Through meditation and mindfulness, you can relieve stress, boost creativity and find you have more time in each day. And, by clearing your mind, you make space for decision-making clarity and remove thoughts that would usually serve as barriers to your best ideas.
The movement called ‘Living Timefully’, led by author and teacher of mindfulness Tom Evans, is mindfulness with time management at its core, which suggests the following seven, time-full and mind-full ways to take control of the passage of time.
Key 1: Meditate Daily
It is thought that every minute spent in the meditative state gets added back to your life. You either save any time spent by having a better day or add a minute to your longevity. When you learn to enter the meditative state with your eyes open, time bends and stretches so you get more done in less time.
Key 2: Make A Date With Your Creative Self
Each and every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes, a date with your Creative Self is like a supercharge for the mind, body and soul. You might write ‘morning pages’, pick up a guitar and strum or visit an art gallery. Just going for a walk in the park, and, imagining the most amazing future, counts too.
Key 3: Trust Your Gut And Follow Your Heart
Your head ‘shouts’ quite loudly. So much so that sometimes the signals from your gut and heart get overlooked and overruled. So, for each decision you have to make, ask your gut for a Yes or a No. Next ask your heart if it is cold, lukewarm or boiling hot about it. If your gut and heart give you the green light, proceed with gusto. If not, ask them what would have to change in order to get their blessing.
Key 4: Create A To Love List
It’s said when you love the work you do, you never work as such again. So ditch your To Do list and start a To Love list. At the top, put the things you love to do first and tackle your list from the top down. If there are things on there you don’t like doing so much, either outsource them or be creative about how you could love doing them.
Key 5: Sync With Natural Time
Our modern calendar has caused us to fall out of sync with natural time. Your creativity waxes and wanes with the seasons, the phase of the Moon and the hours in each day. When you discover your naturally creative times, you go with the flow and stop pushing water up a temporal hill.
Key 6: Be Thankful
At the end of each day, either in a journal or just in your head as it hits the pillow, reflect on the highlights of your day. As you drop off into slumber, say one last ‘Thank You’ for the day, and to your bed for giving you a good night’s sleep.
Key 7: Perform A Random Act Of Kindness
When you get into the habit of performing a random of kindness to a stranger each day, something rather magical happens. Other people, who weren’t aware of your act or the recipient of your act, perform similar kindnesses to you. The ratio of kindnesses is more than two bestowed back on you for everyone you give out. The result is massive time saving.