A couple weeks ago we finally got to celebrate Amy's birthday. A week late, because she'd been on her girls' trip. And somewhere in the middle of the afternoon she looks at me and says, "I noticed you didn't really pull your phone out today."
Huh. She was right. I hadn't. And I had no idea until she said it.
Now if you read the last one, you know where my head's been. Payroll. Ending the sprint. Closing businesses. I'm in the middle of shutting down Bloomin' Blinds North Austin, my franchise, and I decided to close PipApp too, so that's two businesses I'm closing at the same time (which is a weird thing to be doing while you're also trying to grow). I've been running hot for months and my brain just doesn't turn off. Like ever.
So me and the girls took Amy out for the day (I filmed a bit of the day if you want to see it).
We walked around, did a little shopping, had lunch outside at this healthy spot, and then we hit the arcade and played a bunch of co-op games, all four of us against the computer. Then we ended up lying on the lawn at the Domain just being goofy with each other for I don't know how long. And then home for a cheesy family movie over dinner. We never do that. Never.
Did I plan to unplug? No. I told Nym I was taking the afternoon and that was it. No phone in the glovebox, no big digital detox. It just happened. Four, maybe five hours where I wasn't checked into work at all. And Sunday morning I woke up and actually wanted to work. Not dragging myself to the desk. Wanting to.
So there's this old story I kept thinking about after. Two woodsmen are out cutting trees. One guy chops all day and never stops. The other guy goes home for lunch every single day. And at first the grinder is way ahead, obviously, he's not leaving. But over time the lunch guy keeps cutting more, and the grinder keeps cutting less, and eventually the grinder can't take it and asks him, how are you out cutting me when you leave every day? And the guy says, I go home. I rest. I eat. And I sharpen my axe before I come back.
I've always heard that as a work story. Sharpen your tools. Better systems, better people, better process. And yeah, it is that. But what I'm realizing is I've got three axes, not one. There's the work one. There's the physical one, my body, my sleep. And there's the emotional and mental one, the one that lets me be patient with my kids and not snap at Amy when I'm stressed about something she has nothing to do with. And I've been pretty good about sharpening the work one. The other two? Dull. Really dull. For a long time. And I didn't even notice until my wife pointed it out on her own birthday.
So which one am I ignoring the most? Honestly, the emotional one. I don't have a system for it yet. I'm the systems guy and I don't have a system for this, which is kind of funny. But I know a few hours on the grass with my girls fixed something in me that a week at my desk couldn't.
What about you? Which axe have you been letting go? I’m still figuring mine out, so if you’ve got something that works, I’d really like to hear it.
