You don’t need more time, you just need to decide. – Seth Godin
There’s no such thing as work life balance. There’s simply life. And you spend part of your life at work. – Seth Godin
Make More Time
Seth Godin blogs every day and is brilliant at condensing huge concerns down to the absolute essence. These two quotes crossed my desk recently and are perfect examples. I know many people struggle with overwhelm and time management.
There are productivity books, tools, and hacks galore to help solve these issues. I use some of them myself. For example, I am the time blocking/weekly planning queen, though really it all comes down to my decisions.
I decided to solve the overwhelm issues. I decided what my life balance should be, how much to put into each bucket, work time, family time, personal time each day. I decided to dig deep and chip away at the years of obligations and “shoulds” and figure out what I love at my core. Who I am at my core. Once I got to my essence, then the decisions were easy. They felt right and in alignment.
Daily Dedications
While making decisions now is easier, getting to this point was a rocky road. It was a bit of an archaeological dig. Months of not knowing if you’re in the right location while nothing changes, then a glimmer of hope when you find a shard of pottery that represents some aspect of yourself that had long been buried. And so, you continue the excavation. For me this process involves four daily activities. Let's talk about the first one today.
Start With a Blank Page
Every day I write in my journal. In fact, I started the practice of journaling because I needed to take the noise of the day from my brain and make some sense of it. Honestly, my journals never make much sense but at the end of the writing, all the ideas bouncing around are dealt with and I approach the day more clearly. I started by setting a timer and writing for five minutes. That grew to ten, then thirty; not because I changed the timer, but because I got the hang of it and if I wasn’t finished, I hit snooze and keep writing.
I stared at a blank page at first, then I would do a recap of the day before. Those thoughts lead to what I’m still worried about and hanging onto, leading to what I’m going to do today and may be concerned about. It started with work and has branched out as I have thoughts related to friends or family or travel, etc. It has evolved into a practice, going on 3 years now, where I write for sometimes an hour every morning. Now it’s just like making the bed and taking a shower, I can’t imagine not writing every day.
As I go about my day, I see the benefits. I am much more in tune with my inner self. I notice things, see things more clearly, and make connections more quickly. I can focus my attention and energy because the noise has been dampened. I am more productive.
Journaling is just one of my daily practices. There are three others that help me decide and feel balance in my life. I’ll share those over the coming days.
If you’re already journalling, I would love to hear how it’s going for you! If not and you’d like some tips, I’d be happy to share. Let me know at hello@cyndithomason.com.
