Title: The Secret To More Time and Energy :: February 2007

Author: Administrator

Date: February 07, 2007 1:59:41 PM or Wed, 07 February 2007 13:59:41

Summary: We have more time and energy when we are in the moment. The secret to managing time is managing the way we process people and events. We don’t need to add anything to our calendar, we simply subtract some unhelpful thinking.

Body: 

Can you afford the Time?

If you can afford the time and energy consumed in unconstructive reactive states such as worry, stress or allowing others to push your buttons, then you have time to be in the moment.

Being in the Moment is not a Doing

Being in the moment is not another thing to do. It is not something to add to our calendar or worry about. You don’t need to get certified in it or earn a PhD. Being in the moment is a state of being. And all of the powerful benefits or doings of this state are included in the action part of the being.

Time Management

When we speak of managing our time we are looking to put our attention on what matters (the priorities) and take attention away from what doesn’t matter or is unhelpful. It is the most powerful time management tool we have.

The Secret to Time Management

The secret to time management is managing our thinking. Through awareness we see directly what we have always known intellectually: there is less time to meet our deadlines and commitments when we are busy worrying, engaged in uncontrolled and often negative self chatter, projecting ourselves into a dark and gloomy future, or dwelling on what should have happened.

Then there is the attention (a.k.a. time and energy) we must now spend mopping up after the sour encounter, dealing with the change effort gone awry, repairing the damage with the customer. We invest time handling the mistake we created by not being present in the first place.

More time is spent not being Present

It takes more time and effort to not be in the moment than it does to be aware of our automatic reactions and other unwanted patterns. We are like the fish in the ocean that stops to ask where the ocean is. We are already in the moment but don’t know it. Being in the moment takes no time at all.

Now is the only time there is

The moment is the only time there is and the only place action ever takes place. When we plan for something we are doing that now. When we worry about something we do that now. The time is always now. What action can I take now? If I cannot take action now then what else can I now focus on? What better way is there to manage time? Being in the moment happens in and through our activities, not beside or between them.

Use your Mind or it Uses You

Our minds are powerful and creative tools and as such require supervision. If we had nuclear energy in our back yard we would want to keep an eye on it. It could cause a lot of damage when no one is watching. When we watch we can see reactive patterns emerging and it’s easier to replace them with responses before things get out of hand. We ensure that we are using our time and energy wisely.

Stop Creating Stress

When we are not watching, we react out of conditioning or react in the present to futures we imagine taking place. We become stressed even though there is no physical danger. "But wait", you say. What about psychological stress? Well then you really have something to look forward to. Once you see that it has been you creating stress, it just disappears like evaporating water. And you reclaim lots of time.

Tune into Radio One

When we wish to study and learn about something or someone, what do we do first? We observe. We watch. We take note of what’s going on. To be in the moment we watch what we are saying to ourselves. We watch our ongoing chatter about others and about events. We are watching the broadcast that is already happening from our own Radio One. It’s not more thinking that matters, it is more thinking observed that creates the awareness we need to take action or decide not to take action now.

The Change is Inside

We don’t need to cancel our appointments, delay the project or work another late night to be in the moment. We don’t need to change the content of our working lives, we just need to know what’s going on. When we become aware, we have made a powerful internal shift. This internal shift affords constructive responses and solutions to emerge. There is no need to force anything.

Easier Said than Done

Wrestling back control over our own minds is easier said than done. Why let that stop us? Look around at our human accomplishments. Many of them were much easier said than done. And many were thought to be impossible. But somehow we did them. At first we need to apply a small amount of effort, but momentum grows and soon it’s easy to remain present even with difficult people and in challenging situations.

What’s Stopping Me?

We’ve told ourselves stories over and over. These stories and reactions form our conditioning which in turn provides for more of the same reactions. We react in predictable ways. Some of us live in this choiceless state our entire lives. We become strongly attached to our stories and they become part of who we think we are. Our stories and reactions become part of our identity. This makes it challenging to let them go even though these patterns are destructive, self-defeating and costly.

A Process of Subtraction

Our negative stories and reactions don’t all have to go at once but if we want more time, energy, and to lead others, we will eventually need to examine and then drop them. We don’t have to add anything to our busy lives, only subtract useless mental processing. It is the subtracting that frees time and energy and provides for a host of other benefits. There is nothing to add.

The Soft Skills are the Hard Skills

I push a lot of buttons in my workshops and talks, but not because I want to. It’s just the way it is. Learning how to be in control and in the moment is soft skill development for people of action. Being in the moment is hard core business. It takes courage to affect real, lasting change. Watch good negotiators, good leaders and people who can keep themselves together under pressure. They know something.

Cause to Celebrate

It’s important not to be too hard on yourself as you practice noticing how you are processing people and things. When you think ‘I’ve done it again’ and notice that you’ve been dwelling without action or engaged in other self-defeating patterns, gently but firmly bring yourself back to the present moment. Noticing when you are being in the moment is cause to celebrate. It is the first sign of a growing awareness and the beginning of a powerful change that you take with you for the rest of your working days, and the rest of your life.

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