Monday matters: Stepping back

My consideration for February is what to do and what not to do to establish good self-care. I think the most important piece for me to remember is what I shouldn’t do. I tend to want to take on as much as I possibly can. I love the idea of being busy. Being too busy, though, makes me really unhappy. I think I’m just so accustomed to being busy that having free time is too foreign. This all being said, I’m going to relieve some of the pressure and post to this blog only once a week.

What don’t you do?

Monday matters: Distillation

dis·til·la·tion

[dis-tl-ey-shuhn]  Show IPA

noun

2.
the purification or concentration of a substance, the obtaining of the essence or volatile properties contained in it, or the separation of one substance from another, by such a process.
I’d like to distill. I’d like to separate volatile properties from my clinical practice. One way to do that, I’m supposing, is to get out of my own way, but I’m not sure how to do that just yet. (I am the most unforgiving boss.)
Another way to distill is to say No. I’m finding I need to make more of an effort to do such a thing.
This being said, I’m pretty sure I’m going to say Yes to a songwriting challenge put forth by Megan Resig and Wade Richards of On-the-Go Studio podcast. I write a lot of songs, but I don’t actually get on to record them. Here’s hoping.

Monday matters: Continue on

I’ve just returned from a fantastic few days in Key Largo, Florida. The weather was perfect; 80 degrees and sunny. We Minnesotans wore plenty of sunscreen, so luckily there was no burning involved in this trip. However, coming home to 10-degree cold and frozen driveway barricades was really difficult.

February. February in Minneapolis. This month is so uninteresting. Finding something to look forward to is a challenge, in my opinion– the holidays are over and summer is so far off. My consideration this week is continuing on. I will think of ways to reinvigorate and re-inspire my clinical practice. Being that it’s a Monday, and 24 hours ago I was all encompassed by warmth, I am having trouble finding excitement in much, to be honest. However, every day is new. Perhaps tomorrow will melt the snow.

How do you continue on? Do you set up things to look forward to on a daily basis? Or do you rather have events happening months in advance?

Don’t forget: Submit your words by February 15.

 

Monday matters: Accountability

As a small business owner who is still new to all of the intricacies such an identity involves, I have tried a variety of ways to keep up with myself, so to speak. Recently I was listening to an episode of Internet Business Mastery in which there was mention of accountability partners. I’d never thought of this before, so I sought out someone who is also a music therapist in private practice, and who also has a young child. Our thought is to check in with one another on a weekly (or perhaps just monthly) basis.

Accountability is somewhat difficult in private practice. I am all alone here. I’ve even taken to plotting out my day on an hourly basis. Today went fairly well. Tomorrow is a mystery.

What do you do for accountability?

Coming up on Wednesday will be a guest post on the theme of 2014.

Keep reading.

Image source