I often talk about how sometimes the steps that we think will be big, can sometimes not be as hard to take as we first thought, and how then the challenge becomes "how do I take the next step?”
To quote the opening line of the book by Scott M. Peck The Road Less Travelled, "Life is difficult".
It's a profound statement for me that one, because - often, it’s very true. Sometimes we have things coming at us from all directions; problems at work, issues in our home lives, friends going through hard times; it can be hard to fit in the things that sustain us in all of that, and to get things done that we need to.
Well this week I want to share a strategy that I use to help keep control of my chaos. Now to understand this, you either need to be a lists person, or to try to be one, just to see if it works for you. So, I have three lists going here; one for Focus, one for Fun and one for Fulfillment.
On the Focus list, are things that I need to do with regard to my work life; it might be updating my Facebook page, or doing some online training; for you it could be applying for a new job, learning a specific skill which will help you at work, or writing the minutes for a committee you volunteer on.
On the Fun list, it might be sending a text to a friend to arrange a catch-up, going out for a night with friends, watching a Netflix series, or doing a crossword; whatever floats your particular boat.
And then on the Fulfillment list, it's doing things that keep us happy and healthy. They're not always fun things, but they are necessary. So, it might be taking a walk, cooking some healthy meals, doing the grocery shopping, taking a long bath, bagging clothes to take to the Opshop or going to the gym. We are all unique, and so are our lists.
Once you've got your lists together, all you do is to spend ten minutes per day on something from each list. Ten minutes is not insurmountable. But it does eventually get things done, and one of them is to have fun. For me, it works because it helps me watch the boiling pots, but it also allows me to recharge my batteries a little too, and to feel like there is some order in my life - that I'm moving forward towards what I want to achieve.
So, if you ever get that feeling of there being too much happening at once, or that there is not enough time for you to be you, try it out, and remember that as Robert Collier says: "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out."