I am stuck…I can’t come up with a better word for it, I’m just plain stuck. It might be the overall blah feeling that comes with January weather. It could be that I just spent two months working to update, rewrite, and change the layout of my book. Or it just might be the annual holiday hangover (no, I’m not actually hung over). No matter what, I am finding myself struggling for topics to share with you. So, I decided I would share with you the steps I am going to take to try and break free of the January doldrums.

1. Find some outdoor activities – my wife and I really like to take our dogs for a walk. January is so tough because of the small amount of daylight. Add in the high percentage of days this month that were cloudy and I’m needing some Vitamin D. While I wait for the sun to make its way back into my world, I am going to get two outdoor walks in each week. I get my workouts in at the gym, usually 5 times per week, but that fresh air on a walk is hard to beat.
2. Use the time for a balcony view – in my book, I talk about using the balcony view to check in on my progress and my focus as a leader. I have preached that to everyone I have coached and push them to set time aside and be intentional about that self examination of the work. I need to get back to practicing what I preach in this new endeavour. I am going to set time aside on my calendar to check on myself as an entrepreneur. I will find the balcony again, evaluate my progress on goals, priorities, and the passions I have in this work. This is a great time of year to reflect. After all, we set goals, chose a word, developed a resolution less than a month ago. Go check on it…how are you doing?
3. Read for enjoyment –  earlier this week, I was on a call with a school level leader. She told me during our call that she hasn’t read a book for pleasure in years. Yikes! C’mon…find a book that you can read for enjoyment. I read for pleasure, but only at bedtime. I will be expanding that over the next several weeks. Reading for enjoyment allows our brain an escape and engages different parts of the brain. I am going to set that time aside during my day to enjoy what I read in addition to the reading I do for professional growth.

 

What are your tips for breaking free when you get stuck?

I’d love to hear them.

I hope this list helps you find your way through January and into the springtime. It’s coming…trust me, spring will be here soon.

 

 

 

Have a #RoadToAwesome week

Darrin

COMING SOON: Road to Awesome the 2nd Edition (the updated version of my best selling book will be releasing late January 2023!!) Learn more and get updates by signing up for our weekly newsletter at roadtoawesome.net

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Tune into our podcast “Leaning into Leadership” available everywhere you get your podcast fix. This week on episode 56: Mark Herschberg joins the show to talk about the career success skills nobody ever taught us. It’s an awesome episode, don’t miss it.