Posted by This is the first of a new type of post where I tell you what’s been keeping me occupied, what I’m currently working on, training for, listening to, reading or watching. The idea of a ‘Now Page’ is not particularly new, you can learn more about it HERE.
Working On
2019 was an extremely busy year – in January in enrolled in Dent Global’s KPI Brand Accelerator which required me to travel to London for a full day every month. That day of travel wasn’t a problem but all the homework I’d come home with kept me fully occupied for much of 2019.
I graduated from KPI in November (made a video about it HERE) but I am still busy implementing all the valuable lessons learnt (the 5 P’s). I have to say I found this program extremely valuable and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to gain an edge in their business – click HERE to learn more.
Outside of KPI I’ve been busy working on enhancing the property portfolio I manage. This month my colleagues and I will embark on a comprehensive upgrade program, the first project being the refurbishment of the lobby in Block P4B. We are also preparing to lease out a floor (14,800sqft) in that same building.
Without a doubt the biggest time suck at the moment is my park manager work at East Point. My colleague went on maternity leave in November and I must cover her duties until August. With 50+ occupiers employing 8-9,000 people its inevitable that a large portion of my day will be spent firefighting this year.
While I don’t have a great deal of spare time available I remain optimistic around my plans for the year ahead, so I continue to wake early to work on multiple personal goals and passion projects:
- Write a book about the workplace
- Build out this website, create more blog posts
- Create content for my 3 YouTube channels
- Become a professional public speaker
- Launch of a popular podcast
- Launch an online course or product
However an objective review of my list brings something into focus that I have been thinking about a lot over the past 12-18 months – is it possible that I suffer from an undiagnosed form of Adult ADHD?
There are many Adult ADHD diagnosis resources online, I have done a few and while I recognise some of the symptoms (poor concentration at times and a constant inner restlessness) there are other symptoms that fall wide of the mark – for example I would rarely if ever have described myself as a disorganised person.
Notwithstanding the questions above I clearly need to choose one goal to focus on at a time or I will get nothing done, the problem is which one? This is something I have really struggled with in 2019 – finish the book? or concentrate on launching a podcast? or keep producing videos?
I think the biggest bang for my buck will come from having a book, but then it’s the hardest thing to complete, compared with say a podcast that can be added to on a regular basis – and the content of a podcast can be transcribed and repurposed into a book. So podcast it is.
The plan I have come up with is to channel all of my spare time and energy into launching the podcast this quarter and get at least 8 episodes in the can before turning my focus to the book – I already have the plan and structure of the book so that can be the focus in Q2 2020.
Training For
A couple of days ago I completed my 1000 Burpee Challenge, a stretch goal I had set myself back in October and which I had been in training for, pretty much exclusively, for the last 2 months. I completing the challenge in a time of 2 hours 31 mins and 37 seconds – find breakdown of the time below.
You can watch my Facebook live stream HERE.
My 1000 Burpee Challenge 1 
My 1000 Burpee Challenge 2
The build up to this challenge saw me complete a total of 6,705 burpees, mostly in sessions of 250 but with 2 sessions extending to 500 and one extending to 650 burpees. Having a burpee max PB of 1,000 feels good.
Back in November one of my pals, Conor McCarthy, suggested I could make the challenge a charity fundraiser – this comment ultimately resulted in my raising €1,544 for the charity Goal – full credit to Conor for the idea.
There is something incredibly satisfying about setting an ambitious stretch goal and then completing it a few weeks later – I loved the idea of having a regular stretch goal to aim for – I plan to do a couple more in 2020. So far I have signed up to a triathlon in May (Q2) and an adventure race in July (Q3) but I am thinking a lot about a stretch goal for Q1.
Listening To
There was a time when I listened to a lot of music but sorry to say those days are gone. Music has been replaced almost exclusively by podcasts, mainly because I am a curious guy (ADHD?) and I love learning something new as I commute or exercise.
Over the past 12 months I have listened to a ton of great podcasts, some of my favourite podcasters being Jocko Willink, Jordan Harbinger and we cannot leave out Tim Ferriss.
I also listen to some slightly more obscure podcasts such as Mike Petrusky’s Workplace Innovator Podcast and The People and Culture Podcast with Claire Perry-Louise, whom I met through Daniel Priestley’s KPI Program. I also listen to The Unconventionalists from my friend Mark Leruste (who is another KPI friend).
But if you were to go through my Apple Podcasts app and made a list of the episodes I never miss it would probably look like this:
- Pivot from Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway
- Exponential Wisdom from Peter Diamandis and Dan Sullivan
- The Mike Dillard Podcast (formerly called Self Made Man)
- Alway’s Free Podcast from Jason Graystone (yet another KPI friend)
Reading
I adore books and have a pretty substantial library – I would estimate I buy at least a book a week. The only problem is I rarely have time to read any of them (ADHD?). If I see a title I like I purchase it immediately (only to gather dust on my shelf).
If I am honest I do not think I finished a single book in 2019 – I did start quite a few but I don’t recall finishing any of them – this is something I plan to change in 2020. One of my new years resolutions is to put the phone away and get back to reading books.
Watching
Lately I have been watching a ton of YouTube, mostly videos about the universe and astrophysics (ADHD?) I find it all fascinating but I feel this kind of consumption viewing has to stop or at least be restricted in favour of reading or working on my book.
Reflecting back on 2019, I would say I spent way too many hours watching YouTube or Netflix and not enough hours either reading or writing. One of my new years resolutions is to completely stop watching the news – I had developed a bit of an obsession around news concerning Trump and Brexit but no more.
Thats all for now…