This is the tenth in our series of emails called “How I Monk.” In this series we will be highlighting + celebrating members of the Monk Manual community as they’ve meaningfully applied our tools and resources to find peaceful being and purposeful doing in their everyday lives. If you’d like to be featured in a future “How I Monk,” share your information with us here… #HowIMonk
Name: Dr. Gregory Woodard
Occupation: Retired Navy Chaplain, Leadership Coach, Life Guide
Where are you based: Chesapeake, VA
Website/Social:
https://page.gregwoodard.com/purposeful-leadership
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gregory-woodard-78b5877a/
What originally drew you to the Monk Manual?
Since I have retired from the military chaplaincy, I needed to rethink my productivity strategy for this chapter of my life and work. In my doctoral work, I reflected deeply on the pursuit of being and the human need to remember we are human beings, not human doings. I appreciate Steve’s emphasis on this being not doing model as he reflects on productivity. The Monk Manual was a way to think differently regarding productivity in my life.
Tell us a bit about who you are and how you spend your days...
I am a retired Navy Chaplain as well as an author, course developer, and Leadership Coach.
I spend my days in several ways:
- I begin with a morning routine (vigorous exercise, spiritual reflection, walking outside, and planning my day).
- I have begun actively writing a book(tentatively titled): Living the Connected Life: Becoming a Purposeful Leader and building out content for my upcoming Soul Driven Leader Course & Mastermind.
- During the day I read, write, exercise. In the evening, I spend time with my wife - reading, talking, and often enjoying watching a favorite television show.
- I complete an end-of-day check-in using my Monk Manual
Practical Monk Manual Tip:
I sit down each Sunday afternoon and do a Weekly preview for the week that has passed, and for the week ahead. Sunday is a day I set aside for rest and reflection. This process of weekly [p]review is helpful as I evaluate the priorities of my life.
When you were first getting started, what part of the Monk Manual did you struggle with most?
I struggled with consistently working through the evening reflection prompts during my Daily Review as well as the Monthly and Weekly Pages.
What suggestions would you give to new Monk Manual users?
- Don’t be overwhelmed by the process.
- Pick one or two areas to focus on.
- Work at being consistent, but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day, or if you usage doesn’t go as planned.
- Pick it back up the next day, the next week.
- Your usage of the Monk Manual, and the value of the manual will increase as you work toward consistency.
Do you have a favorite prompt or section?
My favorite sections are the Preparation - Priority, and the Highlight and I Felt Unrest When… prompts in the Reflect section. I keep a digital calendar. Monk Manual affords me the exercise of evaluating my schedule each week and day as I transfer items from my digital calendar into my Monk Manual. Writing them out allows me time to more deeply reflect on how I am using my time.
How has your life changed since using the Monk Manual?
- I have struggled with my health for most of the past year.
- I have retired from the military.
- I continue to discern the next steps related to my life and career.
- I have begun actively writing a book Living the Connected Life: Becoming a Purposeful Leader
- More directly related to the Monk Manual, I have learned to be more reflective via the Preparation, Action, Reflection model presented. I think more about adding or not removing tasks and events to my week.
- Using the Monk Manual has helped me iterate my life rhythms in important areas (i.e. Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Relational).
If you’d like to be featured in a future “How I Monk,” share your information with us here.
