Monday, Again

Monday comes back every week whether you're ready or not.

I used to resist that. Not the work, exactly, but the relentlessness of it. The way the calendar just keeps turning, week after week, asking you to show up again. It took me a long time to stop experiencing that as pressure and start experiencing it as structure. The week doesn't wait. That's not a threat. That's a gift.

This morning I opened the garage early. The roaster is cold on Monday mornings, which means it needs time to warm up before it can do anything useful. There's a lesson in there somewhere. I usually spend that warmup time pulling orders, checking email, looking at what sold over the weekend. Coffee and context before the first roast.

Today's roast: a blend I've been developing. Ethiopia for the brightness. Colombia for the body. A little Guatemala for the sweetness in the finish. I've run it a few times now and the ratios are almost right. Almost. There's still something I'm chasing in the middle of the cup.

That "almost" is where all the interesting work lives.

I've found that the things I'm still working to get right are the things I think about most. The blend that's almost there. The delivery process that's almost frictionless. The website that's almost exactly what I want it to be. The "almost" is not failure. It's direction. It's evidence that I'm close enough to see the gap between where I am and where I want to be.

Most people give up before they close that gap. Not from laziness but from the mistaken belief that "almost" means "not good enough yet." When actually "almost" means "keep going, you're nearly there."

I'll run the blend again this week. Adjust the Ethiopia percentage. Extend the development time by thirty seconds. Try it three ways before I decide anything. That's the process. Slow, methodical, patient with the almost.

Monday is good for this. It has the energy of a beginning and the clarity of a week that hasn't gotten complicated yet. Before the inbox fills. Before the unforeseen things. Just the roaster warming up and the question of what you're going to do with this new set of seven days.

The warmup is done. The beans are in. The Monday roast is starting.

Let's go.

Spiritus Coffee Co. — Sip in the Moment

Fresh roasted in Lombard, IL. Free local delivery in DuPage County.

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