Rest Is A Requirement
I am a task oriented person and I think about time like I think about money.
How much do I have and how much does it cost.
Example: This task will cost me 45 minutes in time; where do I have 45 minutes available this week to accomplish this task.
That is how my brain works. Good or bad. Efficient or torturous.
I believe others have brains that work like this:
What needs to be done? Okay let’s do it now.
That person would be Raymond. :P
When it comes to getting things done, it is my belief that task oriented people have a habit of getting too busy by trying to spend all of their time efficiently.
In other words, we have a tendency to get overwhelmed.
Something I am striving to do better next year is budgeting my time.
Allowing more white space (why is this so hard!) and carving out spaces for rest.
The kind of rest that doesn’t look like work or smell like work (another habit of mine).
The kind of rest that is quiet and flowing.
Rest is a requirement
How does one do this then?
Becoming aware of what is keeping us so busy
Lean on “no”
Practice saying “no”
Tracking how much time something actually takes
Things that keep me busy:
Commitments with an extended timeline (like a bible study or doubles tennis season)
Tiny tasks that recur
Balance home & business
Before committing next year, I plan to walk out the YES.
The longer days of summer coupled with less things to do (for us) give me the feeling of spaciousness. And sometimes a little boredom. By the time August rolls around I am eager to move forward with activities like Fall Tennis or a Bible Study.
Trouble creeps in when I don’t walk out the yes and realize that having something to do every Mon - Thurs night is actually NOT my idea of a good time. Half way into the commitment, I am trying to figure out how to back out of it.
There is a great deal of uncomfortableness in trying to reverse a yes. The lesson lies there.
Lean on the “no”
Have you ever noticed how others like to spend your time for you? Lots of requests. Lots of good ideas. Lots of time.
It is easy to say “yes” because saying “no” takes guts. The only way around this, I have found, is to practice saying it over and over.
Time Tracking
The unsexy side of getting things done is finding out how much time something actually takes. There is a popular approach to budgeting called “zero dollar budgeting” where you account for every single dollar for a month.
I apparently think time should be planned the same way. I am here to tell you that it is NOT! Every pocket of time need not be filled with tasks or adventures.
Five years can go by in a blink when you are spending your time on small, recurring tasks. While missing the big picture of moving your life forward towards big audacious goals.
That big stuff I have found takes a lot more time and space than I realized. If I fill my days with tiny tasks then I will never have time for that big stuff.
As this season of holiday fun moves from the steady lane to the passing lane, my hope is that we all remember and practice some of these tips.
Walk out the yes
Lean on the no
Track how much time something actually takes
And then plan. I will be purchasing my 2022 planner in a few weeks - I hope to plan my year around the big stuff, add in a layer of tiny task sustainers, and then sprinkle in plenty of white space. :)
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