We’re a week into July now and my decision to write some personal objectives for the quarter to go alongside my work objectives is proving to be an interesting experiment. I’ve begun to try and build some new habits to help me achieve not just my personal objectives but also my work ones.

The first of those habits has been to set aside the first 30 minutes of my work day to read and write. After I sit down at my desk with a coffee, I check in on Teams and my email to make sure there’s no fires, and then pick up my book. I open Obsidian to the literature note for that book, pick up my pencil and begin to read. As I go I underline anything that stands out, and then when I finish a section I write a note in my own words that covers those underlines. It’s fast becoming one of my favourite parts of my work day and I’m noticing an interesting side effect. When my time is up and I move on to some design work, I’m more productive and able to more easily focus on what I’m working on.

I’m pleased that I’m starting to build this habit and the influence it is having on my working day. My next small target is to keep some momentum now that I have finished reading the first book of this new habit. I have the next book lined up ready.