Week 2: Plot One Moon at a Time + Day 1: Journal Brainstorm

One month is a natural unit, originally counted from new moon to new moon. A month is poetic and whole; a luscious scoop of time that you can almost taste. Close your eyes right now, and embrace a sense of your next month; summon up its mood and meaning - and hold onto that feeling as you move forward today.

This week you will learn the habit of planning for one month at a time; how to take the big picture Base Map you developed last week, discern your best course, and plot it out into manageable chunks.

This very idea might cause some of you to balk; we are not all prone to planning and plotting. But just like I said last week, please try this habit in the simplest format you can, because it will help to ground you. I promise you that we won't dwell in planning mode any longer than we need to!

And if you, like me, will happily plan your life away, please don't allow yourselves to get stuck... move through this material at a steady pace.

The Plotting Habit has several parts, which we will take one day at a time, and then work into your monthly routine - you will choose one day each month to plot out your next 30 days.

A note about the moon cycle:

People have counted by the moon since the Stone Age. The moon is yin: Feminine, mysterious, fluid, creative, and changeable. Each phase of the moon’s cycle has a traditional mystical meaning, from the new beginnings of the new moon, to the evaluation and surrender of the waning crescent moon.

Lately I've been using the moon cycle as a reminder to cycle through my monthly habits, and I'll present that system for you later to use or dismiss. For now, just be aware of this traditional moon cycle idea:

Photo by Alan Gillespie

-New moon - high energy, new beginnings.
-Waxing crescent - hope, growing intention
-First quarter - flexibility and full effort
-Waxing gibbous - reexamine, refine
-Full moon - completion, release
-Waning gibbous - gratitude, generosity
-Third quarter - renewal, self-care
-Waning crescent - evaluation, surrender

Day 1: Journal Brainstorm

Today we will continue with the journal / brainstorm process, but with closer focus. Get out your journal and write "My next month" or some other heading. It doesn't need to be the first of the month to do this - just think about the next 30 day. This exercise has three parts again, so allot 5 -10 minutes for each part:

• Part One - collect information. Brainstorm ideas for the next month without judgement - goals, dreams, and exciting ideas. Include at least a few crazy, improbable ideas.

-Start with a list of seasonal themes, such as harvest, or new beginnings, and seasonal celebrations, holidays, vacations, and other events.

-Next, write a list for each of your top priorities - anything that that comes to mind that you want to do or need to do, as long as it fits with your priorities;

-Also, read back through your journal from the start. Circle any ideas and goals from last week's writing that make you feel the most excited and energized right now, and add these to this week's lists.

• Part 2 - reflect. Next, have a little chat with yourself on paper about the next month of your life, and what your best month would look like, moving you in the direction of your most important reasons for living:

-Write about your biggest priorities this month, how they might fit into your life., and how they connect to your values and principles.

-Write about possible obstacles and factors such as the weather, upcoming schedule changes, or money problems.

-Write about the parts that excite you and the parts that might be hard to find motivation for.

• Part 3 - weigh the possibilities. Take a break for a few minutes. Get a fresh cup of tea or go outside to look at the sky, then come back and read what you wrote. Write a very brief synopsis of the next month of your life.