Weekend Wrap: It Just Takes 30 Seconds

Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't meant to be a deep dive or sweeping life philosophy—just a collection of things that caught my attention, made me think, brought me joy, or stayed with me in some way.

What I Noticed

I’ve said it before. It continues to be true.

I overcomplicate things.

I’m not alone; of that much I am certain. But I find myself doing it more and more often lately. I make grandiose plans, set goals that are unreasonable.

And then I beat myself up when I fall short. Which I always do. Shooting for the stars means you aren’t going to make it. I mean, Proxima Centauri is over 4 light-years away…

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Thirty seconds can be the goal. Can we start something (or stop something) with less than 30 seconds of time—and energy? For years, I have underestimated the power of my environment’s influence on my habits.

I still have a long way to go, but I am trying to keep it on my radar now. Small bits of friction—adding or removing—can have an oversized impact.

It only takes 30 seconds.

What Helped

Silence.

Seriously. I think we have forgotten how to just be. I know I fill my time with stuff. Music, podcasts, audiobooks all fill my ears. Scrolling, playing a game, reading all feed my eyes.

This week, I gave myself a few moments of silence. No distractions, no sound, nothing to process. Just time.

To be.

I need to do more of that. It is tough. We are so accustomed to the constant bombination of daily life; it is uncomfortable when it is not there.

But maybe we should embrace it more.

What I’m Enjoying

I love watching my children do something they really care about. It is something I enjoy more than almost anything.

And while swim for my youngest never really stops, meets tend to be spread out, usually one a month or so.

Except during high school swim season.

Now, we get them pretty much every week. The season isn’t long enough to have gaps between meets. But that means that I get to watch my son swim a lot more often for the next couple of months.

It is awesome.

What I’m Practicing

My journaling practice has been pretty out of whack.

I’d mostly just stopped doing it; when I did, it was perfunctory at best. Yes, my daily note practice fell apart. Once the newness faded, I found it more of a chore than anything.

But I do find value in processing through my day. So I decided to start again this week. I thought I might try something new, so tried a journaling app called stoic. to see if a different approach would be useful.

Like so many things, it uses AI to “go deeper”. It was an interesting experiment, but had a lot of shortcomings for me. And wasn’t inexpensive.

So I built my own system, using tools I already have (and pay for). It has been good. Useful.

Far from perfect. It is a process I am tweaking as I go. But I appreciate getting back into the practice.

Wrapping Up

I love the fall.

The cooler nights and mornings, the change in the air and the leaves—it is possibly my favorite time of year.

Often it passes too quickly. But I relish it while it is here.

Maybe that is a key to a happier life; relish what we have when we have it.

I’m trying. That’s all we can do.