Friday Toon 6 November 2015

 

When I drew this cartoon, I was drawing on many moments of creative procrastination.  Being “busy” with illegitimate tasks is the cousin of sitting around doing nothing.  Both help us avoid our purpose and passion.

It’s a time of getting things done.  As I’ve been trying to focus more of my efforts in towards those things that matter, I keep coming across tips to write to-do lists and to identify what it is we need to do. The trouble is, the silverware drawer is never more tidy than when something WORSE needs to be done ( like scheduling a root canal, taxes, giant expense report for the boss, etc).      It’s then that we get distracted with all kinds of suddenly VERY important missions.

I totally relate to having some pressing, timely and important thing to do and suddenly being possessed with an all encompassing desire to know how tall Hervez Villachaize was  (3’10”), or how long alligators can grow to.   Even when we DO get focused on our real to-do list, the procrastination demon can strike again and make distractions like email, texts, and other tasks rise up.

The thing that has helped me more is not just to make a to-do list. (I’m GREAT at making to-do lists, and I couldn’t live without ‘em – but sometimes they sit there stacked with things that never get checked off)   What works even better for someone working on multiple projects, deadlines or goals is to have a special separate list of the 1-3 MOST IMPORTANT things and to commit to focusing distraction free blocks of time just on those.   You will likely have time to do a lot more things, but those three are the ones you want to do no matter what!

I’m going to write more on some of the methods/tools/apps  I’ve come across later,  but trying this tip out over the last two weeks thanks to an app called Fabulous, it  has really helped me refine what is and isn’t important for the day.

 

Have a great weekend!

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Multi-Tasking Fae; Card of the Week 2 November, 2015

 

Once again – some great synchronicity!   I love this card. It’s funny, over the weekend I’ve been thinking about how this month’s theme is really about getting things done.

Many of us are in an intense period of ramping up effort to change our lives in a significant and meaningful way, or because we have a big endeavour that is finally taking shape.  Many people are feeling that things absolutely MUST change because they can’t, absolutely can’t, go on as they have been! Something has to give.   November and December are months of really stepping up our game and starting to create our vision in a focused way that impacts real life.   2016 is going to be really big, and we’re getting ready now… and we have to be focused and productive.

This card is all about multi-tasking!  Most of us think we’re working so hard and doing so many things that we’re bewildered when we don’t see the ‘cookie’ or the reward for having done such a bang up job of being busy.   (“Where is what I’m looking for?”)   when in reality we’ve been taking on a lot of jobs and energies (and doing tons of things simultaneously)  that make us feel like we’ve worked hard but not necessarily on what we need to.  It also makes it difficult to be consistent with the very actions that would lead us to what we wish to accomplish.

Here we see the fairies zipping around doing a million different things; gathering twigs, studying sea-shells, showing off paintings, brokering deals, learning archery, hustling, toting and going.  There’s so much to do and only so many hours in the day – if we try to “do it all” we end up not enjoying, or feeling truly connected with anything that we’re doing.

Creative energy can be wonderful, but it can also make for creative burnout if we try to do too much of even a good thing. Not only that, it’s all too easy to put our energy into activities that aren’t really the most important ones.    This week, it’s time to get some focus and balance!

There’s no such thing as “multi-tasking.”   Multi-tasking is a myth.  I know… I hear some of you object, “No! I’m an *excellent* multi-tasker.  It’s on my resume!”   but recent studies in neuroscience are proving that our brains can’t actually focus on things simultaneously, we can just switch from one task to another quickly  (or in the case of some of us, not so quickly).

Switching back and forth quickly might seem to be a cool slight of hand to those who can appear to do it, but it isn’t very sustainable and doesn’t give us the results we want.  It’s possible to sit at the piano and  play a Bach piece by rote and read a magazine on the music stand at the same time…..  (don’t ask how I know this lol )    but you can only play in the most mechanical and unemotional way, and barely absorb the words you’re reading.

This week,  allowing yourself to focus on one thing at a time (as well as  more  on those most important tasks and elements of your being) will allow you to be consistent in your efforts and not to fall prey to the ego trick of, “Well I tried that for a day or so and it didn’t work!” or giving up too quickly when we don’t seem to see a reward. We can teach ourselves that real change doesn’t come from scattered or singular attempts to change but repetition, consistency and ingrained new habits.

It’s a great week to do some exploring:   What do I really need to have on my to-do list? What energies can I set aside completely … or just for a few minutes as I work on a block of time for the MOST important thing?      Remember… if you focus your energy on one thing at a time you’ll find that you’re enjoying all the things you have to do and much more able to get everything you want done.

 

I’m going to be doing some extra posts on this topic this month and also posting some other tips and resources here and on my FB page.  Have an awesome week!!

 

 

About this deck:    The  Victorian Fairy Tarot  by Lunaea Weatherstone and Gary Lippincott, published by Llewellyn,  is one of the most beautifully painted and illustrated tarot decks ever created.  Even if you’re not into “fairies” – this one is worth it just for the artwork