Working Toward Being

I wondered upon a new blog today via Fiona Robyn’s planting words: Hospitality and chocolate spread.  These words struck a chord with something deep inside me…

Ways to avoid hovering between resting and doing:

1. Set time aside for both resting and doing.

2. Rest in one place, work in another.

3. When working on a computer only open the programs (and windows) that are absolutely necessary for the work being done (preferably one!)

4. If you don’t need the internet while you’re working turn it off!

5. Know what you’re doing before you start (ie plan your work in advance and your rest activities too).

6. Focus on what you planned to do, for as long as you planned to do it (short bursts of activity work best and are easier to stay focused for).

7. Set a timer to help you stay focused (20 minutes is a good length of time).

8. Take regular work breaks. They give you something to aim at (and make sure you take yourself away from your work for your break).

9. Plan a treat for when you finish you day’s tasks (and make sure you don’t try and plan too much or do more than you plan).

via Learning to not hover between resting and doing | Sustainably Creative by Michael Nobbs.

A lot of the above reminds me of what it was that attracted me so many years ago to The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing’s Sixty Years of Self-Sufficient Living.

See also: Fiona Robyn; A Year Of Questions: How to slow down and fall in love with life