New in ’22

Time doesn’t scale

That’s why it’s worth so much.

Sure, you can outsource. You can look for shortcuts. You can hire folks. You can use mailmerge. You can even send it to voice mail.

But all of these time shortcuts fail to express the thing we want the most.

Your time, my time, their time–we all get the same number of minutes per day.

If you spend them on someone, they can tell.
(Seth Godin, January 2, 2022)

What will be new for you in 2022? Apps? Books? Friends or Relationships? Prayer or Meditation? Your use of technology? Your participation at church or youth group? Vaccination Booster? What?

Maybe add a “worry journal” as a new thing this year. I meetup with colleagues that serve children and youth in the denomination, and heard about the idea of a worry journal. It might be helpful for you.

First, get a journal or create one that you can write in rather than use a digital journal or notepad. There is something different about handwriting rather than typing or “thumbing” your thoughts. It’s hard to explain, but hand writing, though probably difficult, is a satisfying process. Having to erase or scratch through something on a page means you may often give more thought to what you might write, rather than hitting delete or backspace on a screen.

When you have a “worry” turn to your journal to answer these questions.

What is “worrying” or “bothering” you?
Why is this a worry or bother?
If you cannot identify the tangible “why” then scratch through this worry and take it off the list. It’s not a real worry.
How can you take action to change the outcome of this worry in a meaningful way?

I am not one that “worries.” I am “concerned” which I think is more than semantics. But, I found this journal process helpful in the last few months of 2021, reminding me what is my responsibility, my obligation, and within my control. It helped me remember what is within my sphere of influence.

A new goal for me in 2022, will be reading. I do a lot of reading on my screen each day (news, resources, blogs, social media), but I’m not one that reads a complete book each year. I haven’t intentionally done that since sabbatical time. I began a book back in October while I was on holiday, but haven’t picked it up again. I’m setting a reasonable goal for myself: 6 books in 2022. Help me out and ask me what I’m reading.

Current books on my list.

Klara and the Sun, by Kazoo Ishiguro. Recommend to me by a colleague that I began while on holiday.
All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business, by Mel Brooks.
Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity, by Scott Galloway
Peaceful Neighbor: Discovering the Countercultural Mister Rogers, by Michael Long

Another new for 2022, is being intentional about listening to new music. I stay in touch with the pop-culture music scene to stay conversant, but I don’t give pop-culture’s music a serious listen very often. Who is writing the lyrics that will be the soundtrack of your memories when you are 45 year olds?

TV in early ’22:

The Wonder Years (reboot)
Star Trek: Discovery Season 4
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4
Star Trek: Picard Season 2
Lost in Space Season 3

We traveled in October ’21 to Mexico for some beach time. There is some travel on the calendar for ’22, which feels new, though it is a reboot of a pattern, if it happens. Right now, the spring break study trip, International Affairs Seminar, that I plan and help lead for my denomination is still a go. This trip takes high school juniors and seniors to Washington DC and New York on an eight day adventure. This year the trip will study Faith and Economics. In April we plan to return to the sea on a Celebrity Cruise. Travel to see family will also fill the calendar.

There will be more hand written notes snail mailed this year.

Time doesn’t scale. Add something completely or mostly new in 2022.