Have you ever said to yourself "If I could only add one more day to my week" ... or "If I only had more time."
Today I want to explore three ideas in relation to time:
the importance of taking time to discern and
getting more done with less time
taking time for resilience building and grief
Time to Discern
I think what it gets down to is that we don't want to have to choose.
In Greg McKeown's book, Essentialism, the chapter on trade-offs is gold.
He says the Non-Essentialist says "I can do both". Whereas the Essentialist says, "What do I want to go BIG on." What matters? And how can I focus my energies there.
And so a key skill (as Seth Godin calls Real Skills) (and I call Core Skills) is discernment. How do we discern what matters?
I believe that a key meta-skill, is slowing down and quieting the monkey-mind so that we can listen and discern. And in order to do that we need to be intentional about carving out time to do so.
Here's a bit of good news.. when this becomes a habit, carving out time to slow down and discern, it become second nature.
The harder news is how to start that habit. Well... as I say often, anything worth doing is worth starting small.
What if you just set your timer for 1 minute every day for a week at 1pm and sit down in a comfy chair and took deep breaths. Why not? What might be made possible if you did?
The Gift of Less Time - Go Go Done
Over the last couple of months I have had the gift of experiencing the power of less time.
Yes, power of less time. And the power of having impromptu colleagues for 90 minutes.
I have been attending something called Go Go Done. Heather Chavin is the founder and innovator here. I met her through the Seth Godin workshop alumni community.
Here's how it works.
When you show up for a 90 minute Go Go Done session on Zoom you are welcomed by the host of the session and there is a brief simple explanation on how it works.
If we log on at 8am... there are a few words of intro until about 8:05 when you are then put into a group of 3 people in a breakout room.
Everyone succinctly says what they are working on and then mutes themselves and gets to work! We come back at 55 after the hour for a 5 minute break.
Then we work on our own work for another 25 minutes; and another 5 minute break.
And then a final 25 minute work session and 5 minute closure all together.
Here's what's amazing.
1) I get more done. When I look at my timer and see that I have 12 minutes left, it's so much easier to resist the email distraction and so my level of focus is a lot higher.
2) We can leverage this structure to get things done we've been avoiding.
Why it works:
a) accountability.
b) short time boxes to help focus.
Check it out HERE... It's just $3 per session and totally worth it.
I will be starting to host Monday 3:30-5pm sessions starting October 5.
Time to Build Resilience and to Grieve
(Yes, I know these could probably be three separate blog posts, but hey you're getting a 3 for 1 deal today. : )
I was talking with my friend yesterday, and how we have been living in a sped up world. And in sped up workplaces in our society. And in a sped up world it's all about productivity (Yes, productivity is not a bad thing...problem becomes when it's the only thing.).
And when it's all about getting things done, we aren't bringing our full humanity.
And when it's all about getting things done, often the powers that be are steamrolling any oppositional voices.
And when it's all about getting things done, we don't take time to grieve and we don't take time to cultivate resilience so that we can navigate these complex, uncertain, and volitile times.
Its true that when there is a time of disruption it's a great time to start new habits. And, I believe that when we want to do something new (yes start small) and start with others. Learn with other so that we can have a visceral experience of not being alone, but connected.
I'm going to be facilitating three different opportunities in the coming weeks for you to participate in a time of reflecting on resilience, trauma, and grief.
In order of appearance:
Grief Walking: Tap Into Social Support after a Loss. Friday, Sept 25 at 8:30am. FREE event on Zoom. This is a Liberating Structure in development. One of the founders of LS led a session last week that I attended and found quite powerful. I will be co-facilitating this with Vienna Blum of Montreal. Details coming on my website....likely later today.
Cultivating Resilience Together: A Course for Nonprofit Leaders Navigating Prolonged Disruption. 5 Early Bird spots left. Discount available through this Sunday at midnight. October 1,8,15,22 from 10am-noon (PDT). Designed and facilitated by Susan Howlett and myself. More info HERE
Navigating Amidst Overwhelming Times - Whether because of trauma, crises, or really, really hard days. Friday, October 16 10-11:50am... Presenter: Laura van Dernoot Lipsky - founder of the Trauma Stewardship institute. She will present in the first hour. And I will be facilitated a structured time of reflection and dialogue for 45 minutes following her presentation. This is an event of AFP/Advancement NW and Igniting Philanthropy series. FREE for AFP members; $10 for non-members. More info HERE.
May you discover a new relationship with time in the coming weeks. And may you take the time to slow down, discern and reorient to what and who is truly important.
Deep Peace,
David