July 15, 2020 - Day 3

July 15, 2020

Today’s centering thought:  I use my conscious intention to manifest my dreams.

I can feel myself getting caught up in feeling like I need to tell a story with these posts.   The pressure to be entertaining is leading to a lot of over thinking.  Because of that, I’m writing this entire entry with my eyes closed.  For all I know, this won’t be words at the end.  (good news, it worked out :))

When I thought about my intention for posting, my objective was to share content that I have appreciated so I’m going to reconnect with that mission going forward.

Today I listened to the podcast highlighted below, For Whom the Alarm Clock Tolls.  I’ve been a fan of The Happiness Lab for a while now and this episode particularly resonated with me because it’s about time.  

Don’t you just love the idea that maybe you don’t have to work for all 8 hrs of the day?  Maybe it is actually more productive and value added if it’s fewer but focused hours?   Seems worth experimenting with.

I have needed to put together a strategy for the past few weeks and I haven’t made the time.  I really wasn’t sure where to go with it so I’ve been "kicking the can down the road" so to speak.   

Yesterday, I blocked my calendar and finally sat down.  I was amazed.  I sat outside, in my yard with a pen and paper(old school) and after powering through a few minutes of some mental resistance, the thoughts started flowing. The brainstorming was so meaningful.  The 30 minutes of focused time was more effective than the past 2 weeks of miscellaneous moments.  

The podcast confirmed the positive feelings I had and reinforced the need for managing focus. How can I create time to really focus?  I remember reading that the most successful people are relentless about their calendars.  They carve out times that are untouchable to think.  For me, I block time, but I always find myself giving it up. Is that meeting with that random person who asked politely really more important that my time to think and produce?  Why is it so hard to prioritize time to think?

I hope this podcast will give you some ideas that may help you create some good thinking time for yourself and help you to optimize your next time windfall.

(side note, this entry makes me grateful for my sixth grade computer teacher, Mrs. Jackson.  She stood in the classroom calling out a-s-d-f-j-k-l-; over and over again.  I can still hear it in my head! At the time, it was annoying and seemed ridiculous.  Now, it’s amazing to think that this was so second nature that I could type this without looking and minimal corrections.)

Today’s Resource Share: 

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

https://www.happinesslab.fm/season-2-episodes/episode-5-for-whom-the-alarm-clock-tolls