This is the nineteenth 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: Sara Hunold
Occupation: Volunteer Executive Director - Freedom's Ring
Website/Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahunold
Location: South Bend, Indiana
A bit about who you are and how you spend your days:
Currently, I stay home raising our three kids and am the volunteer executive director of Freedom's Ring, a nonprofit I founded that creates opportunities for people to use their freedom to serve one another and leave a positive mark through service in their communities. This past quarter I’ve been working on two goals when I’m not volunteering: 1) building a habit of movement (walks, workout & mobility/flexibility training) 2) building up my personal community/network – we recently moved to a new state and I’ve been trying to reach out and meet new people while looking for work that aligns with our family and my personal mission.
What originally drew you to the Monk Manual?
Do you have a favorite prompt or section?
My favorite section is the weekly section. I think it’s because I feel too much pressure to “Win the Day” but winning the week is much more manageable to me. I can look at the week ahead and see a couple of days where I can make the most progress and a couple of days where I can maintain and even use them to recalibrate. The weekly view lets me zoom out a little more and be out of the details. I did add the prompt “I was at my best when” in my weekly notes because I get so much value from that prompt.
Practical Monk Manual Tip:
I use the notes section in the back as a 4th section. On one page on the left, I have a prayer and a quote that I use to center myself (I usually change it each quarter). On the right page, I have my being and doing goals from my Life Atlas. Then I have a habit tracker. Finally, I have Monthly and Quarter “Bingo”. My Quarter bingo grid is 4 x 3 and my monthly grid is 3x3 – each box has a topic, so my grid stays the same each month & quarter. My quarter boxes include a fitness goal, a date with my husband, an explore box (place we want to travel or explore that quarter), a social box, a spiritual box, a box for each of my kids (to plan something intentional for each of them that quarter), a professional box, a financial box, a Freedom’s Ring box, and a volunteer box. My monthly boxes include a family box, my habit of the month, a professional box, a home improvement box, a fitness box, a Freedom's Ring/Volunteering box, a Big thing of the month box (a birthday, a school break, a work project…), a learn something new box, and a self-care box. I generally try to fill the boxes with things that can get crossed off, like a to-do list item for the month (but I try to make this more fun in nature than my typical to-do list).
When you were first getting started, what part of the Monk Manual did you struggle with most?
I am a strong Type B person, so the act of firmly writing out my goals and action plans (my priorities and to-do lists) and then taking time to reflect on my day in writing wasn’t natural. I think I feared planning would take away opportunities for spontaneity or to simply decide later. I realized I was an adult, who needed to lead the family and my days couldn’t always be based on what we felt like doing when we woke up that morning. I also realized that having plans and ideas in my head wasn’t good communication with the people around me. One benefit this had with using Monk Manual, is that I didn't have the need for perfection. I loved the weekly pages and worked on building the habit of the daily pages.
How has your life changed since using the Monk Manual?
What suggestions would you give to new Monk Manual users?
My biggest insights are revealed over time. Each year I go through my old Monk Manuals and that’s when I can see trends – trends in mood, motivation, inspiration, productivity, and satisfaction… but none of that would be possible without the daily data I put in. When you are faithful to the process (that doesn’t mean you have to be perfect – I often have 3-5 blank pages a month), you can go much deeper with your self-awareness and personal growth. So my suggestion is to do it for 90 days and then re-read your work and see what you learn about yourself, then use that knowledge as you move forward and grow into the next quarter. This is how you will spiral upward in life.
If you’d like to be featured in a future “How I Monk,” share your information with us here.
