The Happiness Project: Do Nothing

As I started to write this post I was trying to do too much at once.  What’s too much?  I was trying to read the prompt for this post while also catching up on email and watching the Grammy Awards from last weekend.  Yeah.  Too much.  I realized this and shut off the TV instantly.  Focus!

I’m having a crazy week.  A wonderful week that includes new babies (not mine) and big personal changes, but crazy.  This has been frustrating for me on one level, though, because last week I did a lot of work on my schedule and my organization.  Having this much chaos in my own brain/life after dedicating a lot of energy to downsizing my chaos feels a bit like slamming my thumb in the car door.   No wait- I’ve done that. That was way worse. Things are great!

The prompt this week from the ladies at Chronically Distracted reads:

• What are your biggest personal barriers to PROGRESS? 
• Fear?  Time?  Opportunity?  Discipline?  Knowledge? 
• Would *you* commit to setting a do nothing rule in order to achieve your goals?

(In case you aren’t in sync with these awesome ladies, they are referencing this post from The Happiness Project blog written by Gretchen Rubin.)

My answer?  Time.  I feel like a court jester, juggling little blocks of the day that are intended for one thing and then a kink happens somewhere and the time gets dropped or *gasp* disappears entirely (where did that naptime go?).  Time is amazing because it can pass so quickly and so slowly, yet it always passes.  I feel that 9 times out of 10 I find myself chasing time more than any other element of my day.

I actually have tried the “do nothing” rule without knowing it.  I’ve been practicing it the last few weeks when I go to Starbucks to write and work on my blog.  When I’m at Starbucks and I’m by myself, my focus level rockets so high– it’s amazing!  I have no little fingers asking me to fix something, no mouths to fill (except my own), no phone to answer.  I close all of my browser windows except those pertaining to my work, and I WORK.  The first time I did it I came home and told my husband, “Wow!  I accomplished something!”  There were, of course, times when my brain wandered, but I did not allow myself to check Facebook or any other techno-fun things.  I worked.  I felt like an adult.  Like an intelligent adult.  I think the trick for someone with kids is to find this time, or rather, to MAKE this time for themselves.  That is tricky at times, maddening at others, but it’s part of parenthood.

I have come to a place where I am realizing that my life, at this particular time, is just plain whacky.  I am trying to do a lot of things, and it’s been stressing me out.  I have one voice nudging me a bit, saying, “Natalie, take something off your plate.  You don’t have to do all of this.”  And I have another saying, “You can do it!  You can do it ALL!”  This voice carries a set of pom-poms with it at all times.

The reality is that I can’t do it all, and I’m trying to whittle out something that will help me at least try it.   I’m aiming to share that process with you all to help demystify a bit of the premise that blogging is a perfect fit for everyone, or that bloggers have perfect lives because they work from home.

Can’t wait to see what others post today in the Happiness Project!  I’m probably going to lay low this week and not post again until next- my brain is unsettled and unfocused, so best to leave you out of that. 🙂  Happy Weekend!