Monthly Review #2
Remember remember the month of Novemeber
Because November has been such a massive month, I thought I’d knock over my review a few days early so I can start writing about underlying issues I have that are driving me to do too much and burn out.
And while at times November was the lowest I’ve felt since being depressed, I already look back and remember November as a month of great personal growth.
What went well:
Grandpa’s funeral was special. Saw family and got to learn more about what an amazing man he was. Will write about him more.
I got to see my sister and niece who came back from Switzerland for the funeral. I miss them and never get to see them enough.
Ran IT support at work as our team conducted 80 training sessions for the launch of a new Government IT system that processes security clearances.
Did another energy management and resilience talk at work and was asked to do more. Starting to feel confident with this and will share my presentation here soon.
Me and my partner in crime Jesse “Wheels” Kerrison Somehow managed to keep the house from burning down and the kids alive while Jen’s work took her to Kirabiti (twice), Nauru, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Singapore.
Ran a half marathon PB of 1:39:40 at the Canberra Times Fun Run. Only did one 12km run the weekend before as preparation and went into the race with zero expectations. Felt good at the halfway mark, so decided to empty the tank on the way home. Great day.
Singhy, Simmo, Drew and my brothers Reduced my screen time from 3hrs 6mins per day to 1hr 45mins. Very happy to get over 30 hours back in my month, and my next goal is getting it below 1hr 30mins. Huge thanks to
founder Matt Breen for the tip to put a screen time widget on my homepage so I always know where I’m at for the day.More record turn outs for
. Crazy how many people are getting behind the goal of making Canberra Suicide Free for 2033. Just. Keep. Moving.
6pm Wednesday at the Arc de Resilience Started journaling using a notebook. I’ve been using this blog mostly as my journal, but wanted to write more as I feel my brain becoming clearer every day I do. Bought the 5-minute journal and love it. Parts of it are a bit corny, but the science behind practising gratitude is rock solid, and I already feel like it’s something I’ll keep doing for the rest of my life. I also got another notebook to do Morning Pages, where I write one page a day and dump out whatever is in my head before getting on with the day. Loving it.
Did another
catch up which is fast becoming my favourite night of the month. Love hearing everyone’s “why” behind their writing and what they plan to write about next.
Some of the writers from the Running for Resilience community Started seeing my psychologist again after being inspired by the guys in the pic above who started seeing there’s as a preventative measure, and dealing with their stuff before the wheels fall off. Not after. Had a great first chat with Gayelene where she’s given me some homework, and I’ll share more about this in the coming weeks.
What I could do better
Asked for help sooner. I know I joked about stupid things I’ve done in my last blog, but not dealing with my ego and admitting that I don’t have all the answers has caused me a ton of unnecessary pain and wasted so much time. But “better late than never” I guess, and I’ve set myself the challenge to reach out and ask 1 person for help each week for the next month.
Managed my time better. I basically missed every session of the Giants startup mentoring program in November due to not managing my time well. I’ve signed up for their next program in March and will drop back to 4 days at work next year. And to avoid a repeat, I’m going to spend 25 mins once a week managing my calendar by reflecting on everything that’s on it. Basically schedule in time to think about time lol.
Favourite posts:
The mathematical equations for "doing nothing" vs "making small improvements each day". I love this post because it reminds me how at the Brumbies we always talked about how the 1 percenters made all the difference. Big thanks to
for tagging me in this.
Lex Friedman’s interview with an early Facebook executive, Virgin Galactic Chairman, and Golden State Warriors Owner Chamath Palihapitiya is one of the most inspiring interviews I’ve ever listened to. I started following Chamath on the All-In podcast and to hear how someone so successful sees his therapist every Monday at 9am to work thru his issues is inspiring. He’s also an unbelievably clear and inspiring communicator with humble beginnings, and probably the person I’ve learned the most from over the past 2 years. Thank you Chamath.
I’m really enjoying doing my monthly reviews, but as I mentioned earlier, I’m going to write about the issues that are driving me to the point of exhaustion in an attempt to deal with them and grow.
So thanks for being patient while I shared some fun stuff, did a few #humblebrags and re-energized before I dive deep and do some soul-searching.
A great month Benny. Can just imagine the Eddie Murphy movie 'Daddy Day Care' with you at the helm. Cracking half mara pace, I'll hit that one day!
100 minute mark in a half marathon - great psychological barrier to break! Also that screentime effort is sensational. So easy to spend time poorly with a phone in your pocket.