The plan is a rhythm, not a backlog. Open blocks are intentional. The learning track — practical guitar plus four books — is restful by design, and never allowed to crowd out the rest.
Decompress
Build
Deepen
Consolidate
Re-entry
Design principles
Rest is the deliverable. If a day's plan stresses you, bin the plan, not the rest.
Guitar: frequency beats duration. ~20 min daily beds in far better than a weekly blowout.
Reading is recharge, not homework. The four-book target is an aim, not a quota.
Sleep is the #1 recharge lever. No alarm except football Saturdays (and the 7am World Cup final). Phone out of the bedroom.
Wind down gently. The final week eases you back toward your normal rhythm so the month doesn't end on a cliff.
Still to lock
Key fixed dates
Wed 1 – Fri 3Off-grid reset (2 nights)Emergency-contact only. Optional 3rd night if the game's covered.
Sat 4Football gameConfirmed. Back from off-grid for this.
Fri 10Matariki (public holiday)Family day, flowing into the free Sat 11 — a natural long weekend.
Sat 11 / 18 / 25Free — no footballHoliday break. Bonus family / golf Saturdays.
Mon 20World Cup final7am NZT kickoff — clear the morning.
2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity— John LennoxOff-grid + week 1 · engaging opener
C.S. Lewis: A Life— Alister McGrathWeeks 2–3 · longest — best as audiobook on walks
Disciplines of a Godly Man— R. Kent HughesWeek 3–4
The Great Divorce— C.S. LewisRe-entry week · short; pairs with the McGrath bio
Audiobooks make four in a month easy — bank hours on walks, drives and golf. Save print for the off-grid trip when screens are out.
Week 0 · before 1 July
Prep so the month starts clean
The default day shape
Most weekdays follow this. The day-by-day below only notes the focus and deviations.
Wake naturally, no alarm.
Slow start: tea, get outside into the light, no feeds for the first hour.
Guitar ~20 min.
Reading ~1 hr (or audiobook on a walk).
Afternoon: open — movement, family, errands, nothing.
Evening: family, reading, low screens.
Weekends: Sat = football AM (confirmed Saturdays only) + family. Sun = faith / rest, one do-nothing block. No weeknight football until training resumes Mon 27 — weeks 1–3 evenings are all yours.
Phase 0
Decompress
Wed 1 – Sun 5
Low ambition by design. You open with an off-grid reset — the fastest way to switch off. Aim to feel a bit bored by Sunday; that's the nervous system downshifting.
Wed 1
Off-grid
Depart off-grid
Thu 2
Off-grid
Fri 3
Off-grid
Off-grid → home
Sat 4
Game
Sun 5
Rest
Phase 1
Build
Mon 6 – Sun 12
Guitar moves to chord changes — the actual hard bit. Start the Lewis biography; audiobook it on walks.
Mon 6
Tue 7
Wed 8
Thu 9
Fri 10
Matariki
Public holiday
Sat 11
Free
Sun 12
Rest
Phase 2
Deepen
Mon 13 – Sun 19
Guitar moves to power chords and your first song. Finish the Lewis biography, start Hughes.
Mon 13
Tue 14
Wed 15
Thu 16
Fri 17
Open
Sat 18
Free
Sun 19
Rest
Phase 3
Consolidate
Mon 20 – Sun 26
Lock in a song you can actually play. Read Hughes. Slightly more slack — you're winding toward the exit.
Mon 20
World Cup final
Tue 21
Wed 22
Thu 23
Fri 24
Sat 25
Free
Sun 26
Rest
Phase 4
Wind down
Mon 27 – Fri 31
Ease back toward your normal rhythm so the month doesn't end on a cliff — still fully off, just a gentle taper. Finish rested and ready, not started early.