A few years back, I began writing monthly to-do lists to help me keep track of what’s on my plate. I share these lists here, and report back each month on what I was able to accomplish.
My July list focused on making progress on a big goal while also building in some time for rest. Here’s what I was able to get done in the last month:
- Took time off of content creation. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that each year I pause content on the blog and podcast for the month of July. You can hear all about what I did over the month of July in this podcast episode.
- Made progress on my book project. I’m currently working on the second edition of one of my books and I was able to make significant progress on this project in July. I completed initial edits on five chapters, which was my ambitious stretch goal. It felt great to give dedicated time to this project.
- Hosted a Prolific creative retreat. Each summer and fall, I host several monthly day-long creative retreats in my online community. We gather for several concentrated working blocks to make progress on writing projects, or other creative endeavors that need some dedicated time. This was such a fun event and I got a lot accomplished in my three two-hour blocks.
- Set intentions for the second half of the year. I recently shared some questions for mid-year reflection on this podcast episode and I wanted to give myself some additional time to journal on what I want the second half of my year to look like. It was really nice to spend a little more time thinking through the second half of the year.
July sped by, but I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot of really meaningful tasks. Now it’s time to plan for a new month of to-do items! I’m ready to launch into August and see what this final month of summer will bring.
Here are some of the items on my August to-do list:
- Launch into a new leadership training. I was nominated for a year-long leadership experience at my institution that’s hosted by our System Office and it starts in August. I’m looking forward to meeting the other folks in the program and learning some new skills I can apply in my role.
- Host three days of leadership retreats. In addition to the trainings above, I’m also helping to plan and facilitated three different leadership retreat days for our deans and Cabinet members in August before the term starts. I feel like the prep for these events is going to make the first half of the month go by very quickly!
- Get back to more regular journaling. Life has felt very full this summer and I have fallen off of my daily journaling practice. I miss it! This month, I’m going to work on journaling more regularly, even if it’s not every day. Progress and not perfection will be my goal here.
- Finish out my summer bucket list. I made a summer bucket list and there are still several things (reading, cooking, relaxing, exercising) that I want to complete before the end of August. With a full month ahead, wish me luck!
Once again, this next month is looking pretty full! What are you looking forward to in the month of August?
