Wait, let me rephrase that. I have a great life in so many ways I don't want to sound ungrateful for everything I have. My frustration is really about my inability to DIRECT my life more effectively. For a while now, I've been drifting from idea to idea, project to project, just sort of dabbling in things without a true purpose. I make lists of all the things I want to accomplish -- all the fantastic ideas I have -- and here they sit, stuck on a list, while I get distracted by all the little details of life. Some of those details ARE important, but many are nothing more than excuses not to pursue the things I want.
Lately, the cycle of my day has been fighting to get out of bed, pushing myself through a work day, coming home and working on lots of random "things" but not accomplishing very much, then spending some happy time with the people I love trying to forget about my frustration and falling into bed still thinking about it. Not a cycle for success, to say the least.
In trying to understand where my efforts break down, I kept coming back to organizational issues in my day. I had wonderful lists of things to accomplish, but how was I organizing the TIME I applied to those ideas? I went back through days I've had recently that I considered "successful" versus those that were not (keeping a diary helped tremendously with that process) and mapped out how I spent my time during those days. The process involved some frank conversations with myself about my strengths and weaknesses in terms of motivation hour-to-hour during the day. What I soon realized is that I wasn't accomplishing more because my day wasn't structured in a way that played to my strengths.
 |
| This flipchart has absolutely NOTHING to do with the structure of my day |
So I set out to divide my day into sections of time based on a realistic assessment of my energy and motivation levels and put the things I need and want to do each day into those time buckets. Now I envision my day in these 5 stages.
Awakening
It's more than just getting up and heading to work or out to start the weekend. For me, my most creative thinking happens in the morning, but until now I haven't taken full advantage of that energy. Most mornings, I get up, have some breakfast, check Facebook, check the web feeds I follow, read e-mail, etc. and then head to work. From now on, most of that "stuff" is getting parked in another portion of my day because I don't need creative energy to do it. Mornings will be my time to create when I have a clear head, before everything that happens during the main part of my day clouds my priorities and muddies up my thoughts.
Accomplishing
I was initially tempted to call this section "Work." I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since we spend a huge portion of our lives working, but I stopped myself for a couple of reasons. I wanted this structure for my day to function 7 days a week, and luckily I don't work on the weekends. I also wanted this portion of the day to reflect all the things I'm doing to move my life forward. It might be job related, or it could be completing a list of tasks needed to plan a vacation. The difference here it that my efforts are not purely creative, but they do advance the rest of my life agenda. And on a lighter note, "Work" also doesn't end in "-ing" and I wanted some nice symmetry in my naming structure.
Re-Energizing
We all get to that point in the day when our energy starts to wane. In my case, it normally starts about an hour before I leave work, yet I still have a big chunk of my day in front of me and I don't want to waste it. Dedicating some time to getting re-energized will ensure I have the motivation to finish the day strong. When I was maintaining a better exercise regime, I always found a quick cardio session right after work got me back in the swing of things. Some days, a power nap might do the trick. Maybe it's a cup of coffee or some quiet time. Whatever it is, the goal is to chase away the afternoon lag and get ready for the rest of the day.
Interacting
Most of the social aspects of my day happen in the late afternoon and evening, so this category just made sense. These things don't take much creative or mental energy, and they're usually enjoyable, so they work better in the later part of the day when my overall energy level is starting to level off (I used to try and create during this portion of the day -- no surprise why I wasn't getting anything created). Social outings, time with friends and people I love, Facebook and other social media, website feeds, reading, TV, etc. And of course, the occasional hockey game.
Reflecting
If this plans works like I think it can, I'll have plenty of things to look back on at the end of each day and feel good about. Giving yourself a pat on the back is important. It's also critical to check in with yourself about what worked and what didn't during the day so you can plan on how to attack it tomorrow. It's like balancing your checkbook -- what did I spent? What did I get in return? If the numbers balance, it's been a good day. If you're in the black, so much the better.
The OCD portion of my personality was tempted to allot actual TIMES to these blocks (e.g. Awakening is 2 hours) but I realized that is also part of my problem. Each day has different demands, so the amount of time I spend in each segment of my day needs to remain flexible in order for the system to work. The key is simply to integrate each component of this plan into my day.
Writing this post was my "Awakening" for the day. Time to get going on the rest of the plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment