The Sunday Spotlight

A 3 minute read.

3 things. A lesson, a win and a thank you.

I'm writing my next book. It doesn't have a title yet. It barely has a theme. But if you're interested in human performance, you might want to follow along as I share what I discover and the process of conjuring ideas to life.

As I clarify my thinking, it may help you to clarify yours. On the other hand it may not!

Let's see where this takes us....

A lesson. ??

When was the last time you splashed in the waves or buried your feet in the sand??

I have spent the last five days in Shetland with my wife Laura, our ten-year-old daughter Nell and our two-year-old Golden Retriever Brae.?

Catching up with old friends was wonderful. Exploring new landscapes was exciting. Learning about the island’s Viking past was fascinating. But the thing that’s brought me the most joy this holiday is watching my daughter and our dog play… And then joining in!

Most days we found ourselves by the sea. Hanging out on a beach with a “preenager” and a puppy isn’t restful. But it is full of adventure, awe and curiosity.?

Sometime they played together. Sometimes they played apart. Sometimes they played deliberately. Sometimes they played accidentally. Sometimes the play was energetic. Sometimes the play was contemplative. Always the play was focused and wholehearted. ?

Clambering over rock pools. Building pebble dams. Making angels and burying legs in the sand. Playing chase in the surf. Searching for sea glass and shells. Nothing to recharge, download, upload, like or subscribe. Just time well spent, playing for playing’s sake.?

A life affirming lesson.

A win. ??

As a business owner when I go on holiday I always get a little bit antsy about turning on my out of office. Will I come back to a mountain of emails?? Will something important go unseen? Will I have to pause my vacation to deal with an emergency??

In the past, I’ve shared my mobile number in my OOO and told people to call me if they need me. They didn’t.?

So this time my message simply asked people to contact one of the team. I left strict instruction with my colleagues to get in touch if anything urgent came up. They didn’t.?

Maybe I’m not as important as I thought I was ;-).?

It’s been lovely not to look at my inbox.?

A win.

A thank you. ??

I love to read when I’m on holiday. This time I’ve been digging into Cal Newport’s latest instruction manual for life, Slow Productivity.

It’s excellent. Simple, compelling and practical. I’m already planning how I can implement what I’ve learned.?

Cal, we’ve never met but you’ve changed my life. That’s the power of words!

Thank you. ?

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I hope this was useful in some way.

Talk next Sunday.

Enjoy the week ahead.

Dominic