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Hey! Hope your February is off to a great start! Over here I’m feeling super good about January.
I decided my personal theme for this year is:
Read. Run. Revel.
Read (or listen to) 100 books
Run (or walk) 1000 miles
Revel in the moment
The word “revel” means to take great pleasure in something; to enjoy something openly or with enthusiasm. It also means to do it boisterously, out loud. ← which I plan to do a lot more of.
I’ve since added to that list, deciding that I want to be the kind of person who can do push ups from my toes, so I’ve been working towards this daily (which is actually kinda embarrassing, so I’ve decided to revel in it and post to social media 😅)
You might notice that none of these goals have to do with my business, and that’s the point.
While I LOVE what I do, I don’t love that most goal setting is focused on business / career success.
It was how I was wired for success and achievement.
In fact there were many years where I thought, “I should find a hobby”, but just, well… didn’t.
Now I’m leaning in to who I am OUTSIDE of my business (knowing full well it will help me show up better INSIDE my business).
So here’s what this is looking like for me in the last 6 weeks:
I noticed 2 things I didn’t like about how I was spending my time:
1) My evening routine I'd settled into… Netflix after the kids went to bed.
2) No matter what screen limits I’d set, or even uninstalling apps for time periods (like 3 months last spring!) scrolling social media on my phone was not working for me.
So here’s what I did:
1) I deleted Netflix from my phone
2) I installed and paid for the pro version of the Be Present app (more on this in a minute)
3) Added fiction books to my night stand and downloaded a reading time tracker app on my phone.
Thus swapping my evening routine from mindless to intentional (that sounded very chatgpt didin’t it 😅)
Anyhoo, in January I read 5 fiction books with this new routine (mostly from Book of the Month Club ← highly recommend, I’ve done this for 5+ years, use my referral link 🙏🏻)
Weyward
Anatomy of an Alibi (LOVED this one)
The Tenth Circle
At the River
None of This is True
Plus , I devoured these 3 non-fiction books on audible / kindle:
Do Hard Things (kindle)
Unleash the Power Within (Audio during walks)
Good Inside (Audio while cooking / laying on the floor next to toddlers bed willing him to sleep)
I supposed the advantage of being partially deaf is can stream audiobooks through my hearing aids 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve consistently read at LEAST 20 mins a day for 28 days straight (I’m using the Bookmory app to track)
Will I keep up this pace all year? I dunno.
But I DO like how I’ve FELT these last 6 weeks, particularly my shift with social. Let me explain.
One of my issues (like many) is absent-mindedly open social apps when I'm on my phone (my trifecta is IG first, then Threads, then FB) and lose track of time.
I’ve installed apps like Opal and others to limit my daily intake, but I usually find work arounds.. Then get frustrated and delete the apps entirely for a few days (or months) before starting the loop back over.
Here’s what changed:
When I installed the BePresent app, I changed how I used social media.
Instead of a daily time limit (say 30 mins), it had a different recommendation. It suggested that I set a max number of times I OPEN the app each day, each with a specific time limit.
For me, that was:
Instagram - 10 times
Facebook - 5 times
Threads - 7 times
Each time was a MAXIMUM OF FIVE MINUTES.
Reader, do you know how FAST 5 minutes goes??
Here’s what happened… I’d open an app, then start looking, reply to a DM or comment, then have something else pull my attention (tea pot was done, or kid needed help), so then the 5 mins would expire and I was out…
Or I would use the full 5 mins, furiously trying to reply to messages or scroll and it would kick me out at 5 mins.
And I never felt slighted. I felt empowered.. I was in control of my time.
I set more limits. All 3 apps shut down at 6pm - 7:30am Sunday - Thursday.
You might be reading this thinking.. Ok, well that still could be 50 mins on Insta, 25 on Facebook and 35 on Threads… So like, you’re still spending a crap ton of time there.
Well, sure. I could.
But what’s been fascinating is a don’t.
Because something interesting has happened when I log in… pretty much every post I see is negative, sure there’s some fun and good ones too, but mostly not things I want to read / fill my brain with.
Which has made these apps lose their luster. They aren’t giving me that slot machine like “oooh, maybe there’s something good!!” but rather, I notice that I don’t enjoy checking like I did even a month ago.
Instead, I’ve mostly started doing business social from my laptop which changes the user experience, and keeps me focused.
But why am I sharing all this with you?
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I had a different story I planned to share with you, but I felt like what would be more helpful today is to share with you more about the human, Heather.
Because yes, I can absolutely tell you all the storytelling, sales and speaking tips to help you share your message (and I’ll include a few recommendations down below)
But the truth is we’re both humans trying to live our lives while growing our businesses and I hope that my choosing to REVEL IN the life I’m building alongside my business, encourages you to live yours a little bigger and more fulfilled.
Anyhoo, I’d love to hear how you are finding joy outside of work these days, hit reply and tell me about your weird hobbies ❤️
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Heather Sager
Speaking + Certified High Performance Coach helping you speak, teach, and lead—better.
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PS - Here’s a few speaking resources for ya:
> Want to do more guest speaking this year, but struggling to nail down your guest speaking topics? Start with this free guide.
> Need help customizing your talks for different audiences? Tune into this podcast episode.
> Get tripped up at the end of your talks or interviews when it comes time to share the next step? Watch this mini-training for stronger CTAs.
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