Ambivert social calendar management
Healing through books podcast launch & books worth mentioning
In this update I share how embracing my ambivert tendencies informs how I socialise, celebrate our Healing through Books podcast launch and list the books worth mentioning. I wrote this update before Miranda July joined Substack, and have since edited this post to point you to her updates.
Ambivert social calendar management
I’ve been thinking about how embracing my ambivert tendencies has taught me to say no to some types of social activities.
I plan my weekly activities in a way that is a lot less hectic than it was before I had children. On Thursday mornings I have a repeating calendar item that prompts me to review the week ahead. Every month or so I hand write my next 42 days in a one page kikki.K planner. This helps me plan for important work and life events in advance so I feel less rushed. It also helps me better manage social or networking catch ups. I can suggest alternative timing to clients, friends and family if I know I am already committed to other activities in certain weeks.
While the feeling of being overwhelmed by the thought of what’s coming up in my calendar happens less and less these days, it can occur in a month when there are a lot of birthdays, special events or travel. If I’m feeling overwhelmed I scan my digital calendar for commitments that I can either reschedule or cancel in the next week or so. When I’m in busy periods, I feel a sense of relief when plans are rescheduled or cancelled. Rather than feel frustrated or annoyed, I bank this as more time to do deeper work and obsess over quality, the third principle of slow productivity.
At the heart of this approach to planning my calendar is the desire to enjoy the time I spend at work with clients and away from work, with family and friends. Tuning in to my ambivert tendencies, I better understand the environments in which I thrive, and I recognise and honour my need to recharge and spend time alone, without conversation.
I like this version of me. It means I am mostly well rested and operate at a slower pace. This enables me to be calmer and more present. It’s a deeper life filled with more joy and less ‘shoulds’. I am not bound by obligations or duties that I say yes to, but resent afterwards.
Saying no leads to a deeper life filled with more joy.
Healing through Books Podcast Launch
and I recently launched our podcast, Healing through Books. Season one explores how allied health practitioners and wellbeing professionals use books in their practice. The launch was at Ampersand Cafe in Paddington. It was hosted by Racquel Collard, who’s one of the Sydney ambassadors from our wonderful One Roof business women’s community.Here’s Racquel, myself, Anna and Winnie Wu, who’s one of the guests on the podcast. Winnie is a pelvic physiotherapist and has a library in her business, Papaya Clinic, for patients to access information about their health.
To celebrate the launch of Healing through Books, Anna and I visited Bowral Booktown in the Southern Highlands. We spent time at most of the local bookstores, including The Book Barn at Bendooley Estate in Berrima.
You can watch the highlight reel over on Instagram to see some our adventures.
Books worth mentioning
All Fours by
July and Hidden Potential by Grant.Browsing the book recommendations from Readings, I purchased and read
’s latest book, All Fours. It’s one of those stories that stays with you after you’ve finished it. I was blindsided by the somewhat explicit sexual content in this book. I’d like to recommend it for my fiction book club, and have asked a fellow reader from my book club to read it before I suggest it for next year.Read
’s newsletter .For our Quarterly One Roof Book Club in November we’re discussing
’s latest book, Hidden Potential. Grant is an organisational psychologist and New York Times Bestselling author. His previous books include Think Again, Originals, Give and Take, Option B, Leif and Fall, The Gift Inside the Box and Power Moves.If you’re a deep thinker and enjoy the idea of exploring what it takes to improve and succeed, you’ll enjoy this book. I like Grant’s approach to writing because he shares interesting stories and backs them up with evidence to demonstrate his points. I listened to Hidden Potential and Think Again via Borrowbox, my local library e-audiobook service. Grant narrates both of these audiobooks.
You can follow Adam Grant here on Substack:
.This month I signed up to
’s Writing Momentum, an online weekly writing group that’s running Wednesday mornings from 7-8am for 12 weeks.With love & gratitude,
KPH
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I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
Thanks Meg. Taking the time to plan takes the stress out of busy periods.