What’s on Your Calendar?
For the last two months one appointment on my calendar was on my mind. Run Boston.
Sure I had all the usual appointments, like calls with clients, meeting friends, dentist, etc. And I had time blocked for writing, workouts at the gym, and preparing for speeches.
But Boston was on my mind.
In preparation for the Boston Marathon (my third) I ran anywhere from 50 to 70 km’s (30-45 miles) per week—over three times what I would normally run. I religiously followed my coach’s training schedule, including warm up and cool down routines. I didn’t drink alcohol and cut back on sweets. I went to bed earlier.
In other words, I took better care of myself because I had a goal. I was motivated for the win.
The win
We all have a built in system for motivation. It starts with anticipating a win (like a new client, coffee with a friend, or morning walk) that releases Dopamine—the neurotransmitter of anticipation. “Allow yourself to register that win,” Andrew Huberman said on a recent podcast, “it gives you energy to set the next milestone.”
It’s like turning on a switch that lights up a brilliant system of energy and focus that is always available. But we have to turn on the switch.
Think about your last vacation, movie night, or dinner out with friends. Sure, the event was nice—maybe even amazing, but thinking about the event is often the best part.
If I want to know what you are creating in life—what gets you out of bed in the morning—I just need to look at your calendar. “Tell me with whom you consort and I will tell you who you are;” wrote Goethe in Maxims and Reflections, “if I know how you spend your time, then I know what might become of you.”
Sometimes the best teacher is our history. Or, as Steve Jobs once said “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”
Time audit
This Spring, I pulled out my calendar from last year and my journal and ran a sort of audit of where my time went. I wanted to know what stood out as important, where I spent my time, and what I can learn from 12 months of living. I wrote about this exercise in this post.
As you might expect, there were birthdays, travel, family events, celebrations with friends, and some competitions (paddling, running). And then there were the achievements. These were the boulders I moved forward, the goals achieved and the proud moments that wouldn’t have happened if they never made it to my calendar.
Here’s a short list:
Completed a major renovation of our kitchen.
Wrote, illustrated and published a book for my oldest daughter’s 30th birthday.
Replaced an old grape and kiwi trellis with a 32’ long beauty using rough-cut Fir from a local mill.
Trained for and ran three marathons (and to my surprise, medaled in two of them).
With Donna, launched the No Small Thing charity.
Traveled the coast of Maine and cycled through Acadia National Park.
Refocussed my efforts to support two local non profit organizations.
Your calendar
There comes a time when life gives us less choices. It could be your health fails you, your attention goes to caring for a loved one, or you simply don’t have the energy. In the meantime, we all have more choices than we know.
You could change your diet or decide to cut back (or kick all together) the drinking habit.
You could put a trip to Portugal, or Costa Rica on the calendar and start planning to make it happen.
You could finally get some annoying task off your list, like clean out the garage, donate old clothes, or label all the charging cords in your kitchen.
Or you could text a friend and just let them know you are thinking about them.
Whatever it is, get it on your calendar and let the magic of anticipation go to work.
You deserve it.
More about goals, life and the silly things we do:
Small Wins - Why Little Steps are the Path to Big Rewards
Keynotes and workshops by Hugh Culver
