It’s the start of my cool-off week. Things are a bit busy in my neck of the woods, but I’m still finding small ways to take breaks between sprints. I got positive feedback on my last sprint review, so I’ve decided to do another one.
My Personal Sprint Capacity
I had my regular sprint capacity in March, but this time, my two most important sprint goals were disproportionately larger than usual. As a result, I had to adjust my remaining three goals to be much smaller in scope.
Sprint Focus
We’re in the process of moving to Toronto, Canada, and the main focus of my March sprint was renting out our house.
People often ask me if all my sprint goals are work-related. No! I often have at least one personal goal in there. This sprint my two most important goals were personal. That’s the beauty of my Agile-inspired approach. It’s incredibly flexible and adaptable to any season of life.
Scrum Board
I’m still using my home office Scrum board to track my sprint goals. (You can learn how to set up your own here.)
In my February review, I mentioned experimenting with a new Scrum board since my husband now works from the home office. I tried a digital tool for the first few days of the sprint… and it sucked. It felt unnecessarily complicated for what I needed, so I went back to my beloved physical Scrum board.
Since I don’t use the office as much, I simply check the board in the evening when posting my daily standup inside The Focus Room and again in the morning to remind myself of the day’s key tasks.
Daily Standups
I’ve never been as consistent with my daily standups as I have been over the last three months, all thanks to Focus Room. I have a daily alarm to remind me to post, and knowing members are expecting my update keeps me motivated.
What Helped Me Get Things Done This Sprint
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Daily morning walks. Without a doubt, this remains the most impactful thing I do for my mental health. As a new mom, it’s been challenging to adjust to always being in service to someone else. But my solo morning walks have been my lifeline, keeping me sane, energized, and ready to be a good parent, wife, and entrepreneur. I get to listen to podcasts and audiobooks uninterrupted or just enjoy the birds and sunrise—whatever I feel like that day.
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Time blocking. I continue to time-block my workdays, limiting it to 9:00 AM–3:30 PM while my daughter is at daycare. During my cool-off week, I switch to a more flexible time-blocking approach to give myself some breathing room.
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Getting enough sleep. Nothing teaches you the importance of sleep quite like a full year of sleep deprivation as a new mom. Thankfully, my daughter has been sleeping through the night for almost a year now, but the lesson has stuck. I now take my sleep more seriously than ever—going to bed early is my top priority. This, in turn, allows me to wake up early and enjoy my morning walks while everyone else is still asleep (see point #1).
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Using Notion instead of Excel for tracking daycare applications. I built a CRM-like database for my “Find a Daycare in Toronto” project, and it was a game-changer. It was far more convenient than Excel, and I managed to find a daycare within one sprint! Given how impossible this outcome seemed at the beginning, this was one of my proudest accomplishments this month.
Sprint Insights
All my insights this sprint were money-related.
It’s amazing how paying a large sum of money can quickly get you unstuck.
Some background: I’ve struggled with picking a niche for the Monthly Method ever since I started the blog. My clients have ranged from entrepreneurs to academics, students, professionals, and creatives. Who should I focus on?
I know how to build great products—it’s my background. But I don’t know how to sell them; that was always someone else’s job. My logic for the past four years was, How hard can it be? I’ll just watch some YouTube videos and read some books. Spoiler: It didn’t work.
So, I finally took the plunge and hired someone to help me figure out all this marketing stuff. And let me tell you… it was expensive. The largest investment I’ve ever made in this business. But what shocked me most was how quickly I gained clarity on things I had been stuck on for years. What felt like an impossible choice to make became very possible once I paid thousands of dollars.
It’s like flipping a switch in your brain—suddenly, decisions become easier because you viscerally feel the cost of indecision. It reminded me of when I hired a career coach during a career transition. That was also a pricey investment, but the clarity I gained was invaluable. The salary increase I negotiated for the next job with her help paid for her entire fee and more.
The Curse of Free Information
This experience also made me realize how much we’re trapped in the curse of free information.
There’s an abundance of high-quality, free content available today. I’m constantly amazed by the Hollywood-level production in YouTube videos and Reels. But does free information actually change your behavior? Or give you more clarity so that you make visible progress towards your goals? Most often, the internet rabbit hole brings even more confusion than clarity.
I reflected on my own content consumption and realized that the one paid podcast I subscribe to (which is quite pricey) has had the most impact on my life. Maybe because I pay attention to every work they say on that podcast. Meanwhile, I’ve spent countless hours consuming free content without seeing much ROI on that time investment.
This sprint taught me that we should look at our goals and budgets together. One should reflect the other. If you say something is your #1 priority, then it should your #1 discretionary expense as well. That way you’ll see progress much faster. Put your dollar where your goals are.
If you want to have your skin in the game when it comes to the goals you say you want to achieve, here are some ways to do it:
- Join the group sprints inside The Focus Room
- Go all in by working with my directly.
- Hire the most expensive specialist you can afford in the specific area you want to see progress in.
