What I’m going to share with you is one of the most powerful ways to get your time and energy back under control. If you’re looking for more of the old school approach such as prioritizing your time and so there are dozens of books you can buy on it but what I’m covering here is so much more life transforming than that.
You see, I discovered awhile ago that productivity and energy levels are dynamically linked. If you’re energy levels are low or fluctuating, then even the smallest of tasks or obstacles can feel overwhelming and send your productivity spiraling downwards.
Whereas when your energy levels are high, your capacity to handle things grows which makes it easier for you to stay productive and handle obstacles almost effortlessly.
It’s All About The Power of Now
The best way to get the most out of your time is really be fully present in whatever you are doing. The opposite of this is to allow yourself to be easily distracted.
When this happens your energy gets pulled in many directions which can have a draining effect on your mind and body, not to mention mess with your focus and ability to get things done in a timely way.
Being fully present has many huge benefits for you on so many levels. One of the most important being that your energy can be channeled in just one direction which enables you to have improved focus, clarity, drive, motivation and get more done with seemingly less effort.
The alternative to this is to dwell on the past or worry about the future either of which take you out of the present moment and waste minutes, hours or days obsessing over things that are no longer relevant or may never happen.
The habit of dragging up the past and replaying old tapes in your head that make you feel bad or getting anxious about a future life that hasn’t happened yet, is deeply ingrained in most of us. It’s not until we change these habits that you can expect to be able to manage your time or your life better.
To begin to change this pattern, you need to bring your mind back to the present by asking, ‘What is happening right now?’ For example, you may be sitting in a chair feeling overwhelmed by the task you have ahead of you. To bring yourself into the present moment ask yourself the question and the answer would simply be a reality check, ‘I am sitting in a chair’.
Nothing else is happening, except you are sitting in a chair, breathing and thinking about things. However, it’s important to note that your thoughts can never be in the present moment because that’s not the way the mind works. It is a linear mechanism that is always past or future focused. The moment that your mind becomes aware of the present it ceases to be.
In other words, those moments when your mind stops is when you create a space inside your head that instantly opens up to calmness and clarity. You have had many of these moments in your life and they always feel the same, peaceful.
It’s like a wave of calm and relaxation comes over you and just for a moment the chatter in your head stops and everything goes quiet. Then the magic happens and everything that was burdening you disappears as if it never existed.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do this on command? Imagine if in a day filled with chaos you could find inner peace whenever you wanted. It’s after these moments that your energy levels and productivity soar.
Well, here’s how you can do it right now.
Stop and Listen Exercise
Right now, if you were to drop all the chatter in your head and sit quietly with your eyes closed for 1 minute and do nothing but listen to the sounds around you without any judgment you would notice that when you open your eyes again your body and mind is very calm and relaxed. Try it now.
How can this happen so easily if all those things that are causing you to feel pressured are affecting you so much? The answer is that they are not affecting you at all. In fact, your natural state is to be calm and at peace. While your mind is focused on your so called problems it is distracting you from this natural state of harmony.
Of course it can take awhile to change the way your mind focuses on life’s challenges so don’t expect it to happen overnight. In the meantime start developing the habit of doing the stop and listen exercise for 60 seconds whenever you remember.
This will instantly re-energize you and give you a moment’s reprieve from the daily insanity, while helping to keep your mind clear and your productivity soaring.
