For the past 3 weeks I have been procrastinating horribly about writing my blog. In fact, it's gotten to the point where I am beyond being completely annoyed with myself. A couple of friends have asked recently whether I've posted anything new. No, I tell them, I've been procrastinating, I add lamely. In a moment of brilliance I add, hey, that's what I'll write about. Procrastinating, it's something I'm really good at!
So here's my list. I have put off several writing projects I am committed to, not made some phone calls to folks who are waiting to hear from me. I have pushed off confirming a training commitment and postponed setting up a meeting I'm responsible for. The list is long and indicting.
It's not that I haven't been busy. We went camping with family, attended a nephew's wedding. I have read some really good books, networked professionally. Lot's of domestic chores needed my attention, mostly revolving around the farmer's co-op and fish co-op that we are part of. Every week I am challenged by what to do with a 15 pound whole cod or other denizen of the deep. I have seen more vegetables that I don't recognize and gotten really creative about zucchini, beans, corn, you name it. I've become a regular Julia.
My dilemma is more about what I have left undone and pushed off. My mother-in-law Zwart used to tell her kids when they wailed, "but Ma, I don't feel like it!" to make some feeling for it and do it. That's the same ethic I was brought up with. Isn't that what it means to be a responsible adult, to do things that need doing whether we actually feel like it or not?
Today was a turning point. I got lots done. I moved some of the big stones. It feels great! I could not stand my own procrastination any more. The weather broke. I moved my computer to the table, sat in a harder chair. Picked up the phone and worked my list. I can't really point to any one thing that galvanized me.
In reflecting on the whole process, here's what I thought about. I read the words of two writers. Both made me think about how to deal with the dones and undones. Both are writers from the Old Testament. The first is thought to be written by King Solomon in his book called Ecclesiastes. He writes that "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." So far, I am thinking that it's OK to leave some things undone for a while and emphasize others. Then I read from the Prophet Micah in his book with the same name, that this is what is required of me: "...to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God." So that is the criteria I must measure my dones and undones by.
So where does that leave a procrastinating soul like me? Indeed, some of things I have neglected I am guilty about. That has to be taken care of. Other things on my list have fallen to a less urgent place and that's OK. Time for some other things to be emphasized.
What about you? What gets you motivated and doing the things that need to be done? Am I the only big-P wrestler out there?
August 25, 2009
July 22, 2009
Time after time
Rich's grandfather's clock has come to live with us. Its tall, handsome presence ticks out the minutes and notes the quarter, half and hour with precision and a melodic chime. Day in and day out. Steadfastly it reminds us of each minute passing. It is keeping track for us, as it did for grandfather in Toronto, and later mother in her various abodes. Now it is doing the same for us. Rich smiles when it strikes and says it reminds him of his childhood. I smile too because it reminds me of the mantle clock my parents had.
The clock, or Big Ben as I have come to call it, has got me thinking about time. The time of our lives. Make the most of the time. A Wrinkle in Time. To every season there is a time. ASAP - I want it now, no, yesterday, rarely tomorrow. Do we have time? How much time is left? Let's get there on time. Sometime.
How many times have you heard, "don't waste your time." I've been taught to use my time wisely although I can't say I always do. We rarely know how much time we have left, do we?
I'm trying to make the most of the time away from work I have this summer. I'm trying not to worry about tomorrow or next week. I'm trying to fill each minute Big Ben ticks off with a sense of accomplishment. Even when I'm relaxing I'm trying to relax well. To expand the moments so they're filled right up. Not always with activity but with the kind of inactivity that gives me time to think. A time to think and a time to refrain from thinking. Now that's a gift.
The clock, or Big Ben as I have come to call it, has got me thinking about time. The time of our lives. Make the most of the time. A Wrinkle in Time. To every season there is a time. ASAP - I want it now, no, yesterday, rarely tomorrow. Do we have time? How much time is left? Let's get there on time. Sometime.
How many times have you heard, "don't waste your time." I've been taught to use my time wisely although I can't say I always do. We rarely know how much time we have left, do we?
I'm trying to make the most of the time away from work I have this summer. I'm trying not to worry about tomorrow or next week. I'm trying to fill each minute Big Ben ticks off with a sense of accomplishment. Even when I'm relaxing I'm trying to relax well. To expand the moments so they're filled right up. Not always with activity but with the kind of inactivity that gives me time to think. A time to think and a time to refrain from thinking. Now that's a gift.
June 29, 2009
A time to plan and a time to execute
My thoughts lately have been running like this - if I fast forward this time of unemployment to the time I will again be employed, what will I say I have accomplished? Hmmmm. You could ask yourself the same question any time actually. Fast forward your life by one, two or five years and ask "what have I accomplished?" To make the exercise more immediate, try substituting the word "year" for ""week" or "month." It's an interesting exercise in thinking critically about how you spend your time and where you see yourself tomorow or next month or next year.
We all have the same 24-hours of time each day. Sometimes I feel very accomplished because I've gotten a lot done, and other times, feel rather discouraged because I have nothing to show for my day.
Right now I have the gift of time. So the challenge is to construct my day in such a way that at the end of it, I can feel some satisfaction. For me this means thinking ahead to what I want to have done in the future, sometimes months away or sometimes later the same day. I need to work towards a goal, have a purpose.
When I get discouraged about the job search, which can be really tedious at times, I try to think about what I want for the future - meaningful and satisfying employment. So then the lists I make are made in the context of the bigger picture. The networking I do has a purpose.
Putting things into a broader perspective helps to give purpose and focus to what I'm doing right now. It also helps me to determine whether what I'm spending my time on is part of my overall raison d'etre. One of Stephen Covey's 7 habits is to begin with the end in mind. That sounds sort of logical, dosen't it? But you'd be surprised how often the final step in getting somewhere is left out. Have you ever flown to a new city, knowing your general destination but not the final piece of critical info to a successful arrival. I have. Or how about working away at some project only to discover it's not really what you wanted or needed in the first place? I have.
Beginning with the end in mind is useful as I think about what I'm doing with my time. It's good to reflect. There's also a time to do. You need a healthy balance of both. A time to plan and a time to execute.
We all have the same 24-hours of time each day. Sometimes I feel very accomplished because I've gotten a lot done, and other times, feel rather discouraged because I have nothing to show for my day.
Right now I have the gift of time. So the challenge is to construct my day in such a way that at the end of it, I can feel some satisfaction. For me this means thinking ahead to what I want to have done in the future, sometimes months away or sometimes later the same day. I need to work towards a goal, have a purpose.
When I get discouraged about the job search, which can be really tedious at times, I try to think about what I want for the future - meaningful and satisfying employment. So then the lists I make are made in the context of the bigger picture. The networking I do has a purpose.
Putting things into a broader perspective helps to give purpose and focus to what I'm doing right now. It also helps me to determine whether what I'm spending my time on is part of my overall raison d'etre. One of Stephen Covey's 7 habits is to begin with the end in mind. That sounds sort of logical, dosen't it? But you'd be surprised how often the final step in getting somewhere is left out. Have you ever flown to a new city, knowing your general destination but not the final piece of critical info to a successful arrival. I have. Or how about working away at some project only to discover it's not really what you wanted or needed in the first place? I have.
Beginning with the end in mind is useful as I think about what I'm doing with my time. It's good to reflect. There's also a time to do. You need a healthy balance of both. A time to plan and a time to execute.
June 10, 2009
Sorting through all that information
One of my favourite bloggers recently wrote about gen Y being the generation of information synthesisers. She wrote that rather than being overwhelmed with information, the gen Y'er is able to take in a lot of information sources at the same time, multitask, focus on what's important and let the rest go. That's the function of an active, curious mind. It's someone who has a clear framework to search for and absorb information, sort through what's valuable and discard the rest. Penelope Trunk's blog (http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/) gets my brain going.
Her blog reminds me of a book I read in the 80's The Big Generation, Here they come...seven million Canadians are changing the face of the nation, by John Kettle. He predicted an economy based on information 30 years ago. He wrote that unless people found some way to participate in that economy, they would be left behind, become isolated and bored. John Kettle didn't say too much about the technology that would help bring in the information, sort it, organize it, and discard what was too much or not interesting. Being skilled in using technology is one key to managing the information out there. The other is having the wisdom to discern what's useful and what's not. That's the challenge for gen X and Y and the BIG generation, as John Kettle called boomers.
There is a lot of information out there for job seekers. In fact so much, that one can easily spend the entire day looking at information about jobs. The search itself can become the raison d'etre rather than the means to an end. It's easy, safe and can be pretty comfortable searching the web all day. The challenge is to take it to the next level. Do something with the information. Apply your personal filters so it becomes helpful to you. Take action!
My filters come from what I know about myself, my skills and interests and experience. I depend on my interactions with friends and colleagues, other bloggers and writers to stimulate my thinking, help me focus and test out my strengths. My blog helps me formulate my thoughts and keeps me accountable. On a deeper spiritual level, I frame my search in the form of a question, God, where do you want to use me? What are your filters?
Her blog reminds me of a book I read in the 80's The Big Generation, Here they come...seven million Canadians are changing the face of the nation, by John Kettle. He predicted an economy based on information 30 years ago. He wrote that unless people found some way to participate in that economy, they would be left behind, become isolated and bored. John Kettle didn't say too much about the technology that would help bring in the information, sort it, organize it, and discard what was too much or not interesting. Being skilled in using technology is one key to managing the information out there. The other is having the wisdom to discern what's useful and what's not. That's the challenge for gen X and Y and the BIG generation, as John Kettle called boomers.
There is a lot of information out there for job seekers. In fact so much, that one can easily spend the entire day looking at information about jobs. The search itself can become the raison d'etre rather than the means to an end. It's easy, safe and can be pretty comfortable searching the web all day. The challenge is to take it to the next level. Do something with the information. Apply your personal filters so it becomes helpful to you. Take action!
My filters come from what I know about myself, my skills and interests and experience. I depend on my interactions with friends and colleagues, other bloggers and writers to stimulate my thinking, help me focus and test out my strengths. My blog helps me formulate my thoughts and keeps me accountable. On a deeper spiritual level, I frame my search in the form of a question, God, where do you want to use me? What are your filters?
June 04, 2009
Exploring new territory
Last time I spoke about wanting to make a difference. I haven't changed my mind on that. Some of the best work I have done has been working with groups who are stuck on something, an issue or a problem and encouraging them to create a safe place for themselves in order to really "lean in" and be honest with each other. When I can help facilitate that movement, then I feel I've made a difference.
Now it's time for me to lean in and honestly explore this new territory of finding just the right fit. Like many people, I want to help. I am a good listener and ask good questions. I don't like to toot my own horn, yet I encourage others to go for it!
Right now I am meeting with a small group of women who meet for an hour bi-weekly in order to develop some accountability for their own progress over each 2-week period. Each of the women is "going for it". They have found their passion, in some cases have left other jobs, in order to do what they love. Meeting regularly provides a place to share the ups and downs of that pursuit. Give yourself a place where you can be supported in your journey. Let me know if this works for you.
Now it's time for me to lean in and honestly explore this new territory of finding just the right fit. Like many people, I want to help. I am a good listener and ask good questions. I don't like to toot my own horn, yet I encourage others to go for it!
Right now I am meeting with a small group of women who meet for an hour bi-weekly in order to develop some accountability for their own progress over each 2-week period. Each of the women is "going for it". They have found their passion, in some cases have left other jobs, in order to do what they love. Meeting regularly provides a place to share the ups and downs of that pursuit. Give yourself a place where you can be supported in your journey. Let me know if this works for you.
June 01, 2009
Stepping out
So this is how my blog will begin - by stepping out of my comfort zone big time. I plan to write about my experience of being unemployed at 60 and trying to figure out what will be next. My husband tells me it is time for my opus. What he means is that now is the time. The time to bring it all together. Do something that makes use of my talent, interests and passion. And that's exactly what I'm going to figure out.
Fortunately, I have the gift of time right now. I'm trying to use it wisely. I have the time to think, to write, to study, and talk to lots of people who are doing some really cool things. Networking has never been my favourite thing to do. Being on the introvert side of the scale, it takes some courage, discipline and planning to get out there and make connections. When I do though, it usually goes just fine. No one has refused to talk to me yet. The helpful thing about talking is that it helps me clarify what I want to do. Kind of selfish. People ask, "So, what do you do?" and I need to come up with something. Each time my message rings a little truer and its shape gets more defined.
Does it matter to you what you do and how you do it? It does to me. I want to make a difference in this world.
Fortunately, I have the gift of time right now. I'm trying to use it wisely. I have the time to think, to write, to study, and talk to lots of people who are doing some really cool things. Networking has never been my favourite thing to do. Being on the introvert side of the scale, it takes some courage, discipline and planning to get out there and make connections. When I do though, it usually goes just fine. No one has refused to talk to me yet. The helpful thing about talking is that it helps me clarify what I want to do. Kind of selfish. People ask, "So, what do you do?" and I need to come up with something. Each time my message rings a little truer and its shape gets more defined.
Does it matter to you what you do and how you do it? It does to me. I want to make a difference in this world.
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