When The Well Runs Dry

by Judy

"Take a step back.  Clear your mind of its fog.  Refresh your perspective."

As most of you probably know, each of us here at Focusing On Life have a schedule for our blog posts.  We post every two weeks, and sometimes those two weeks seem to come around very fast!

Knowing that my post was coming up today, days ago I began thinking about what I'd like to write about.  Sometimes ideas come easily, the writing is easy, and the reception from all of you is great. There have been many times that I've found myself scribbling ideas down on the back of an envelope dug from the bottom of my purse, or jotting down notes on the back of a napkin so that I didn't forget them. The ideas just flow!  Other times, it's not so easy.  

This time I didn't know what to write about.  I couldn't think of a single thing.  All of the ideas that did come to mind seemed forced, and I know that when I try to force it, it doesn't make for my best posts.

 I've been stretched thin these past few weeks, both at home and at work.  Needless to say, I'm not surprised that ideas aren't flowing.  I have learned that when I'm very busy, and not giving myself time to be creative, the well runs dry.  I've said it before, others here have said it before, but it definitely bears repeating.... we must, must, must take time out for ourselves.  We must fill our buckets.

We have to be in the right state of mind to let ideas and creative thoughts in.  What works for me may be entirely different from what works for you, but I'd like to share my methods, and I'd love to hear your methods as well!

First and foremost, I need quiet time to myself  so that I am open and aware of everything around me. I used to go to my favorite sanctuary and sit on the bench near the pond and just BE.   I don't always have time for that now, so I've learned how to find a quiet place in my home to be still.  No phones, no social media, no people.  Now, that's not to say that as I sit there I'm flooded with creative ideas. No.  But giving myself that time, and letting my mind be still, allows for those creative ideas to start flowing again.  Maybe it's that day, maybe not.  But my mind is open.  

There's another method that I haven't done in awhile, but one that I found to be very effective, and one that I will be revisiting again.   I would start each morning 'free journaling.'  I learned of this method after reading Julie Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.  She suggests taking 30 minutes each morning to write freely in a journal.  

At first this seemed strange to me, but I quickly learned that the only way to do it is to just pick up my pen and start writing. I would set a timer on my phone so that I wasn't distracted by checking the clock.  I began looking at my free journaling as my way of daydreaming on paper. 

As I write this I am reminded of an article that I read this year that was written by a clinical meditation consultant.  He compared our brains to a body of water.  The calmer the water, the clearer the reflection.  Our minds are no different.  He states that when 'the surface thinking settles, it becomes much easier to see the contents of the mind.'

We live in a busy world and we must do what it takes to calm our minds to let our creativity flow. Today, won't you please take time for yourself, even if it's just a few minutes.  Be still, and let your mind be open to all that is around you.  

Time Marches On

by Leigh

Before I begin….just a word of thanks for all the love on my last post.  It was much appreciated and much needed. Thank you.

Now onto the matter at hand.  Time.  What feelings come up when you hear the word time?  Not enough? Too little? My heart rate is increasing already! I feel like I'm always in a hurry or rushing around to get those little checks marked off on my to do list.  My days are being dictated by checking off boxes and to be honest…I'm getting a little tired of it.  We live in such a fast paced world and we are constantly fight the clock.  I don't know about you, but the more I fight the more I don't get things done.  I feel defeated and can't seem to find that extra time that I'm so desperately looking for.  And then an article arrived in my inbox the other day that helped to change my perspective on time. 

To paraphrase the article…..With most everything in life, we must remember to take a step back and reflect on our routine.  Find those reasons that we are always in a rush.  If you tell (or more importantly allow) yourself to have all the time in the world, you'll find that everything just falls into place.

It's all about allowing ourselves to have control over our lives and not letting time control us. I have a friend who has a good grasp on this concept.  She commits to scheduling in time for herself.  She has a color coded system in her planner (which is such a great idea) and one color is for "me time".  It was really eye opening to me to look at her week and see all the various colors and how often that "me time" color shows up daily.  That along with prioritizing our to do list and spreading things out over the course of a week instead of trying to jam pack everything into one day can be helpful.  When we put too many things on our daily to do list we are just setting ourselves up for failure. If we make time to rest our body and treat it right, we will perform better.  Try scheduling in things like meditation, exercise, coffee with a friend just like you would paying bills or a doctor appointment.  Louise Hay says, "once we do things that are right for our body and minds, we have all the time in the world. We exhaust ourselves on things that don't matter or aren't good for us, so we don't end up having time for things that are good for us.  Managing and gaining control of your time will allow you to do the stuff you love and feel accomplished at the same time.  You have as much time as you give yourself." (That right there is my A-HA MOMENT!)  

Louise suggests an affirmation: I create my own security by trusting the process of life.

Finding Time

by Judy

"Time is a created thing. 

To say 'I don't have time,' is like

saying, 'I don't want to."

-Lao Tzu-

In a recent chat with my husband, I mentioned that I never seemed to have time anymore to do what I want to do each day.  Sure, I made the time to do the things I needed to do, but I didn't feel like I was ever doing what I loved to do. And then it hit me.....here I was just sitting on the sofa in our family room, chatting with my husband as we both half watched the evening news. I realized that there was probably some time in my day, maybe a lot of time in my day, that I was wasting instead of doing what I love.  

Now, before I go any further I want to say that I completely believe in down time.  Time where you can just sit and do absolutely nothing if you so desire  - or chat with your husband and half watch the news. But I realized that there were so many things in my days that sucked the living daylights out of my time.  And I realized that there are large chunks of my days where I am the one in control of my time. I knew that I could do better.  I knew that I could find some time to do the things I loved instead of just griping about having no time at all.

This is what I did:

1. I made a short list of what I really wished I could fit into each day, or at the very least, several times a week that I just wasn't finding the time for.  My list =  Photography, yoga, reading, and finding time again for my personal blog. 

2. Then I opened a blank page in my journal and sketched out a week...seven squares labeled Monday through Friday.  (saner people may just get a calendar and do this step that way).  For me, taking the time to sketch it out seemed to make it more important.  

3. Next I wrote a list of the things I do in my "free time" that are time wasters.  My list = Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the internet in general, and TV watching when I really have no interest in what is on.  

4.  Then I scheduled my "want to do's" in my weekly calendar.  I scheduled my "have to do's" around my "want to do's." Now my "want to do's" had their own specific day and time to be done  - very important for someone like me who loves lists and schedules. And what an eye-opener!  I realized I did have plenty of time separate from the things I have to do each day.  Believe me - plenty of time! And I still left free time to sit and do absolutely nothing too!  

Do you ever feel like you don't have time for the fun things in your life? Try what I did. I think that you will be amazed at just how much time is spent doing things that you're not enjoying, and that are wasting a lot of your precious time.  It worked for me! We are all given the same amount of time each day.  24 hours. 1440 minutes. 86,400 seconds. How will you find time to do what you love? 

"The bad news is, time flies.

The good news is, you're the pilot."