Hey you,

I feel as though we're settling into our new world this week, how about you? The hectic 'hustle' of the first few weeks has eased for me a little and hesitantly-new routines seem to be emerging as, inevitably, my brain begins to accept our current reality as 'normal'.

We humans are amazing creatures, in the way we adapt, aren't we?

Oh! An oops! Here's something I was slow to adapt to... In my last email I invited you to Reply to me! and was excited to hear from you... but I forgot to link my own email address - sorry!! I did receive some lovely emails from anyone who clicked the Reply button in their email software but any mail sent via the Reply to me! link at the bottom has gone into the wild yonder... If you took a few kind moments to reply in this way and would like to resend your email I'd be so delighted to hear from you! My email is sarahjmlynas@gmail.com :)

So, on to today's letter: I'm excited about the tool I'm sharing today because it's so relevant right now. It has freed up some of my stuck thinking and definitely helped to make our current home-all-the-time scenario a little easier; you can see why I'd want to share!

I first came across 'roles & goals' whilst reading Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits book many years ago; applying it at the time to the very discrete areas of 'work' and 'home' - it's been a lightbulb moment to realise how much this simple technique can support me now that work and home are inextricably linked...

... and I don't just mean 'linked now in this situation' because, for all of us who are growing our businesses or our children from home, the home/work line can feel blurry all year round!

Start by thinking about what roles you want, or need, to play in the coming week.

Covey introduces this in relation to planning your week ahead and actually the regular and short-term nature of this tool lends itself really well to where we're at just now.

For example, you may take the role of 'Christmas-tree-decorator' in mid-December, but you don't need to think about that today! Equally, maybe you caught up with all your friends last week, and so your role of 'friend' might take a back seat again until next week. This isn't about not being all of your usual roles, it's just about not being all of them this week.

For this coming week, mine will include:

• mum
• business owner
• wife
• volunteer
• gardener
• me!

That last one is the easiest to forget and the most important!

And here's my lightbulb... because I'm home-all-the-time (just now) or home-most-of-the-time (normally) I don't separate these out!

I just get on with being everything, all at once, and end up giving nothing my full attention; and this makes so much sense when I think about it. How can I focus when I have six or more channels running at the same time? I feel drained whilst having achieved very little. Contrary to popular belief we are not good at multi-tasking; more on that another day.

Becoming conscious of who I am right now* has been game-changing; setting aside chunks off time where I have full permission to sink into each role is so much more fulfilling. Just doing this one thing might be all you need to think a little differently... try it and let me know?

* I'll be talking about where am I right now in another letter soon!

Make a note of the most important roles for your week ahead... and then read on!

The second part of the tool is goals; so have a think about what goals you have in each role this week, what's the most important thing you need to achieve?

My goals will include; 

- writing my newsletter and being visible every day; 

- helping my son re-adjust his body-clock after a long Easter break; 

- a bike ride and a film night with hubby; 

- finalising all the paperwork for two new volunteer befriending roles; 

- planting up our new border, and 

- doing 20 minutes exercise each morning

Make a note of your important goals for this week's roles, put them into your diary ahead of anything else and protect them! 

When you use this as part of your weekly diary planning you'll find that all the other little things still get done. Or maybe they don't... maybe they're not that important after all, or perhaps they're part of next week's plan?!

Do let me know how you get on, checking in with who are you right now, and prioritising your goals in each role - I hope it brings you some clarity and energy!

I'd love to know what you need from me right now. 

Do drop me a note (simply hit reply to this email) or get in touch on Facebook or Instagram to tell me how I can help. 

Me helping could take the form of live videos, how-to PDF's, online workshops (two in the pipeline!) or just more hints and tips in my emails; also let me know what formats work for you.

Thank you for inviting me into your inbox, it's a real privilege to be here.

As ever, stay curious!

P.S. If you're anything like me you'll escape into a story sometimes... I'm currently lost in Plan for the Worst by Jodi Taylor - I love everything she's written!

P.P.S. Following a brilliantly unexpected conversation this week with a new friend about our incredibly similar teenage taste in music I've got this on loop, just the way I had back in 1992 on my school trip, happiest with my headphones on, in my own little world on the long coach journeys :)

P.P.P.S. When I'm not singing along to Prince I'm soaking up the musings of the thoughtful Dr Chatterjee; this one all about creating habits that stick...

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