Discussion Forum > My Favourite New Task
Alan, I love this; it is like a free-form meditation that is flexible to wherever your mind wants to be. Thanks.
November 12, 2018 at 4:49 |
Maureen
Maureen
«SPACE is the task where I make space in my day to do nothing. The above suggestions were all about things to Do, but SPACE is a Do Not.»
Alan, may I call you Yoda from now on?
On a more serious note, yes, what you describe is important. I do this first thing in the morning and call it journaling. Later in the day I do have phases of exactly what you describe. It's a very important piece of the puzzle!
Alan, may I call you Yoda from now on?
On a more serious note, yes, what you describe is important. I do this first thing in the morning and call it journaling. Later in the day I do have phases of exactly what you describe. It's a very important piece of the puzzle!
November 12, 2018 at 9:40 |
Christopher
Christopher
Alan Baljeu:
I actually do this a lot, but I call it THINKING.
I actually do this a lot, but I call it THINKING.
November 12, 2018 at 14:06 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I tried the word Thinking but it didnt stick because it's not always about Thinking, and it's definitely not a directed Thining About .... In my line of work, thinking is a recular activity and it is a problem solving endeavor. In this SPACE task, it is not thst at all. It's more about awareness of what is going on.
November 13, 2018 at 15:54 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu:
I mean that I do what you describe as "Space" but I call it "Thinking". I don't mean that I do what you describe as "thinking". I would call that "Think about... [subject].
And btw in what sense are you using the word "recular"?
I mean that I do what you describe as "Space" but I call it "Thinking". I don't mean that I do what you describe as "thinking". I would call that "Think about... [subject].
And btw in what sense are you using the word "recular"?
November 13, 2018 at 17:26 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Sorry, Regular.
November 13, 2018 at 17:37 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Alan, I like this. Great addition to your list.
I added "rest" to my list on Sunday. I decided I just needed to sit down and do nothing, so I wrote it on my list and did nothing. It was great. I'll have to give "space" or "thinking" a try.
I added "rest" to my list on Sunday. I decided I just needed to sit down and do nothing, so I wrote it on my list and did nothing. It was great. I'll have to give "space" or "thinking" a try.
November 13, 2018 at 20:04 |
Cameron
Cameron
I like this! Every meditation teacher I've had, especially the ones who emphasize formal meditation, says that taking moments like this is important. Taking moments when you have the opportunity, and especially noticing when it would be helpful, is key. Time "on the cushion" is practice for the real work.
One teacher even warns that meditation is like washing a dirty sweater, especially if we haven't done it in a while. All the dirt comes out first. We need to deal with the dirt before the sweater is clean. (Dealing can be a wide variety of things. While sitting, we observe and feel the feelings, and get back to meditating. After, though, we can often make better decisions because we see more clearly.
"As long as you feel like it." I'm experimenting with meditation beads. At first, I planned one breath per bead. That would keep me on the cushion past the initial resistance and give me an extra focus point. I found for the first bit I wanted to hurry, then I relaxed and it felt right to breathe two or even three times per bead. Now I don't count breaths per bead, just stay on each bead as long as it feels right.
I find journaling serves an overlapping purpose. They're both useful. Meditation can be done without journal and pen and desk. In meditation, we learn to trust that, if it's important, we will remember. (Even so, most teachers admit to a trick or two to help remember super important things, but they don't use it very often.) Journaling filters everything through the logical mind. Meditation turns off our logical mind, so we can sit with our feelings. (There are ways of journaling that give our emotional mind a stronger voice, such as art and writing with our off hand.) I often combine the two. Write about today's events and/or prompts and meditate on them (eg take the time to feel the gratitude I wrote about). Write about what came up during meditation (since it's clearly bothering me). It's an interesting cycle.
One teacher even warns that meditation is like washing a dirty sweater, especially if we haven't done it in a while. All the dirt comes out first. We need to deal with the dirt before the sweater is clean. (Dealing can be a wide variety of things. While sitting, we observe and feel the feelings, and get back to meditating. After, though, we can often make better decisions because we see more clearly.
"As long as you feel like it." I'm experimenting with meditation beads. At first, I planned one breath per bead. That would keep me on the cushion past the initial resistance and give me an extra focus point. I found for the first bit I wanted to hurry, then I relaxed and it felt right to breathe two or even three times per bead. Now I don't count breaths per bead, just stay on each bead as long as it feels right.
I find journaling serves an overlapping purpose. They're both useful. Meditation can be done without journal and pen and desk. In meditation, we learn to trust that, if it's important, we will remember. (Even so, most teachers admit to a trick or two to help remember super important things, but they don't use it very often.) Journaling filters everything through the logical mind. Meditation turns off our logical mind, so we can sit with our feelings. (There are ways of journaling that give our emotional mind a stronger voice, such as art and writing with our off hand.) I often combine the two. Write about today's events and/or prompts and meditate on them (eg take the time to feel the gratitude I wrote about). Write about what came up during meditation (since it's clearly bothering me). It's an interesting cycle.
November 15, 2018 at 16:28 |
Cricket
Cricket
One practical issue I always had with long-list systems is sticking with it. The continual picking of tasks and doing them eventually made me feel run-over. When this happened, I tended to move away from the list, and just do things. Short periods sometimes stretched into longer periods, and longer periods sometimes led to abandoning systems completely.
In a recent blog post (http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2018/9/15/when-you-feel-you-are-getting-nowhere.html), Mark Forster suggested things to try:
* Work through it. It will pass.
* Take a break and do whatever you feel like for half-an-hour (timed), preferably things not work-related.
* Have some “filler” activities on your list for just this type of eventuality.
These were helpful, but ultimately lacking. Working through it ultimately reinforced the hamster wheel feeling. Taking a break to do a not-work activity was nice, but I wasn't always ready to resume after. Filler chores are great ways to take a short detour and get stuff done, but too much of those would feel like churn. Meanwhile "fun" fillers tended to be momentum killing.
But I've found a new task that really works. It took some time to get it precise, and then more time to truly name it: SPACE.
SPACE is the task where I make space in my day to do nothing. The above suggestions were all about things to Do, but SPACE is a Do Not.
As I do nothing, I am free to think about anything, everything, or nothing. By 'think', I mean contemplate more than cogitate. In making SPACE to think, my mind decompresses, stress reduces. Whatever is pressing on my mind I let flow.
If I need to think about key things, I do: work obligations, what the rest of my day should be like, how my work is progressing. The point is not to solve problems, but to let my thoughts flow. If I think finance, it's only because that's on my mind already. Or, maybe finance isn't pressing, and I think about wallpaper, rain, that cat. Doesn't matter, it's free time. Whatever comes to mind.
If I think of something that needs to be done, I add it to the list, but I don't do it (aside from minuscule tasks which when done free up mental SPACE).
A frequent outcome of SPACE is a better awareness of what things I need to get done. If time is pressing, I will move on to advance to those tasks that need doing. The time out can help me rebalance my efforts. As with every other task, SPACE lasts as long as I feel like, which for me varies between 30 seconds and 30 minutes, usually on the shorter side.