Preface: This is the first of the get-a-glimpse-behind-the-curtain series in which I’ll share some posts, maybe some videos and screencasts, to share my journey of Code Camp from the POV of this Natural Professional. The intention is to give you ideas for your own implementation and to support you in being the awesome natural professional that you are.
The scenario
Roll the calendar back a couple of weeks. I just enrolled in Code Camp. I’ve done my research so have a pretty good sense of Just How Intense this is going to be.
The memory of producing the New WoW Summit is fresh in mind along with the awareness that THE reason it was such a great experience (despite working like a fiend throughout the holidays, LOL) was dedication to self-care. And the thing is: self-care takes forethought.
So as soon as I hit the “submit application” button, I do a silly jig in the living room in celebration and then….
Get practical
I created a note in Evernote called: Self care
For now it’s in my Notebook called: Coding Project. Since this Notebook is going to get large pretty quickly, I’m sure to add tags to the note.
Anticipated Issues
Then, I downloaded the issues I could anticipate:
Note that I didn’t research these things right then and there, I just threw in placeholders for future reference + created a parking place for additional ideas that were sure to pop up.
Snackage
The next list was the beginnings of a To Get list. Here’s what I know: I’ll be blazing through brain energy like it’s going out of style, thus, will want a regular stream of glucose for that big organ in the skull. I want foods that are high in fat and protein with low sugar (my personal preference) and that are easy to eat.
As you can see, most of these foods aren’t available at the common corner grocery which is what I’ll have access to during the intensive part of the program. A Snickers bar every once it a while is fine, but not every day.
Plus, you might remember what it’s like to be at your favorite grocery store, know that you want to pick up some healthy snacks, have no list, and then just get whatever default you’ve been getting for the last few weeks… hence, let’s think about it beforehand!
Routine
While this is last in this list, it’s at the top in importance. Routines support you while saving energy because you don’t have to think about what’s next.
You’ll see that I sketched out a morning and evening routine. It’s gonna be intense, any and all guidance/reminders will be appreciated.
Did you catch the Big Question at the beginning? — I.e. This morning routine means getting up at 5:40am(?!?!) Uh, that doesn’t sound realistic to me. I left it in for the time being because it’s an ideal template and I still have time to sit with it and for other ideas to pop up.
And in fact, looking at it now, a couple of weeks later, here’s what will likely happen: there’s a yoga space at Code Camp, so yoga can get pushed to later in the day, meditation will get shaved down to 30 min, and skimming (journaling) will get moved to the evening and will be combined with Gratitudes & Acknowledgements.
With those thoughts, here’s the revised morning routine:
This means up at 6:45am — much more realistic!
This whole process of setting up in Evernote and doing a quick think thru for these lists took maybe 20 minutes, i.e. Nothing, and yet the impact that anticipating these will pay off exponentially.
Sure there’s more to do, but that’ll be easy enough because I already have a list to work off of. I’ve started the process almost a month before I need it, so I won’t have to cram it in or mess with my schedule in a major way to get to it.
And thus concludes our first glimpse behind the curtain. =)
XO