Dear Blossom
Continuing along my train of thought of yesterday…
I woke up in the small hours this morning for a bathroom break and then couldn’t go back to sleep. The main reason was that I was very very thirsty. And I didn’t have water by my bedside as I usually try to have as that would have minimised my nocturnal activities and made my return to sleep a lot easier.
Not last night though. I tried to ignore it, knowing that a trip downstairs would be the end of sleep and I was still very tired, so I really wanted to go back to sleep. After tossing and turning and getting increasingly thirsty over an hour later, I got myself out of bed, went downstairs made myself a drink and of course by this time my tummy decided it might as well rumble! So, it was breakfast before 5am!
One aspect of being a business owner that I love is that I am in charge of my own time. So, since I didn’t have any appointment till 11am, I reckoned I could do some of the mental work I was meant to do in the normal hours during my period of wakefulness and then go back for a nap later. And that is what I did.
I went along merrily with the scheduled task until I hit a block. So, I left it and went to do something else which was less intense, creative in a different way and needing to be done anyway, just it wasn’t prioritised for this morning.
As I completed that, I began to think of my procrastination piece from last night. And then I began to draft this blog to you.
So, why didn’t I go back to that original task? Or stick with it and power through it before moving on to something else?
Because I am becoming increasingly self-aware, and I know that often times taking a step back and using a different part of my brain gives me time to recoup, regroup and go back to continue chipping away at that ‘biggie’. I find that when I allow myself to rest and recuperate, I am more efficient, more resourceful and more effective.
And when a task is extremely stretching for me, dealing with it in small chunks, interwoven with more comfortable ones, means that I can last the distance… and produce better quality work than if I’d just carried on in the name of ‘not giving up’ or ‘not giving in’. Sometimes I interweave with a jig to a song on the radio or one I’ve chosen for that purpose. Or I might go on a spontaneous walk with Michael (he is ever ready, who knows he might even pray for such moments!).
This all got me chewing over the recent Tedx talk by the very brilliant Elliot Kay which is full of insights and solid food for thought:
In the race to achieve/acquire/accomplish/excel, where does balance belong? Is it a case of getting to the summit at all costs? Is that where fulfilment lies?
Check it out for yourself. Here it is: What is Mastery? Enjoy!
