May felt like a blur, as it often does.
Over the span of two weeks, we wrapped up school, went west to meet our newest family member, headed north for one of our best friends’ weddings, packed Grace for three weeks of camp, and moved directly from one city to the next. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, I lost track of time.
Days ran together and conversations that needed follow-up got swallowed up. It felt like life was moving faster than my brain could process it.
There were moments when I caught myself thinking…
I can’t possibly do all of this.
I don’t have time to be away.
I don’t have time to step back from work.
Standing on the other side of it all now, I was exactly where I needed and wanted to be for every bit of it.
The wedding was amazing – not just because it was a perfect reflection of Merf and her family and everything that makes them so special, but because it brought together people who feel like family to us. It forced everyone to stop, to celebrate, to be present. To spend time with people who have shaped my life in so many ways.
Experiences like that always leave me reflective because they remind me of something I can easily forget: the things that fill me up most rarely look productive on paper. They look like conversations, relationships, meals, stories, moments of connection.
And now, with Grace at camp, we’re in one of those strange parenting moments where two things can be true at once.
1. We miss her. The house feels different. We know exactly how quickly these three weeks will pass.
2. The space is a gift. Not because we needed a break from her, but because temporarily removing the task of “parenting” from my brain is showing me what space can do.
The space to finish a thought before jumping to the next thing.
The space to think more strategically.
The space to notice how different I feel when my calendar isn’t running me.
I’ve felt more creative, more focused, and more energized than I have in a while. All because I finally have enough margin to pay attention.
One thing this season has reminded me of is that I don’t actually want less productivity. I love productive days. I love creating, building, writing, coaching, and moving meaningful work forward. There’s a deep satisfaction that comes from using your gifts and making progress on something that matters.
But productivity was never meant to be the whole story. We need both: purpose and relationships, accomplishment and celebration, work that stretches us and people who ground us.
What struck me over the past few weeks is how often relationships are the first thing we sacrifice in the name of getting things done. We postpone the dinner. Skip the phone call. Delay the trip. Tell ourselves we’ll make time later.
And yet, when I look back on the moments that filled me up most last month, they weren’t the tasks I completed. They were the people I shared life with.
It reminds me of something Carey Nieuwhof often talks about: most leaders spend a lot of time managing their calendars and very little time managing their energy. The goal isn’t simply to get time off. The goal is to learn what gives you life so you can build more of it into your time on.
And that’s what June has me thinking about: not productivity or efficiency, but energy. Because summer has a way of disappearing before we know it.
Three weeks can feel like forever when you’re looking ahead and like three days when you’re looking back.
So instead of asking, How can I get more done this month? I’m asking a different set of questions:
What do I want to spend my energy on?
What can only I dofor this team and for my family?
What will I be glad I did, even when I didn’t feel like doing it at the moment?
Whether your June feels spacious or completely chaotic, maybe these questions can serve as an invitation to decide what this season gets to mean for you.
In my newfound space, here are three things filling my bucket this month:
BOOK:
In the spirit of summer fiction, I recently finished an oldie but goodie. Kite Runner has been on my list for YEARS and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. Heartbreaking and compelling and full of every human emotion and the overcoming of shame, I wish I could read it again for the first time. At its heart it’s a story about guilt, redemption, and the weight of the things we carry from childhood into adulthood – set against the backdrop of Afghanistan across several decades of upheaval. Khaled Hosseini is a master storyteller, this one has set the bar high for the rest of my summer reading.
PODCAST:
I loved this conversation with two of my favorites voices right now. Simon and Will argue that as AI becomes more capable, human connection becomes more valuable. People want to be seen and belong. They want to know they matter. Technology will never fully replace that. Whether you’re leading a business, a team, or a family, the ability to care for and develop people isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s the work. Leaders who get that will win at the infinite game.
QUOTE:
Summer has a way of slipping through our fingers.
This month, I hope you find at least a little space – to think, to connect, to breathe.
The moments that matter most rarely make it onto the to-do list. And summer, more than any other season, has a way of making room for them if we let it.