Dear Reader,
August is here! And in my house, that means one thing: the girls go back to school on August 6th.
Which means the wild, schedule-flipping, four-different-weeks-that-look-nothing-alike summer we talked about last month?
It's wrapping up.
And as much as I've loved it, there's a part of me that's ready for the shift.
But here's what I've been thinking about as we head into this transition: it's not just my girls who need to shift out of summer mode. I do too.
Because summer has a way of scattering our attention in the most delightful ways. Vacations, slow mornings, spontaneous plans, phones out at the pool, one more episode, one more scroll.
And none of that is bad. It's summer! But now we're stepping back into structure, and our brains need a little help making that switch.
We spent July protecting and restoring our energy. Now it's time to talk about what we do with it.
This month inside the Academy, we're focusing on attention.
Not hustle. Not doing more. But learning to direct our focus -- intentionally, consistently -- toward the things that actually matter to us. Because let's be real: you can have all the energy in the world, but if your attention is scattered, it won't get you where you want to go.
In a world designed to hijack our focus at every turn (helloooo notifications), protecting our attention might be the most important skill we can build.
So that's what we're doing in August. For ourselves, and if you have kiddos heading back to school, maybe for them too. 💙
3 Ways to Focus Your Attention This Month
- Notice where your attention actually goes. Before you try to change anything, just observe. When you sit down to work, how long before something pulls you away? What's competing for your focus most often? Awareness first. Always.
- Create conditions for focus. Your environment matters more than your willpower. What does your space look like when you're doing your best work? What needs to change -- physically, digitally, or structurally -- to make focus easier and distraction harder?
- Practice returning. Focus isn't about never getting distracted. It's about how quickly you notice the drift and come back. Every time you catch yourself and return to the task at hand, that's the work. You're training a muscle. 💪🏻
As you think about how you want this month to feel, here are a few things worth putting on the calendar:
✅ Block some study time — With new lessons of The HEART Method available, (and old ones that are always worth a revisit) go ahead and put 2 20-30 minute blocks on your calendar now and protect your space for personal growth.
✅ Do a distraction audit — Spend 10 minutes identifying your biggest attention thieves. Phone notifications? A cluttered workspace? Saying yes to too many things? If you can name it, you can tame it.
✅ Start your Mindful Minutes Challenge — Five intentional minutes a day is all it takes to start training your brain to focus. Grab your tracker and start coloring in your August (link below!).
✅ Mark August 20th for Take Back Your Home — This month's special workshop is all about home systems and creating an environment that works for you, not against you. Details below!
✅ Grab your August Planning Pages — Use them to set your intentions and map out how you want to show up this month with focus and purpose.
✅ Come to coaching — Tuesdays at noon, every week. Bring your attention questions, your back-to-school chaos, all of it. We're here for it.
1. The August Mindful Minutes Challenge 🧘🏻♀️
Here's what the research tells us: mindfulness and meditation actually increase your brain's capacity to focus. Even just a few intentional minutes a day can strengthen your attention over time.
So this month's challenge is simple: 5 meaningful minutes, every day.
It could be meditation. It could be quiet breathing before you open your laptop. It could be a slow, phone-free cup of coffee. Whatever helps you arrive, intentionally, in your own life. Do it, and color in that day on your tracker.
No pressure to be perfect. Miss a day? Come back the next one. At the end of the month, share your completed (or in-progress!) tracker in Slack for a chance to win a bonus 1:1 coaching session with Anna or Elizabeth. 1 heart = 1 entry! 🎉
➡️ Click here to download your Mindful Minutes Tracker!
2. Take Back Your HOME Workshop! August 20th
This month, we're hosting a special 1-hour workshop: Take Back Your Home.
We spend so much time thinking about our schedules and our to-do lists, but what about the spaces we live and work in? Your home environment has a huge impact on your focus, your energy, and your ability to be present. This workshop is all about creating simple systems that make your home work for you.
Mark your calendar for August 20th, and vote for your preferred time over in Slack!
📌 Option A: 11:30 a.m. Central
📌 Option B: 2:00 p.m. Central
3. Your Weekly Coaching Sessions
Weekly coaching sessions will happen every Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. Central.
Each week, you'll get time management strategies and all your questions answered so you can make time for what matters most.
Here's the link to join us: 💻 annadkornick.com/meet
🔗 Click here to submit your questions in advance.
Come as you are—no pressure, no polish required.
4. August Momentum Planning Pages!
Your August Planning Pages are ready and waiting. Use them to clear mental clutter, get ahead of your ever-changing summer schedule, and step into the month with intention instead of just reacting to whatever comes next.
➡️ Click here to grab your August Planning Pages!
Whether you're navigating back-to-school chaos, trying to reclaim your focus after a summer of beautiful distraction, or just ready to do the work -- you're in the right place.
Let's make August the month we take our attention back. 💙
Cheering you on always,
