Welcome to the new format of Monday Musings! One of the perks of my job is the generous compensatory-time-off package. One of the drawbacks to this that it requires a lot of weekend work that translates to taking Mondays off in lieu. This past weekend we performed in Memorial Park in Esquimalt to support The Foundry, and in Ladner to close out their annual Bandfest. I definitely loved playing all weekend long, and I’m enjoying my days off in lieu.
Of course, being off on Mondays (and doing everything in my power to ensure that I don’t work on my days off, because, break time) means that my Musings have often been delayed, and when you add a layer of perfectionism and ADHD on top, it means that a delayed musing ends up being a no-musing week. I’ve tried taking my own advice on Batching, and it worked to a point, but I need to get back there again, and that day to get there just isn’t today. Wasn’t yesterday either. Also, the DWAN doesn’t help, because in the bid to not do work while at home I am not bringing my laptop out of my office if I can avoid it, and I haven’t managed to bridge the gap between Outlook and D365 for mailing lists. Yes, a barrage of excuses. Cue the workaround!
I bumped into my stand-mate at my daughter’s graduation ceremony and he mentioned to me he’d just picked up a copy of Atomic Habits. I’d gone part-way through that book and gleaned a couple of nuggets, but having him talk about it gave me pause to reconsider and dive back in.
I’ve been considering my own productivity and goals in how I’m achieving improvement. It’s also a danger spot that my social worker has identified in my relentless pursuit of improvement, and how we’ve talked about balance needing to elbow its way to the forefront of my existence.
Atomic Habits’ premise is simple. Make incremental improvements each day, just 1%. Stack those improvements over time, and mathematically the curve goes exponential. Premise seems simple, right?
Cue the data monkey brain. What are the metrics by which I measure that incremental gain? I guess this might also be the point, too, where I pull out my BuJo and create yet another collection for monitoring data.
This actually goes back to something my Branch Chief was talking about in a conference last year – Values-Based Leadership. I’ll expand on that one in a future musing, but through that lens and talking with my Soc W, she had me narrow it down to three values:
Leadership
Growth
Balance
For all those times I just want to take a back seat and go with the flow, I have the drive and urge to lead our way in and/or out of a situation. It’s an area that occupies a large portion of my mind, too, as I consider what a post-CAF future might look like for me (because, yes, friends, that day will come). Do I want to continue to lead, though in a different way, or is it something altogether different?
Growth for me looks like continually learning and improving, much in line with the Atomic Habits principles. Finishing my degree was an important point of growth. Achieving various milestones while running is another example. Being a better parent and partner factors into this as well. Small things that necessarily add up.
The final factor, of course, being balance, is the hardest to achieve. As an early-reformed perfectionist with ADHD, balance can often be hard to come by. Trying to beat back feelings of inadequacy with drive-action pushes me forward, but is it in the “right” way? What am I really pushing towards? Who am I doing this for?
“Is it worth it? Let me work it…”
(as a complete aside, I actually looked up the lyrics to find out what Missy Elliot was saying – recommend you do the same. She’s a genius)
So where do the atomic habits come back in? For me, it’s figuring out what measurable progress looks like. That involves goal setting, which is a terrible pastime of mine, because goals (especially for me in the personal domain) are scary. Work stuff? Less so.
I want to get 1% better every day at playing the double bass. Ok, great, what does that need to break down like? I have to define “better” so that I can tune my practicing to meet those goals. There aren’t any easy answers here, and going down a path and having to backtrack is okay, too.
MUSIC RECOMMENDATION TIME!
The Algorithm fed me a sponsored post on Instagram that I think is worth checking out. Dux is a group from Portland, OR, making a go of things in this delicious synth-funk way. I had the chance to talk to Jonah, the ringmaster/keys-bassist of the organization (a wonderful human), and we exchanged pleasantries over the joys of synth bass and the Moog Sub Phatty.
Dux’ latest video is a minivan jam featuring Raquel Rodriguez on vocals, entitled “Over It”. Squishy synth goodness, tasty bass, and a rolling vibe make this one a jam. Do check it out!
As always, if you’re liking what you’re seeing, pass it along to someone else. If you’re reading this for the first time, shoot me a note and I will add you to the list. If you’ve had enough of my ramblings, no harm, no foul, I’ll drop you like a hot potato.
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