Slow productivity is helping shift my discomfort
Grace means that all your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of shame
In this update I explore how slow productivity is helping shift my discomfort and announce the Healing through Books podcast launch.
Books worth mentioning
The photo above includes the small pile of books I’ve recently purchased from Readings or borrowed from the Monash public library service. I always bite off more than I can chew with my ‘to read’ list. The books I’ve managed to pick up and start reading are related to travel, and are not featured in this photo. I’m reviewing the travel guides I’ve borrowed from my local library for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, as I prepare for my trip to these destinations with my husband and two sons in September. Am I excited to be exploring Scandinavia? You bet!
Slow productivity is helping shift my discomfort
In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain writes about the idea of passion projects, and that those of us who may be less extroverted will be able to step into the spotlight when it involves a project that we care deeply about.
Embracing the principles of slow productivity has opened the door to a more intentional and creative room where I can think about upcoming projects and dwell on how to bring them alive in a way that helps others. It’s not really me that is the main attraction, it’s what people experience, and what they can do differently or better, as a result of our time together.
I can feel a shift inside me as I approach two major events in August.
One is a solo endeavour, at a public women-in-business event being held by Women in Business Mornington Peninsula. I’ve negotiated a speaker fee and tickets are now on sale to this event. I helped write the outline of the masterclass, so I feel comfortable with the content and at peace about being the centre of attention.
I’m really looking forward to stepping into the light and sharing my insights in this way. I’ve even started thinking about what I’ll wear, which is a new thing for me. It’s not that I have not enjoyed doing this before, or given attention to my professional image, it’s that there’s been a general low level of unease. An unsettling feeling I experienced in the lead up to events like this in the past was distracting, and reduced some of the joy I am now feeling as I prepare for this event.
Perhaps my previously held discomfort about being in the spotlight was driven by doing too much all at once. Before the slower pace of 262 days of cumulative lockdown, I was aware of the unsettled feeling, but chose to ignore it. Since the experience of the pandemic I have shifted into a gear that feels like a more natural pace. Until this point, perhaps I did not allow myself enough time to prepare emotionally for stepping into the spotlight.
Now that I have the thinking, writing and exercise rituals in place, my approach to this masterclass feels slightly different to previous events that required me to hold the attention of professionals in a workshop that they’ve paid to attend and expect to walk away with something worth implementing. I am excited about explaining concepts I talk about often, and shedding a new light on them for the community I will be working with.
Healing through Books podcast launch
The second event in August that I have been preparing for is the launch of the new podcast, Healing through Books.
Healing through Books is a podcast designed and produced by myself and Anna Lamb. We developed the idea for this project based on our shared love of books. Anna and I have enjoyed collaborating on another voluntary project for a number of years, as co-hosts for the One Roof Quarterly Book Club. This podcast feels like the natural evolution of our ongoing discussions about books that help us navigate the adventure of life. When selecting guests for the podcast, we imagined being seated at the dinner table with handpicked practitioners, who have kindly agreed to share their personal experiences with books and how they use books in their practice.
In the podcast interviews we explore their earliest memories of books, the ones that have left a lasting impact, and how these books have played a role in their journey. We also discuss their purpose, their work, and the role of books in their practice.
We are recording the final interviews over the next month and working with our One Roof community to organise the launch on 6th August at Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore in Paddington, Sydney.
I live in Melbourne and am making a special trip to Sydney for the launch. Anna and I are then going on a road trip to Bowral to explore the Book Trail. Bowral is special to us both due to the reputation it has developed as a place for lovers of the written word.
If you live in Sydney, please message me for more details about the Healing through Books podcast launch or you can follow Healing through Books on LinkedIn or Instagram for updates on the Sydney launch.
Grace means that all your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.
I am grateful to Anna for sharing this Brené Brown quote with me in response to the profound thought I shared in my last update, as I reflected on a moment of alcohol infused extroversion.
Mistakes are necessary reminders of the type of person I do not want to be.
I had not appreciated that the emotion I’d been feeling was shame until I read the Brené Brown quote about grace and shame. I had identified the emotion as regret, but it was much deeper than that.
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.