A new year begins and with it endless possibilities and choices for the present and future. I received a lovely present in the post today. A calendar of photos which captured moments from a holiday I had in Italy last year, was hand delivered. Only twelve seconds were captured and yet so much more time, emotion, thoughts and friendships are held in those seconds. How many lifetimes do we humans live in a second? If we were to capture 60 seconds of delight, joy and enjoyment that we experienced in a day how much richer would we be, I wonder.
I have also been delighting in the daily photos and videos that I receive via email of my great niece born last month in Scotland. I see her face change as she takes in her environment and the actions and voices of those who engage with her. I enjoy very much all of the seconds that I watch her. The magic of the internet to be so close to someone and at the same time thousands of miles away. Amazing.
I have just finished reading a book by Peter Bregman titled: 18 Minutes. Find your focus, master distraction and get the right things done (2011). So many gems in each page, some resonating very strongly for me in that second of reading. Let me share a couple: “Don’t settle for being less than you are. It won’t serve others and it won’t serve you” and “When you say no mean it, and you won’t needlessly lose your time”.
The chapters are short, direct and pull no punches. The choices we make affect our lives and the lives of those we are in relationship with. The choices will be clearer when we give some time (18 minutes) each day to ourselves to reflect on what we want the focus of our lives to be.
And how about this one from Peter – multitasking: there is no such thing. It is not possible for human brains to multitask. Rather our brains switch-task. Peter proposes (based on research he has read) that productivity goes down as much as 40% when we “multitask”. You know writing emails, answering phone calls, talking with someone in the office, all happening at the same time. Then we wonder “how come I feel so tired at the end of the working day”. So this year I will be focusing on at least 60 seconds of delight, joy, and enjoyment each day. Building that up with the 17 mins, where I can focus on creative “me” time.
This photo was taken in the fabulous city of Venice June 2014. I did not have the power to stop the cruise ship from leaving, I do however have the power to create 60 seconds of delight, joy, and enjoyment.
Until my next blog post,
Regards,
Wendy
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