As I prepare to board my red-eye flight back from San Diego, it's been a long week already. It started with work last Monday, a three-day Army weekend, and a late Sunday night flight out west. Less than 48 busy hours later, with a stomach full of Mexican, I'm out of here.
An overbooked schedule and a toddler force me to constantly re-evaluate why I'm doing things and prioritize what's important. It's a work in progress.
This is the first time I've voluntarily booked the red-eye, but I'm excited at the prospect of not losing a day dedicated to traveling cross-country. Any other red-eye fans? Or haters?
The highlight of the trip was having a Tesla rental. Once I finally figured out how to turn the car on, I'd never experienced acceleration like that.
I'm also glad that I don't own one! The electrical revolution may not be quite as economical as I expected. And, that car may be too smart. Like seriously, where is the rear defogger button? (Note: I did eventually find it.)
Somewhere in the midst of the week, I finished Ship30, but I'll likely continue to publish. These are my latest essays (also available via my LinkedIn):
6 Simple Questions to Instantly Refocus and Regain Control of Your Time - Shared Below
Weekly Review: The Struggle is Real - I stole @Niko_schr's template and intend to reflect each Saturday for the rest of the year. Will I see any benefits?
Essay of the Week
“Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives is that freedom is possible yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns.” - Tara Brach
With more distractions than ever, how do you break free and resist those patterns?
For me, it's these 6 simple questions written on a post-it:
#1: Why is this important?
Always start with why. If it's important, knowing why enhances motivation and could provide alternative paths to completion. If it's not, why am I doing it?
#2: What does done look like?
If it's important, I need to know WHAT I'm doing. What does the end state look like? If I don't know where I'm going, I'm not going to get there.
If I need to step back, how can I gain clarity?
#3: What's the next action?
Keep it simple, stupid (KISS). This might be putting on my running shoes to go running. Just get started somewhere.
#4: Whose task is this?
This can be a delegation question, but to me, it's a courage question. I get anxious worrying whether people will like me. That's not my task.
My task is to be the vulnerable and authentic me. Whether someone likes me is up to them to decide. I need to spend my energy on what I can control.
#5: Where is there unnecessary struggle?
It forces me to reflect on why something is hard or uncomfortable. Usually, this is something self-imposed. But, even if it's not, how can I proactively alter or improve the situation?
#6: How does this help me think?
I have a weakness for shiny objects, clickbait, and all other sorts of time traps. This question helps filter the noise. Well, some of it, anyway.
What is one question that helps you refocus?
From The Water Cooler:
These were three other writers' essays that really stuck out to me during Ship30:
Hard Words to Make Empire Building Easy: Motivation to keep going until the finish.
Benefit Mindset: Reframing "me" to "we" can help us grow.
Atomic Essay Style Weekly Review: The weekly review that motivated my own above.
Photo of the Week:
Stay Curious,
Scott
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Very insightful newsletter. I especially love questions 4 & 5!