First - focus on one Highlight for your day - something that you've wanted/needed or would like to work on - and schedule a 60-90 min chunk of time for that.
Second - when that time comes around, practice Laser focus - turn off your phone, etc - just work on your Highlight.
Third - Reflect on how it all went and repeat.
Except... it is a 4-step process and there's a supporting step that is not part of the work flow... Energize. Basically, you need to keep up your energy otherwise your day is going to tank. They have several ideas for how to energize yourself during the day - everything from snacking to strategic caffeine to naps to good sleep hygiene.
And I thought... yes... this is all so true. I know this soooooo well!!!
1. Prioritize Sleep
I have not been sleeping well lately. I have trouble falling asleep and then I wake up at 3 am. Sometimes I lie there, awake, until it's time to get up at 5 or 5:30. I know that these sleep issues are due to multiple things... watching a movie too late into the evening, being on my phone or the computer in the evening, the cat chirping in my ear and demanding cuddles at 3 am, my partner having coughing fits (allergies)... it really doesn't matter. The upshot is... I drag myself out of bed at 5:30 am and feel horrible.
When I have not slept well, my energy is blipping along at almost 0%. I have no enthusiasm for my projects. I spend my day putting out tiny fires (extremely urgent to me) and start neglecting other things, like eating well.
So I'm focusing on good sleep hygiene as we move into this new year. No TV or computers or phone after 7 pm. I can work on a puzzle, or we can play a game. Maybe I'll write some cards. Any analogue activity is fine... just nothing digital. I'm also starting to have a mug of chamomile tea in the evenings. We have also begun to listen to a sleep meditation just before bed. We could try banishing the cat from the bedroom but that isn't going to happen.
2. Eat Good Food
I get up early, and head off to Starbucks most mornings. I come home around 8 am and then make breakfast. But... if I go grocery shopping... then the morning gets longer and I might not get home till 9 am or later. At which point I am a raging Hangry (hungry anger). I do try to take a breakfast-on-the-go with me - some yogurt and berries, or a cut-up apple. Because, honestly... if I am running around doing errands... the hangry really wants something... and there is Timmies (toasted bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese) or Starbucks (chocolate brownie warmed-up). And neither of those options is good for me.
So... we are back to Michael Pollard's book (In Defense of Food). The take-away was... Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants. We do try to follow that. Where I get hung up is on snacks... I want chocolate! No.... that's not right. I NEED chocolate!!
I have been trying to grab an apple and almonds when the urge strikes... trying to wean myself off of the chocolate. I've also decided to give dark chocolate a try... REAL dark chocolate. My brother-in-law has done this in the past. And when I've visited them, I've tried a piece of 90% dark and almost spit it out!! Soooo bitter and dry and... ick! But... it's an acquired taste. More on this in next week's blog...
3. Drink Water
Ugh. I totally fall down on this. Years ago, a friend (10 years older than me) told me that if she didn't drink enough water, she would get tired and cranky. Yeah-yeah... whatever.
Ah-hem...
It's true. For me! Ugh. I walk by my water bottle in the morning as I head out the door and I think "There it is. I should pick it up. But it's empty. It will take too much time to take it to the sink and fill it with water."
No. Seriously. This went through my head just this morning. The rest of me looks on in amused incredulity... "It would take 10 seconds to fill that water bottle up!" Yeah, whatever. Now I'm at the bottom of the stairs and it would take even LONGER now.
So I head out the door without a water bottle. And regret it later when I am grocery shopping and parched. Yep. Got bit in the ass by my own impatience.
The thing to do is this... maybe... to park downhill. I wrote about this ages ago. Grease the wheels, smooth the trail... park downhill. The thing to do would be to fill my water bottles the night before (I have several). Fill the small one and put it in my office back-pack... the one that I take with me when I head out. Would that not be the thing to do? Yes... it would... wish me luck!
4. Move More, Sit Less
I have one of those fancy Garmin watches that tell me how many steps I've taken, etc. If I sit too long, it will vibrate on my wrist and if I look at the screen, it tells me to "MOVE!". It's a bossy little thing, that watch. Of course, I ignore it.
I already do a 45-60 min pre-lunch walk with my partner. That's good, right? Yep. And more is always better. We are starting to stitch in a pre-dinner walk - just around the neighbourhood. Usually it's because one, or both, of us have not yet reached 10,000 steps. It's a good little incentive and we also visit the mailbox and check if the free newspaper is out yet.
Moving is always good... I need to remember that.
5. Meditate & Breathe
I fell off the meditation bandwagon months ago. To just stop, breathe, focus on nothing but the breath and watch the monkey mind scurry around. Come back to the breath.
When I do meditation, I always feel so much better. I am calmer, clearer... just... better. Why do I not do it? Because it takes too much time. Yep... I mean... if 10 seconds is "too much time", then a 5 minute meditation session is so over-the top "too much time", it doesn't even bear thinking about.
Although, my partner reminded me that... "you can meditate at any time... not just in the morning"... errrr... you mean, instead of being on my phone and scrolling the news?? Whhhhaaaaattttt?? Yeah. What a concept.
What if... when I pick up my phone because I'm bored or avoiding something... I actually stopped and closed my eyes and meditated for a quick minute or two or three... What would happen?
Hmmm... idea percolating here. I could change my lock screen to be a pic that says... Meditate & Feel Better...
*20 minutes later**
Done!! We'll see if it makes a difference or just becomes part of the scenery...
And... I've also set a timer on the two worst time-sucks on my phone (my boredom soothers) - Facebook app and the Internet app (for checking the news). When the daily time limit is reached... boop... the app is greyed out and I can't click it open!
6. More Analog Face Time - Less Digital Facetime
No, this is not Apple's Facetime... which is not actual face time. I'm talking real, live, analog face time... where you sit down in front of a real person and have a chat or play a game or... whatever. We are social beings. We need inter-personal interactions! And as we all learned during Covid... Zoom calls gave us LOTS of Facetime and interactions but very little face time... and we all felt exhausted after those calls. Digital Facetime is no substitute for analog face time.
Maybe that's why I like sitting in Starbucks and working. I see a lot of real people. I hear murmured conversations. I chat with some of my Starbucks regulars, chat with the baristas... it doesn't take much.
7. Get Outside
This one is huge. To just get outside, breathe some fresh air and interact with nature. Even if it's just in the backyard. Better if it's a walk in the forest. Being out in the forest calms me... energizes me... Soooo... just get outside.
A Plan for the New Year
Yep, it's January 1. A time when a lot of us make the dreaded New Year's Resolutions... Usually they are lofty goals "I am going to go to the gym every day and work out for an hour!". How'd that work for you? They've done studies, and most resolutions are on the trash heap by the time February rolls around.
I'm going to start small... with small steps... chamomile tea at night, dark chocolate and an apple in my office bag, pre-fill my water bottle at night, walk to the mailbox (don't drive), meditate for 5 minutes, play a game, get outside and breathe.
Small steps can make a big difference.
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