Grab an umbrella, Reader. It has been raining all weekend. I’ve looked out the window more times than I can count, as though the sky might eventually say, “You know what? Fair point,” and give us one more summer afternoon. It hasn’t. I know fall doesn’t arrive all at once. There are weeks of small warnings. The days get shorter. The mornings feel different. Someone starts talking about pumpkin spice before I’m ready to hear about it. But this weekend felt like the moment when I finally...
7 days ago • 3 min read
IGMT #061 | A missing set of keys can steal two minutes and somehow disrupt the next thirty. Well hello there, Reader! There is a particular sound my car makes that I have grown to hate. I get into the driver’s seat, close the door, put my foot on the brake, and press the button to start the car. Instead of hearing the engine, I get a beep and a message telling me there is no key detected. The keys are still inside the house. This happens more often than I would like to admit. I sit there for...
14 days ago • 5 min read
IGMT #060 | Being prepared for the job does not mean someone prepared you for everything surrounding it. Hey HeyReader! When I accepted my first college head coaching job, I felt prepared. I had been coaching for years. I knew how to plan a practice, evaluate players, teach skills, manage a match, and build relationships. I had studied the game, worked under other coaches, and spent plenty of time thinking about the kind of program I wanted to lead. I knew there would be challenges, but I...
21 days ago • 5 min read
IGMT #059 | What if being bored is actually part of learning how to pay attention? Hey Reader! I was sitting in a waiting room recently doing what I assume most people do in waiting rooms now. I was looking at my phone. I don’t remember what I was looking at, which probably tells you everything you need to know. I wasn’t answering an important email or handling some urgent business. I was probably scrolling Facebook, watching a Reel, checking something I had already checked ten minutes...
28 days ago • 6 min read
IGMT #058 | Looking Ahead Hi Reader, every week something ordinary gets stuck in my head. This week was no different. I don't remember the title of my first Choose Your Own Adventure book. I couldn't tell you whether it was about pirates, hidden treasure, a haunted house, or a trip through outer space. I just remember bringing it home from the school book fair. Back then, the book fair was a pretty big deal. For one week every year, the library transformed into what felt like the greatest...
3 months ago • 4 min read
IGMT #057 | Sometimes the next decision can wait. Reflection deserves its turn first. Hi Reader! The alarm was set for 5:00 a.m., but I was awake long before it went off. The room was quiet. Most of our bags were already packed, except for the usual collection of chargers, hoodies, and the things that somehow never seem to make it back into the suitcase until the last minute. I slid open the balcony door and stepped outside. The sun hadn't made its appearance yet, but the sky was beginning to...
3 months ago • 4 min read
IGMT #056 | What if attention isn't the problem? What if it's volume? What a great day, Reader! I was working on some doctoral research the other day when I noticed my browser was slowing down. Nothing dramatic, just enough that I became aware of it. Since my first instinct is always to blame technology before myself, I started looking around to see what was going on. That's when I noticed the top of my screen. Thirty-seven tabs. Research articles. Volleyball websites. Amazon pages. ADHD...
3 months ago • 3 min read
IGMT #055 | Somewhere between too many ideas and not enough finished ones. Hello again, Reader. I opened my laptop three different times this week to work on this newsletter. The first time, I ended up reorganizing folders instead. The second time, I somehow convinced myself that I needed to clean up old podcast outlines before I could possibly write something new. Which naturally led me into rereading unfinished blog drafts, half-built course ideas, random voice notes, and at least seven...
4 months ago • 4 min read
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, Reader. There’s something that’s been stuck in my head lately, and I can’t really explain why it won’t leave. I keep thinking about Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and more specifically, how every episode started. He would walk in the door, take off his jacket, put on that cardigan, and then sit down and change his shoes. It was slow, calm, and completely predictable, and somehow that was the whole point. Nothing about it was rushed. Nothing about it was...
6 months ago • 4 min read