A good quote that sums up my position on the book Make Time:
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, instead, seek what they sought.
- Matsuo Basho
The book is great and I agree with most of it, but it’s too light on the core point: each person needs to self-experiment and practice regular deep reflection to understand what works for them where and when they are.
Highlight
- Give equal thought to what’s getting dropped to make room for the highlight
- Spinning plates analogy is good, bounce between high level life priorities so none fall (too badly) long-term
Laser Focus
- Use a timer to help allow yourself to let go of everything except the highlight for that time
- Short but frequent breaks (5min breaks every 30min)
- Set a visible reward for larger projects (e.g. box of chocolate, new macbook pro)
- Set your urges as a short-term reward (e.g. if I focus in now, I’ll get some tea and a snack on my break)
- Take breaks mid-stride, it will be faster and easier to get back into flow when you return
Energize
These are ongoing curated lists of what personally works to give or take away my energy. Reflect and document for yourself.
- Walk in the forest with the dog
- Coffee nap
- Healthy snacks all day
- One coffee per day, after being awake for at least one hour
- Daily mindfulness to set the tone for the day
- Threedom or other comedy podcast in driving/alone time
- Incremental improvement in a video game (moderate game time)
- Do the dishes quickly and efficiently
- Take out the garbage
- Refill all our water vessels (two filter pitchers, two coffee machines, three humidifiers, etc.)
- Break down boxes for recycling
- Pick off the next thing from the learning list
- Making the bed in the morning
- Reading good fiction before bed
- Sharing my experiences, philosophy, and learning with people
Anti-energize (things to avoid)
- Unhealthy or too many snacks
- Too much context switching
- Soda/sugar
- Too much coffee
- Screen time in the bedroom
- Trying to do a retro/reflect/gratitude journal (these just never worked for me)
A note on media (socal media or otherwise)
Over the years I’ve re-wired my defaults for interaction with the internet to the point I don’t feel the need to even mention social media or other apps/websites here. They just aren’t a problem for me. Same goes for email, slack, and other communication. I’ve set a boundary and I’m happy with it.