checking out for the summer, byeeee

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​Here’s what “taking the summer off” looks like for me

This is T-Boss formally checking out for the rest of the summer.
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Sandra Booker and I have been carefully planning and working ahead since April when I first proposed this idea of taking the entire month of August off.

It’s not a perfect “never look at my computer” summer off. We had to make many compromises. I’m working Fridays, when I’m co-leading our ChatGPT for Email series with Nicole Edwards. I have two mastermind calls to facilitate, plus I’ll be in and out of Slack in my various programs.

But I won’t be…

Checking email
Ticking off tasks in Asana
Leading calls in my email membership
Editing members’ emails
Checking LinkedIn (unless my brain tricks me)
Writing newsletters or promo emails
Attending team meetings
Pitching for podcast interviews
…plus a hundred other little things I do every week
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Sandra insisted we do our usual cash flow meeting at the end of the month.

But she also insisted I not do a bunch of things, like reading replies to my newsletter. I can’t think of an easier way to fall down the rabbit hole than logging into email, but also—newsletter replies are my daily vitamins. That piece is hard to let go. My team will save your replies for me to read when I get back. I probably won’t reply back, but I’ll treasure every one.

We expect to have an okay month profit-wise.

Between students in various ongoing programs, payment plans, and our Copy Caboose promo, our August cash flow meeting should be relatively unscary. The truth is I dread those meetings even though I always feel better afterwards. I’m glad Sandra makes me do them.

(If you want this kind of support in your business, here’s how you can work with Sandra Booker this year. Or connect with her here).

One of my biggest challenges has been letting myself have the time away. It’s quieting what Dr. Carl Hart calls, “the perpetual preparation for battle that goes on in my head.” I’ve been on a 4-day workweek for a month now, and I still have to talk myself down every Monday.

Tarzan, it’s okay to rest.

Tarzan, be patient with yourself.

Tarzan, working for an hour while your kids play Minecraft is a bad idea. Context-switching is stressful and inefficient. Read a book.

It’s a work in progress.

Rest doesn’t come naturally to me, even though I used to be great at it. I’m revisiting the 7 types of rest every person needs by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith.

Here are the ways I’m prioritizing rest this summer—

>> Physical rest: Drinking amanita muscaria tea at least once a week to make sure I get good quality sleep. (It’s honestly like magic.)

>> Creative rest: Floating on my paddleboard watching the trees go by and letting my mind wander freely.

>> Sensory rest: Eating a screen-free lunch daily instead of simultaneously listening to an audiobook and playing Royal Match like I usually do.

>> Social rest: Deleting dating apps and prioritizing the connections I already have, like that sexy woman I met at a music festival last week.

>> Spiritual rest: Helping my canoe club find the donors we need to keep the club alive. (Canoe Club is the closest thing I have to church.)

As for mental rest, climbing K2 sounds easier. And emotional rest? I don’t even get how those two words go together. Recommendations welcome.

So that’s what I’ll be working on this summer.

While paddling my ass off, obviously. I ramped up my training schedule to 6 practices a week, half of which are at 6am.

No wonder I’m single 

Whatever you’re up to this August, I wish you rest. As I learned from my friend Maegan Megginson, that often has little to do with sitting still and doing nothing.

Thank God since I am the absolute worst at that.

See you in September 

T-Boss

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Thanks to everyone who attended, who quoted my emails back to me, who brought gifts and kind words, who shared generously with each other, and especially thanks to the one guy who flew all the way from Minnesota.

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