“I don’t have time.” How often have you heard that? We all have 24 hours with 1,440 minutes in a day. How come that some of us seem to get everything done, just like they planned while others always seem to have an excuse? I remember the days when I’d hear “I’ll do it in a minute.” Guess what! That minute never came and it often ended in a big last minute rush.
Here are our top tips for using your time wisely:
Have you ever heard of “Freizeitstress”? What?! This beautiful German word means recreational stress. Your leisure time is actually more stressful than giving you and relaxing. I’ve found many friends rushing from appointment to appointment and worse, they were so proud of being busy. How lovely was it to talk to this very interesting lady who said: “We’re taking it easy this summer!”
When was the last time you did nothing? Intentionally nothing? You’re probably scratching your head. Why would anyone do nothing on purpose? Isn’t that just plain laziness? No! It’s time for you to intentionally do nothing and reap its benefits.
We fill our schedules like crazy. It seems if we don’t have an activity going on, we’re not really doing anything. Our mind gets into this overdrive mode. It’s so difficult to slow down and enjoy the now and then. Even doing nothing has a negative association. We have to be constantly occupied. When was the last time you queued for something and didn’t check your phone? These days, almost everyone on the metro is checking their phone or listening to some music or something else. How often do you see two people actually talk to each other while riding the metro?
Being constantly switched on, our brain is struggling to cope with not checking our phones or emails on the laptop. It’s almost an addiction to see who posted what on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. To follow the news 24/7 and to respond to work emails when waking up in the middle of the night seems to be the desirable goal. But this is really what’s good for us? Why is it so hard of doing nothing for a while?
There’s the negative connotation. We have to be doing something. After all, what’s the purpose of doing nothing. Being busy is such a great thing. It’s how we measure our success. Yet, it’s counter-productive. But can we be lazy doing nothing?
The benefits of doing nothing
Doing nothing is not the same as being lazy. That stigma is out and scientist are working on illustrating the benefits of doing something. After all, doing nothing does lead to something positive!
By doing nothing, we’re giving ourselves the opportunity to step back.
We become more creative and more productive.
We become more used to being in our own company.
We learn to live and experience the very moment.
Better quality of life
Scientist have even discovered that doing nothing actually increases our quality of life. Who would have thought that was one of the benefits? Having some down time, our brains have the time to digest our experiences and thoughts. It consolidates memories and reinforces learning. It also gets the chance to empty out the clutter which often occupies so much headspace.
By actually resting, your brain maintains its level of attention and stay sharp. This in return leads to us being able to discover new ideas, new concepts, see situations from a different angle, find new solutions. Our creativity is being refreshed and our productivity increases, too.
Taking a step back, we are giving ourselves a priceless gift: A better quality of life! And who doesn’t want to experience their life its the fullest and truest? Without constantly being sleep deprived, sluggish and exhausted, worried about not getting everything done and anxious about ever being good enough! Doing nothing can help you improve your life! I certainly want more from my life and if I can get that by la dolce fare niente, bring it on!
A little exercise
Are you a workaholic or a Fidgety Philip and still want to reap the benefits from doing nothing? Start small. Turn your TV, radio, email and internet off. Set your time for just 2 minutes, just 2 minutes and start do nothing. How does make you feel? Not sure what do with your time? All these unfinished and seemingly pressing projects popping up in your head? Allow them in, recognise them and yet, don’t write them down or even do them. Try to enjoy these 2 minutes of doing nothing.
When you do it for the first time, it probably feels very odd and strange. Or at least it did for me. Do this activity for a week and notice how your thoughts and emotions change during these 2 minutes. Gradually increase your time to 5 minutes, then 10 minutes and 15 minutes. Can you last 30 minutes, a whole half hour, doing nothing?
I’d love to hear what your experiences of doing nothing has been. What was challenging? What came naturally to you? Write me a short comment below.
Until next time,
Agni
There seems to be an increasing amount of frustrations amongst employees. Who doesn’t know those days when you’re annoyed with the boss or colleagues, having to change a client project for the 10th time or being stuck in heavy traffic to and from your office? Who hasn’t experienced a day when they weren’t bored and felt there was no room for them to grow and develop? All these little things can add to something big and then what? Quit?
Last week, I felt scared. S**t scared! I exhibited at ARTE, the arts and craft market, for the first time. At around this time, I was going through the emotions and what a roller coaster ride that was. Finishing up the last designs and the questions popped back up: “Am I good enough?” “Will they like my designs?” “Will they also buy some?”
There was the panic moment, or maybe moments. “Do I have enough to sell or should I make some more?” There was resignation. “I’m too tired to do anything after this week. I’m done.” Once everything was packed and ready for the show, there was pride. “I’ve done it!” But I didn’t feel scared until I stood next to my stand, the different pieces up for display and waiting for the first customers to come by. “I’m s**t scared!” was the message I sent to my loved ones.
Do you ever have that your knees are hurting because you haven’t moved all day? When you are so focused on your work that you don’t want to interrupt your flow? That was me last week! Different projects were finally coming along so nicely, I didn’t want to stop the progress but could feel my knees cringing for a walk.
Yesterday, the HR Wellness Seminar took place and for any of you following me for some time, you how much I value health and wellbeing. Too many companies are unfortunately not providing enough support to their employees. Still, employees and individuals need to take ownership for their own health and wellbeing!
Prof. Justin James Kennedy’s presentation left me with food for thought: To get the emotional health in place, you’ll need to have the physical health in place.
This was a busy week! It was filled with 2 days travelling, another full day event with a local client plus studying for my professional certificate. 28 February is the deadline and having that date fixed, time’s running fast! Last night, I almost lost it looking around the house. It was all messy, stuff everywhere. It’s the worst feeling when you’re exhausted, don’t you agree?
How many additional calories did you consume this Christmas? While I’ve consciously limited my indulgences, sitting so much over the Holidays got me down. Luckily, I could get my loved ones out for a walk in the rain, typical Christmas weather.
This afternoon, we’re off to our local football stadium and I can’t wait to get moving again. Do you too want to make small changes and get active again? Here are 5 easy activities which will get you moving now!
It’s 2 days before Christmas and I’m sitting in this beautiful café with a hot chocolate. It’s freezing outside (okay, may it’s just cold and wet). What a relaxed day before the holidays are upon us. It’s absolutely fantastic!
Do you also want to enjoy a stress-free Christmas? Who doesn’t?! Here are my top 5 tips to start Christmas in the most relaxed and stress-free way!