This time of year always brings a sense of new beginnings—buying school uniforms at home and preparing for the arrival of new students at work. This autumn adds another milestone: getting my eldest ready to start their new adventure at university.
As they head off into this new chapter of their life, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned from my sabbatical and what the coming academic year might hold for me. My diary is already filling up with interesting things, and I’m excited for the months ahead. But I also know I’ll face the familiar challenge of not overloading myself by saying “yes” to too many opportunities.
Recently, I had the chance to talk with Geraldine Fitzpatrick about how I’m trying to stay in control of my commitments by:
a) working out how much of my time is already spoken for, and how much is still available to promise to others, and
b) keeping a very short list of main goals for the year, giving each one its own season to be my priority.
You can catch our conversation on the latest episode of Geraldine’s podcast. And if you’d like to try the same exercise, check out the approach described by Loleen Berdahl for calculating your commitments and your remaining time to promise.
