While attending the Living Arts College at the School of Communication Arts I developed a habit of carrying a unruled, pocket reporter moleskine for ideas, sketches, notes and receipts. Mostly I work remotely, but I have an office about a half hour away where I meet new clients and hold small meetings. Mom visits every couple of weeks or so to give us both a break from our normal routines. We have so much fun together!
Today, she saw the pile of receipts I’d collected and she instinctively started going through them. Mom blurts, “Girl! You go all these places when I’m not here!” I shot back, “I go all those places when I’m not HERE!” If I am at home working (or playing) I can’t go “all those places” and spend money, so I try to go out only when it is absolutely necessary. When I do go out, the moleskine or my blackberry holds my plan of attack for making the most of the time by getting errands and on-site customer deliverables done. I have been known to stay home 7-10 days and hardly even go out to the mailbox.
In a Harvard Business Review article by Peter Drucker called “Managing Oneself.” It discusses the challenges and importance of self-management. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to know myself; my strengths, weaknesses and values so that I can “place myself” where I can be most efficient and effective.
Self-discovery is probably one of the toughest things I’ve had to do. It takes careful feedback and trial-and-error precision, but it is well worth it. When I make impulse buying decisions or forget to write down business or personal expenses, it is nobody’s fault but mine. Likewise, it is only “my doing” that affords me to live my whole life without finding my passions and my destined place of effectiveness in the world outside my door.
