Our 24 hours are not the same
Today I'm sharing some harsh truths and personal reflections with you
Today, in 5 minutes or less, you might:
Feel worried;
Feel inspired;
Feel relieved and enlightened.
Hi there! đ
I have to confess. I have been putting off writing this weekâs newsletter because the warm and sunny evenings on the terrace with my family, grilling & chilling have been so blissful I just couldn't pick up a device to do anything. As a matter of fact, I havenât planned and filmed any videos, I havenât worked on my business and I havenât even started on the workshop material that has to be ready by next Thursday đ€Instead I have been riding into work, with the motorcycle of course, because, again - the long and sunny days⊠being really efficient at work and prioritizing sleep, family time, and soaking up summer vibes.
This might sound grim, but I often think: âWhat if I died tomorrow?â. This question gives me perspective and allows me to zoom out a bit. Does this pile of laundry need my attention right now? What if I died tomorrow and the last thing I did was fold laundry⊠what if I died tomorrow and the last thing I did was say no to spending time with my family on the terrace to get some work done? Obviously, we canât always neglect laundry and work, we need those to get by, but putting ourselves into a position where we choose to neglect ourselves and our own joy and life experiences to spend time working and doing things we do not enjoy, thatâs worse than dying tomorrow.
With this said, I would be happier if I didnât spend most of my day working for someone else, but instead writing to you, building my own business, creating content, and giving back to the community by running workshops. Even if I have a fantastic job, with a ridiculous amount of flexibility and learnings I canât stop soaking up, it still feels like something keeping me away from really matters to me. I would love to be a superwoman and get to do it all, but sadly the 24 hours we get every day are not enough.
I know I should be the one telling you that itâs all possible if you only knew all the techniques and were super efficient and productive, but I advocate for healthy productivity, and with it comes some harsh realizations that might set you free of the shackles youâve put on yourself by believing that you need to do it all, that you need to be there for everything. Taking that call from your employer on a Sunday afternoon, checking and replying to emails and signing papers on your vacation, telling your employees to call you if they need anything from you while youâre on your day off. What if you died tomorrow?
I actually would like to do a book recommendation, if you havenât already read âThe Psychology of Moneyâ by Morgan Housel, read it. Yes, itâs about money, money mindset, and investing, but it also holds a lot of eye-opening learnings about how the world works. After reading this book I can honestly tell you, that Iâve gotten clarity and peace and things donât bother me as much as they used to. The other day my car's battery died while I was at a supermarket. No gas station, to buy the cords, in sight, itâs getting late, less and less cars to stop and ask for help. I would have flipped out and gotten so stressed⊠but I didnât, because I donât live in a world where everything goes according to plan. I walked for half an hour to find a gas station, bought the cords, went back to my car, stopped a nice elderly couple to help me jump-start my car, went home, hugged my kids and husband and that was that.
I know itâs super difficult to zoom out, especially if there is so much to do, and so many responsibilities, everything seems urgent and overwhelming, but it doesnât have to be. Mostly itâs your amygdala - the part of your brain that automatically detects danger. Itâs designed for survival in the wild, not the corporate and it often makes you feel like you are, in fact, in the wild running for your life, when in reality youâre missing a deadline by a few days, and in the grand scheme of things, itâs not impacting anything.
Quote of the week:
âYou can do anything, but not everythingâ
- David Allen
Feel free to reply or leave a comment - share your own take, suggest a topic, ask for advice, whatever it is, Iâm here to listen and respond.
Happy Productivity!
-Ance