Look forward...

Luke 9:61-62

New International Version - UK

61 Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’

62 Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’

Putting It Off

I'm awfully good at finding things to do. However sometimes it's not that one job that I have to do.

That really can surprise people. Because I can be very productive when I turn my mind to it. When I'm 'in the zone', so to speak.

And there's the problem. Sometimes I really don't feel like it.

The best way that I can explain this is to go back to the ancient idea that inspiration for great work in the realms of literature or the arts only came from heaven. Try and force your way through a particular job without receiving a degree of divine inspiration - and you're sunk.

• Sometimes I can't find my 'zone', no matter how hard I look for it.
• If I am 'in the zone', then I need to start work now. Get it done, if it's a job around the house. Or, if it's writing, get as much of it down on paper/laptop as I can before it fades; before I lose it.
• If I can't get into my stride when I'm 'in the zone', then pow! Suddenly, I've lost it.
• If I can't get others to buy into what I'm trying to do when I'm 'in the zone', then my enthusiasm wanes because they don't feel like it - so therefore, it soon rubs off on me, so I don't want to do it any more...
• And if I'm drained - emotionally or physically - there's very little I can do. It's just too much. All I want to do is rest, and wait for that inspiration to descend once again. Wait until I'm back 'in the zone'.

The problem here - when I read this all back - is that I see that the problem here is feelings. I don't feel like it. Or others don't feel like working when I want to..

There's also an assumption here, of course. It's an assumption that really productive people are always 'in the zone' - that positive, energetic frame of mind that impels them to start and carries them through all the way until completion. I'm afraid that this is not so.

It needs a bit of willpower as well. An understanding that there are going to be hard times, frustrations, and setbacks along the way. And I guess sometimes that it's my fear of these hard times - and of encountering the people who'd rather muck about than get down to some hard work - that creates some of the biggest hurdles in my life and prevents me personally from staying in 'the zone'. If they don't bother, why should I?

So, sometimes it takes a bit of a push to get me back into 'the zone'.

That's where the following quotes resonate with me:

Rita Emmett, in The Procrastinator’s Handbook, came up with Emmett’s Law:
"The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself."

O’Connor’s corollary:
"It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you finally get down to work."

Just a few stray thoughts today. That I had to get down. Or else, lose them completely... :)

Buridan's Donkey

One of the podcasts that I follow regularly introduced me to the following paradox:

Buridan’s donkey is standing halfway between a pile of hay and a bucket of water. It keeps looking left and right, trying to decide between hay and water. Unable to decide, it eventually falls over and dies of hunger and thirst.

If he only could, the animal would realise he could first drink the water, then go eat the hay. But, in this scenario, he can't. He simply can't decide. And that is his downfall.

So, what's stopping me from doing anything that I want to do?

• Even if it’s humbling? 
• Even if there’s a steep learning curve? 
• Even if there is no guarantee of success? 
• Even if I'm afraid? 
• Even if the steps seem insignificant? 
• Even if I have to give it all up, and place my future in God's hands?

Perhaps I just need to make a choice.

(The donkey in question is named after a 14th century French philosopher and cleric called Jean Buridan. In reality, the paradox predates Buridan, and it probably came from Aristotle. But such is fame.)

Overthinking - and Dealing With It (part two)

Last time I started looking at my own tendency to overthink. Here's a dozen ideas that I have gathered over the last few weeks about how to deal with this - with a comment or two from myself as I tried to apply them to my own life:

1. Starting the day better.
I'm told that it's important, in any activity, to start well and to finish well. Because of this, I have been taking a serious look at how I wake up in the morning. I usually have the radio coming on first, with a 'get up' alarm at 6am. This gives me a more gentle wake-up in the morning. Early morning DJs and their inane babble fill me with dread, and some talk radio stations are abrasively negative, so my channel of choice is BBC Radio 4 Extra with a little bit of comedy or drama to wake me. I have found I don't cope well with being suddenly woken up - so I have to allow myself at least half an hour from wake up to get up. I need that time. I have my regular chat with God as I walk down to the train; no distractions, no-one else around. I don't start thinking about the news until I get on the train, when I'm a lot more awake, then I then check my emails and Facebook. In go the headphones and I shut out the world until I get to work - I listen to music, or a podcast.

2. Taking care with what I fill my mind
I understand that what I watch, read or listen to, has a great impact on my way of thinking. I'm therefore increasingly careful now what I take in. I'll try to read books, magazines, blogs that are helpful to me. The same applies to listening to music and podcasts. There are certain types of emails that go straight in the trash without me reading them. I'll also try and seek out the company of people who encourage me to grow and support me. Philippians 4:8 (NIV) "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things."

3. Taking a break from music and other media.
I've noticed that I tend to distract myself from life as I go - this is my way of shutting out the world's chatter, which can be deafening or at best distracting. However, I am aware that I sometimes I lose out on the joy of simply being still. If silence is an option, I need to embrace it. It's so easy to drown out the quiet instead of enjoying it. Ditching the TV? Not a problem, that's a big advantage when I go off with my family, camping. However, what about taking a break from social media/emails? That's more tricky. I try to do this over the big public holidays (Easter, Christmas) in order to give more time for my family. Am I (like many) addicted to my social contact with friends from afar that I tune out those around me? Something l need to consider.

4. Taking a 'time-out'
I know when my mind is all over the place, when I need to take that break. A 'time-out' when I'm not thinking straight helps a lot. I can't always come up with a solution 'just like that', which can frustrate me. Taking a break to clear my head can help improve my thinking process. After a proper break, I feel refreshed and am best placed to then resolve the issue. I admit that my first reaction is to work through it, which I know leaves me tired and ratty. It's a weakness that I need to work through. Or, rather, not work through :)

5. Fight procrastination
I've struggled with this for a while. There's so much to do, I can't possibly do it all at the same time. So I have to prioritise. The art is not to fall into the trap of constantly delaying the same job over and over again. Quite apart from the practical reason, repeated delay just gives me an excuse to overthink - working through different scenarios until I end up exhausted. The solution requires a strong mindset and bags of determination. Get it done, move on to the next job.

6. Decision making deadlines
This is one I have found useful. The chief problem with decision making is the tendency to overthink. Letting my mind wander, exploring all the possible outcomes... Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it can be if I'm using it as an excuse for procrastination. So, I'll try now to set myself a time-limit. If it's a small decision, a minute or two. If it's a big one - till the end of the day.

7. Exercise
Why not go for a walk? The exercise will not only boost my health but can also help me organise my thoughts. Working out regularly can help arrange my time more efficiently, some say it can strengthen my will and determination. Hopefully one to try now the weather is improving...

8. Living in the now
Being content right now is a great thing to achieve. Like most people, I tend to worry about things that have already happened (dwelling on the past) or about the potential outcome of things that are going to happen (dwelling on the future). What is more valuable than living right now, in the present?

9. I can't change everything
My life isn't perfect. There are at least a hundred things in my life that I would change today, if I only had the power/ money/ resources to do it. But I can't. Trying to control everything isn’t going to work - in fact, it will hold you back. Thinking things through around fifty or sixty times isn't good, in fact it's a form of control obsession. Life is meant to be lived, not controlled or planned to the last detail. I need to work on changing one thing, then build upon it and move on to something else.

10. Don’t think of what can go wrong, but what can go right
What is the most likely outcome? If I persist in thinking about it, I'm just likely to make myself more anxious. Because I tend to dwell on the negative, rather than the positive. Too much negative thinking deprives me of the possibility of unleashing my true potential and daring to dream big. Not sure about this one...

11. Setting a physical boundary to work.
I rarely talk about my own work in this blog - however I'm just about to break that rule. This is so I can let know know that I work for The Salvation Army, which can cause difficulties as this is also my church. I need to explain this to show how difficult it can be to 'switch off' from work, when it's also an important part of your personal and social life. Setting boundaries between work and home can therefore be tricky, as demarkation lines get blurred all the time. Switching off is therefore terribly difficult because of this. So I need to set rules. I read recently of someone who set himself such a rule - he would stop thinking about work when he passed the bridge on his commute home. After that point, he couldn't think about work any longer. It's tough - but I'm going to have a go at this. Not sure how successful I'll be...

12. Ending the day better
It is surprisingly easy to get lost in TV or in social media right up to the time I need to go to bed. I know that isn't good for me - my mind keeps racing for a long time after my head hits the pillow. I've read research that shows TV or computer screen time immediately before bed interferes with sleep. Right, so off goes the computer, the phone goes on charge and I now pick up a good book to relax until my mind relaxes enough to allow me to rest. That also takes a while, so I leave half an hour to wind down at night...

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To end with, here's a great quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

Wandering Aimlessly

I was sitting in one of the local coffee shops this lunchtime when I started writing this. I'd had a heck of a weekend, with a family party, loads of paperwork to do at home and two meetings to lead at the Corps. All sorted; all deadlines met; everyone seemed happy with what had been done. Probably laughed more on Saturday night than I have done in the last six months put together. Ended up totally drained and in a heap by Sunday afternoon; simply had to sleep for a couple of hours before I could think about doing anything else. I needed some time to myself on Monday lunchtime, hence the coffee. :)

I stared out of the coffee shop window at the passers-by. All had their own agenda. Some were making calls on mobiles. Some were just gazing down at the pavement ahead. None were smiling. All seemed to be just wandering aimlessly. Is that what I usually look like on a weekday?

"Do you have an aim, a target?" said the still, small voice inside me. I admitted that there were still a couple of things I still wanted to do in life.

"Write yourself a list of those", said the voice. "Go and do them. You know you can if you set your mind to it. Stop putting it off. I know what you are capable of."

And then it was time to get back to work. However, I knew that it was also time to start putting down a few more things onto the 'to do' list. And start working out how to tick these all off... Can I rise to the challenge?

Target Setting: Update

I've been giving some prayerful consideration to target setting recently (as regular readers to this blog will recall) and have begun prioritising, clearing a few obvious stumbling blocks out of the way, in order to see "the wood from the trees". I've been advised to categorise my task list into:

• A: Urgent and Important
• B: Not urgent and Important
• C: Urgent and Not important
• D: Not urgent and Not important

I've not found this an easy thing to do. I've even found that the very act of sifting through the list again and again can distract you from dealing with the list! However, I wrote my initial to-do list last week and was impressed that I struck off 95% of this by the end of the week! And I had to deal with a Class A task recently, one that I certainly won't forget in a hurry, I'm clearly being led through a steep learning curve in double-quick time!

Courage!

Psalm 25:5 (NIV)

"Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long."

Giving Up

I've blogged a fair bit in the past few months about 'not giving up'. Right now I have to think about doing exactly the opposite.

I don't mean surrendering, about deciding not to fight when things get difficult to bear. It's about giving up certain things that may be holding me back from making progress in other areas. A 'tactical withdrawal' on certain fronts. In this I am assured of encouragement and prayers. Some of these who are supporting me are regular readers of this blog and know the tasks at hand.

But where to start? Where to cut first?

I've given myself a deadline of this Friday to come up with a list of areas to work on. That's a good day to pick. Those of you who are praying people, please ask for some brave and bold plans to be made - and then for the courage to put them into action.

Seeking Perfection - part two

Part two of my thread on perfection centres more on the subject I touched on briefly last time - that of procrastination. Seeking to be better in any area of your life is often a challenge, so it's no wonder that people so often put things off. Like tidying that cluttered room in your house! Sometimes it's a case of not knowing where to start - sometimes it's trying to finding the right time, the right circumstances.

The recent email about seeking perfection (remember my blog entry last time?) recalled a talk on the subject by Pastor Rick Warren, leader of a church in Southern California. A procrastinator, he said, is nothing more than a frustrated perfectionist. The logic went something like this:

• A perfectionist is convinced to prove his or her worth by being perfect - to seeking to attain perfection.
• The fear of being unable to achieve that prefection leads to procrastination.
• Procrastination eventually leads to paralysis. You know what you need to do, even how to do it, but because you can't complete that first part well enough, you end up doing nothing.

Do you end up doing nothing because you feel what you do would be less than perfect? There is a way forward...

1. Realise that no one is perfect - no-one but God. You don't be afraid to make a mistake. Remember the quotation from Albert Einstein:  "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. "

2. Let go and let God! If it is outside of your control, then why not let God handle those things. It takes a lot of faith to let go of those things over which we have no control. Faith like that described in Hebrews 11:1.

3. Learn to be content in your current situation. Life can't be lived in some far-off perfect future. It must be lived today, which means in less than perfect circumstances. Accept that. Love the moment, and enjoy the journey. Dump the pressure that says you must be perfect to be accepted. Just listen to the following quotation: "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do." (Edward Everett Hale)

The bottom line is - if you are seeking perfection, forget it. What you need to do is seek progress. Why not try and take the first step. Even if you fall over, you have probably gained a couple of steps in the process. Then pick youself up and take another, and another. Before you know it, you will be making terrific progress. Not perfection, but progress!

Seeking Perfection - part one

We are all encouraged to do the best we can do in all that we do. However, a recent email on the subject of perfection has set me off thinking.

I wouldn't ever claim to be a perfectionist. Take the house for example. I do try to instill some semblance of order to my household (the phrase 'a place for everything, and everything in its place' has almost become my catchphrase, it's such a cliche amongst the family), but with a family of four and so many competing commitments for each of us vying for our attention, sometimes achieving perfection is the last thing on my mind. The place often looks like a bomb has hit it! Particularly during September...

Despite appearing to be a place of chaos and disorder, the house is indeed a home. Let's face it, it's the place where we as a family can let down our hair. Therefore a little disorder can be useful, as long as you can still find something when you need it! There's even a sign stuck to one of the noticeboards in the house: "A tidy house is the sign of a wasted life!"

I must admit to yearning for perfection in this area of my life at least, but with children in the house that can be difficult. I'm working towards a little area of calm in the house where I can unwind. I'm off work at the end of the month to do precisely that. This is an area of my life where procrastination always seems to set in. Regular readers will know that putting myself first is the last thing that I do.

More later...

The Thief Of Time

Sounds like a good title for an adventure novel, doesn't it?* Our nemesis this week, the dastardly Thief of Time. He is determined to rob you of your ability to deal effectively with anything, by stealing all of your available hours. There simply isn't the time to stop him! (*in fact, Terry Pratchett has already used this for a title of one of his Discworld novels. Good man!)

Of course, this is a reference to procrastination, a habit that some people have of putting tasks off to 'tomorrow'. However, if you are not careful, 'tomorrow' simply never comes...

Interestingly, this is not by and large due to laziness; the studies I have undertaken on the subject reveals that this behaviour is more often triggered by issues other than sheer sloth. Simply speaking, chalking the problem up to laziness may not be the answer... Other factors may include stress, overwhelming emotions, lack of motivation, lack of discipline, and of course poor time management.

More later...