When you stop to realize that the reason we become hamsters on the proverbial wheel is that we do the same things as everyone else, at the same time as everyone else, every day of our lives. From last minute Christmas shopping to leaving the house late, we are a culture of procrastinators. That is exactly what causes the vast majority of our stress.
Think about it. The things we choose to do are the very things that frustrate us so much! The key word here is “choose”. The simple question is, why do we do it to ourselves? Why are you creating your own stress? Can’t get enough without creating more?
The best thing about it is that you have full control over how to change it. You are the one creating the stress and frustration, so you are the only one who can do something about it. Pretty cool, huh?
How to “flip the switch”?
Let me talk about “the magic 10 minutes”. What magical 10 minutes, you ask?
An example of this is the daily commute to work. Do you have any kind of displacement in the morning or in the afternoon? If so, you will most likely get stuck in traffic, especially if you live in a larger metropolitan area. This traffic is quite frustrating. It can stress you out. It can “make you late” (at least in your mind). It’s probably something you really don’t expect! However, it is a conscious decision that you make every day of your life to participate in this stress.
But, you can argue, I have to drive to work!
Yeah … but what if I told you that you’re doing everything wrong?
I first discovered the “magic 10 minutes” phenomenon when I had an early meeting every Thursday morning. Being in a location 45 minutes from my house, I had to drive through the city going from a busy highway to another busy highway and to another busy highway. Did I mention it was on a weekday, early in the morning? Although I, like most people in our society, am an expert in the “last minute” habit, one particular morning I found myself awake, showered, dressed, and ready to leave the house a half hour earlier than usual. Strangely, my first thought was, I can’t leave that early. “When I asked myself why not, I replied,” because I will arrive very early. “
I thought about that for a moment. Something about that didn’t sound right. Exactly what was wrong with being early, I wondered? At that point I realized that the “last minute syndrome” had so brainwashed me that I didn’t see the value of leaving a few minutes early, taking my time, and having less stress.
I put on my coat, put some things in my briefcase (of course, my things were scattered all over the dining room table because I hadn’t put them in my briefcase the night before, even though I know I needed them the next morning). and I went to my car.
Something that changed my life happened for the next 30 minutes. I discovered a window of opportunity. There were fewer cars on the road. Not only that, but I was driving the speed limit the entire time I was on the freeways. No more stopping and going. I was less stressed. Not only that, but it also took me less time to get to where I was going. How great is that!
When I arrived early at my destination, I took a few minutes to reflect on this discovery. It was so simple, so refreshing, and it gave me a “gift of time.” Don’t we look for them every day?
I started to think of other areas in my life that I could apply it to.
Here are 5 easy things I started doing that allow me a total of 2-4 hours a week of what I simply call “found time”:
1. At the end of each day, take 5 minutes to gather all the things you will need for the next day. This sounds like common sense, but how often do you find yourself scrambling for your keys, your phone, your calendar, the information you need for the meeting in an hour? By spending five minutes the night before, you can save 15 minutes each morning, not to mention avoiding starting the day running like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.
2. Do your Christmas shopping during the 10 months of the year. Do you think it gives you enough time? Avoid all the stores in November and December, and you’ll eliminate a ton of stress and self-imposed periods of time. Do you think you will miss out on the great deals? Do your Christmas shopping in January and February. They are often just as good, if not better, than the holiday sales themselves! Buy things “out of season” and you will save money, time and a lot of energy.
3. If you have a commute to work of any kind, find your “magic 10 minutes.”
4. Write down three things every day that you will do no matter what happens. Keep it simple: a quick phone call, a reply to an email, paying that bill. Get in the habit of getting things done every day. Get in the habit of checking off all those little things on your to-do list early and often, and you’ll find that you have a lot more time for the big things you want to accomplish.
5. Use the “f” word … FOCUS! Studies have shown that it takes several minutes to recover from an interruption. If you feel like you’re “putting out fires” throughout your days, schedule “focus” times. You can find 30 minutes to close your door, turn off your phone, get out of your email, etc. If you are telling yourself that you cannot do that, you are lying. Once you realize that, you achieve more in those 30 minutes than in the next 4 hours, you will never look back!
Hans Hoffman said, “The ability to simplify means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary can speak.” When you identify where you find your stress, you will find that you are creating most of it. The beauty of that is that you are the only one who can decrease it by simply modifying the things that you are already doing. Only then will you be able to find where you get your energy from. That is clarity.
Get clarity … move … get results.