Only a minority of people actually review their course

Are you off course? This is an especially relevant question if you're in new territory or if you're making a new thing and more often than not, we are in that situation. Even if we think we're doing the same thing, the world around us is volatile and constantly changing. How does the opening question help? It helps in that the more often you review your direction and signs of progress, the more often you can course correct potentially saving you from using resources you would otherwise waste and the associated frustrations.

[It turns out that not many people do this very often]

There is another, deeper, morphogenic level to the question. A kind of soul / wisdom enquiry that asks, is this still the right course, what would I rather instead. Am I the same person as I was when I set off on this course?

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In Day Crafting, we're emphasising the cadence of a day as a good rhythm for reviewing our work, energy and objectives. It can help to use different techniques as review questions that force us to think more objectively or creatively about the answers and bypass some of our too familiar, habitual responses.

A straight forward approach might be a simple review question you might ask yourself, how am I? We're used to asking and answering that question fairly often and commonly resort to a short-hand, template answer, I'm fine. But our answer to the question changes if we play with emphasis, time or perspective.

If I ask myself: how I am honestly, I might pause and give myself permission to think more deeply.

If I ask myself: imagine a month has passed, how would I answer how I was looking back to today. Whatever my answer, it might wisely remind me that moods, emotions and even situations shift and change.

If I ask myself: how would my best friend (partner, favourite grandparent, wisest counsellor, supreme being etc) say I was, it would force a shift in perspective which would give me yet another answer.

Emphasis, time and perspective shifts in frame are all useful lateral thinking prompts.

The Practice

In the context of Day Crafting, here are some review questions that you can ask yourself at any time that are intended to bring perspective and wisdom back to the the day(s) you are crafting. If you never need to shift your course, you're a wiser person than most.

NOW

What's the smallest thing I can do right now that'll have the biggest impact on the rest of my day?
Where is my attention now, can I bring it back to the working surface?
Is what I'm doing filling or draining my energy?

TODAY

Are particular moods or emotions causing me to behave in ways I want to review?
Is today happing to me or is today happening by my?
Looking back in a years time, what might I wish I had done more of today?

PROJECT (typically two weeks)

Am I delighted by what I'm making?
Am I being enriched by how I'm solving this project's challenges?
Am I giving this current situation too much attention; is my perspective skewed?

SEASON

What remarkable days can I craft during this season?
What connections, that deeply enrich me, can I make more time for?
What stage am I at with my Day Crafting skill development?

YEAR

In the year that's passed, what are the biggest accomplishments that I'm overlooking?
In the year that's passed, which of my Day Crafting practices have made the most difference?
Considering the year ahead, what might be the biggest risks to my craftwork aspirations?

If you want to develop a regular review discipline, set a diary reminder to yourself.

Written by Bruce Stanley on Fri, January 13, 2023

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Setting intentions – the Day Crafting tool you’ll use most

Have you heard of a stitching pony? Every craft has ubiquitous tools, the potter's wheel, the smith's anvil, the carver's chisel – and the leatherworker has the stitching pony which is used to grip the material. To the Day Crafter the tool used most often has to be intention setting.

How To Think Like A Day Crafter

I'm fortunate enough to be in control of my schedule, so why does the 9 to 5 work ethic, amongst other influences, still loom and glower over my thinking? I feel like a long departed influential industrialist striking a pose like Isambard Kingdom Brunel is shaping my choices. Along with him is a sports (or business) coach who talks about goals and winning and success. I think there is a capitalist media mogul in there too, pushing rumours and feeding worries about insecurities that I can purchase my way out of.