Not to do list

There is so much to write about. Like the crazy life – things coming at me from all sides. Ideas that I could harvest. Stuff that I should remember. And in the midst of all this chaos, there is a still and quiet voice reminding me what is important. That voice says – what is the one thing that will make all of the difference at the moment? The one thing that will trigger so many others. Look at the list of 300 things that I could do, and decide which one.

I almost never do that. Instead of looking for impact, I tend to look for easy, for effortless, and avoid the really difficult. Don’t we all do that unless we call ourselves into check, create an inner discipline. Mind training – finding ways to get ourselves doing what contributes, rather than lazily picking up the things that are easy to do. And in a world of social media, that laziness is so easy to fall into. Time spent flicking through emails, looking at Twitter or Facebook or WhatsApp or LinkedIn. These are all useful tools in focused hands, but they are time sinks when we are tired, distracted and lack focus. Tell me something new, I hear you say. It’s only not new because we are all constantly struggling with this. I’ve written a few weeks ago about the seven minute meditation practise each morning. This is a great space in which to create that focused attention and be clear what needs to be tackled, and what can give. I’ve come across the idea in many places of a “not to do” list. I love this idea – a list of things that I won’t do. This can create a beautiful sense of discipline and eliminate unproductive stuff from our schedule. It doesn’t mean we can’t look at Facebook, but rather that we are disciplined, focused and deliberate about when we look at a particular social channel.