I attended the “Resources for Humans” virtual conference put on by Lattice today. I’d put it on my calendar months ago, but I also thought my good intentions would probably slide closer to the event and I’d end up not making it. Maybe I’d watch a recording later. But this week I decided to keep the commitment to my past self and cleared my schedule today to attend the full day conference. After a couple of internal meetings early this morning, I spent most of the day listening and learning.
It was a nice mental break. Or a mental refresh. Also, they had guest speakers like James Clear, Priya Parker, and Jason Sudekis. The former two whose books I have read and loved and the latter . . .well, Ted Lasso. Who doesn’t love Ted Lasso? I was a little more motivated to clear my schedule than for any old conference.
I took a few notes throughout the day and responded to some slacks and emails in the background, but by midday I was mostly trying to focus and listen. I was even motivated to go for a run during the midday break (thanks James Clear for motivating me to get back to some good habits, his book Atomic Habits is one of my favorites). I spent the afternoon out on my balcony listening and coloring in my Miraculous Ladybug coloring book. Turns out that if my hands don’t have something to do I’ll mindlessly click through other work or be tempted to social media.
My thoughts have felt clearer today than they have in a week. I think that was mostly due to the run, to be honest. My brain is always making the best connections when I run, in a way walks have never quite done for me. And I haven’t been running very consistently. This means the run is hard and slow but I’m trying to memorialize the feeling I get during and afterward: where I can hear myself through the noise.
My conference day to engage with HR learning has turned out to feel more like a self-care day. I’ll take it, with a mental note to seek out more learning opportunities to feel energized and engaged.
With Love,
Natalie