I Played Hookie Today and I Feel Great!

Kayaking/Canoeing
Written By Marc O'Brien

Elkhorn Slough (CA)

 

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy for me. Traveling, participating in a three-day conference, a few multi-day workshops, giving two talks, promoting a new program at CCA… all while balancing work, teaching, and meeting deadlines.

So, what do I do to remedy this? I played hookie with a friend for the day.

During these few weeks, I’ve been involved in a number of conversations around self-care and mindfulness—and how important both are in maintaining a sane lifestyle.

And for me, maintaining a sane lifestyle means unplugging from the laptop and being outdoors, setting my phone on Airplane mode at random times during the day, pausing and taking mindful breaths while the kettle full of water is boiling on the stove, running around SF without headphones, stretching for 20 minutes in the morning before starting the day.

Although a short UnplugYou experience, this was just enough to reset and to keep my sane lifestyle in check. Now back to work.

 
Marc O'Brien
As a Design Strategist and Creative Facilitator, I focus on social innovation, human-centered design, and purpose-driven initiatives that create positive change in the world. I love finding ways for organizations to make a huge impact in unexpected places. Working with others who are working towards creating positive change, I use design as my tool to help them do this in a better way. In a playful workshop environment, I help Fortune 500 companies to startups, non-profits to universities, come up with fun, achievable, and innovative solutions to challenges. My prefer method is making. With a background in both web and graphic design, I bring ideas to life so others can see what’s possible.
marcobrien.net
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