It’s not that we are too busy, or even that we don’t know what we want in life that makes our day exhausting. It’s that we decided to let the world inform our day.
We wake up and we’re either on auto-pilot going to work, or we’re unsure how our day will unfold, responding to whatever comes at us. Having worked with people who either have very little on their plate or too much on their plate, the commonality was that their life wasn’t theirs. It didn’t matter if they knew what their passion or purpose was. It’s that they put themselves off.
Here’s the thing: there is no future if there is no now. There is no once I’m done with this, then I’ll have time for that. Life doesn’t work that way. Time opens up when you open it up. The difference between those that are doing it now versus later is that the now people are doing it now.
How to do it now?
There’s nothing glamorous about what I’m about to say: a way to make it ease-ier is to use your calendar and follow it.
Fill it with those things that you suspect would elevate your day, make you more purposeful, stronger, smarter, and satiated, and make them sacred.
The biggest mistake is to keep putting yourself off or canceling on yourself. If someone else did that to you as much as you do that to yourself, how would you feel about that person? Would you trust them?
Put yourself on the calendar and keep it, it means everything.
What to include?
Your meditation practice
Your workout
Tea time, lunch, or a walk with a friend
Bath time, especially if you love them and can’t seem to fit it in
Reading and writing time
The stuff that you’ve been dreaming of doing but have been too busy to start
If you tend to forget to eat, or if you graze all day, put in the meal times, it’ll make a huge difference in your energy.
It’s especially important to schedule your wake up routine, thinking of how you will set the tone for the day.
It’s also important to spell out your bedtime routine, thinking of how that will set you up for better sleep throughout the night, and to wake up in the morning ready to do what you want to do.
It’s important to look at your witching hour (3-6 pm), the time during which many of us fall into the less desirable habits, and schedule something really good here - those are lost hours that can be reclaimed to change your life.
When someone asks you to do something, and you’ve already filled that spot on your calendar for yourself, then you can say I’m sorry, I’ve already got a commitment at that time.
This is self-care, a way to transcend your to-do list, recharge, reset, and create ease and purpose in everything you do. Fun is super purposeful, btw. And when something does come up that falls into your deepest values, priorities, and desires bucket, then you can cancel all your plans and say yes to it. Only you will know what those are when those times come, and you are the person in charge of your life.
As you practice this, your values and your voice will get stronger. Your discernment will increase. You will learn to balance and integrate YOU back into your life, and when things get really crazy that you must attend to, you will know how to stay intact and remember who you are.
Love, Savitree
Nice article. What do you think if we trade in our smart phones for flip phones would we pay more attention to the moment?