Alright, I know what you're thinking.
"Way to start a Friday on a down note, Bev."
Normally I don’t like to start on such a negative-sounding
note, but hear me out.
Typically I'm one of those "glass half full" kinda gals. I'm not all sprinkles and rainbows all the time, but I’m all about framing things in the positive as much as
possible (at least in theory). Five things I want to accomplish. Five goals I have. Five things I’m looking forward to. I mean, who would want to read a blog post
entitled Five things I'm dreading?
But let’s be real, we all have things we need to stop doing, whether we say them out loud or just think them in our head.
 |
| Image credit: by Steve A Johnson on Flickr |
It doesn't matter how big or small they are, we all have them.
Having been inspired by this wonderful dig-deep-within-yourself book I just read, The Firestarter Sessions by Danielle LaPorte, this week's Friday Five is inspired by one of her exercises, which is to think of things you want to stop doing.
Ready? Here we go.
1. Checking my e-mail incessantly
Do you realized what a time-suck checking e-mail can be?
It’s such an easy way to procrastinate cause somehow I've tricked myself into thinking that it's actually productive, when in reality it just gets in the way of life a lot of times. Especially since I have a smart phone and I can check it All.The.Time.
Sure, I might think I’m good at multitasking, but the amount of energy I
use going back and forth between what I’m supposed to be doing and checking my
e-mail could be so much better spent either doing something truly productive or enjoyable. So I’m working on checking my e-mail three times a day: in the
morning, mid-day, and early evening, instead of all day. (Speaking of which, I'm going to close my Gmail tab right now!)
And along those lines...
2. Looking at social media past 9:00pm
You know when you're all set to unwind for the night, and you decide to take one last eensey weensy peek at your Facebook newsfeed, and somehow an hour manages to escape you? Yeah...I need to stop doing that. No more Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest (or email, for that matter!) past 9:00pm.
3. Writing my to-dos and ideas all over the place
Are you guilty of this as well? Jottind down to-dos and ideas in
notebooks, post-its, on your phone, and just about everywhere you can possibly
imagine, so that you can’t actually keep track of your to-do-s or your wondrously amazing ideas? I vow to better utilize Evernote and write everything down there, in a
place where not only is it centralized, but I can do a search. (Handy as those post it notes are, they don't do me very good when I don't remember where I put them!)
 |
| Maybe I should just tattoo my to-do list on my arm... Image credit: Photo by robstephaustralia on Flickr |
4. Worrying about what others think of me
This is huge for me. I waste
so much energy worrying about what others think, and it gets in the way of me putting myself out there. For some reason I need everyone to think great things about me, and heaven forbid if I do anything that could make them think any less of me. You know what? I'm going to embarrass myself sometimes, and there are going to be people who don't agree with me or who downright dislikes me. And you know what? The world around me is not going to come crashing down.
5. Thinking about all the things I need to do
Even if I had all the time in the world, my to-do list will
never be at zero. It’s just a fact of life that I have responsibilities, so
there will always be things that need to get done. But that doesn’t mean I have
to constantly be thinking about them. When I'm spending time with friends or family, relaxing, or doing something I truly enjoy, I'm going to mentally push aside that nagging little Bev in the back my mind who feels the need to constantly remind me of all the things I need to do and just enjoy the moment.
What do you want to stop doing?
I could list all five of those things too, Bev. I'd also like to stop drinking diet soda :) Returning the visit from SITS - your jewelry is beautiful!
ReplyDelete#3 is what I need to stop doing too! Notes are everywhere!!! :) Visiting from SITS. I really enjoy your blog, Bev.
ReplyDelete#1 is my biggest threat right now! I remember before having a Smartphone when I'd g
ReplyDeleteI have a rule that i only do social media until noon, and then that's it. Followed you from SITS. Have a blessed day!
ReplyDeleteI was laughing out loud at your first line, because I was thinking exactly that when I saw the title in my RSS feed!! Bwahahah! :)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously...these are AWESOME. I completely need to do EVERY SINGLE ONE except #4. As I've gotten older, that one has come naturally. I think at this point, I maybe need to care what people think more about me. ;) --Lisa
Your first three are things I need to stop doing also!! Great list!
ReplyDeleteBev, you really hit the nail with this list! I need to stop doing every single one of these things too! But I have too much fun with the social media one, I doubt I could follow through on that one! LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dana! BTW, you have the same name as my sister, so when I saw the first comment I thought it was her :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to keep everything together! I mean, when something pops into your head, you just gotta right it down somewhere, right?
ReplyDeleteOoh, I know how you feel! I was smartphone-less for a couple weeks this past fall, and while I felt a little lost at times (literally, cause there was no map on my old-school replacement phone) it was also so liberating.
ReplyDeleteThat is smart, Vicki! Wish I could hold myself to that rule...You have a wonderful day as well!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I felt like such a Debby Downer with that title, but it seems to have grabbed people's attention! That's awesome that you have conquered #4, and I don't think you should change a thing with that one, Lisa!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rabia! Good luck on those 3.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know what you mean. It's SO tempting, with all the hilarious videos and entertaining photos.
ReplyDeleteOoh, that to do list is a shocker, isn't it? I learn or do something and then discover 10 more things to put on the list. All it does is add pressure, take the fun out of it and makes me feel like I haven't progressed as far as I actually have.
ReplyDeleteAnd do not get me started on post it notes and slips of paper - I actually bought zip up envelopes just to keep them all in! But I'm on a de-clutter rampage at the moment, so if I don't use them in the first few days, I'm gonna throw them out. The moment has gone, it's passed, I'm never going to go back to read them or use them.
Great list, Bev!
Somehow, subconsciously I've been finding myself only checking my email a few times a day... I think it's mostly because I'm not working a day job at the moment so that worry that I'm missing something important isn't really there at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking that I need to utilize Evernote more... but for some reason, I keep avoiding it. I'm terrible at keeping it organized, too.
Zippered envelopes, that's a great idea! (Although, knowing me, my zippered envelopes would be all over the place as well!) Good luck with the de-clutter rempage, I go through those every so often.
ReplyDeleteI've been pretty good at using Evernote, its just that I continue to put all my to-do's in other places as well. Woops! That's great that you are able to limit your e-mail a few times a day...I don't know what I could possibly think I would miss by not checking it, especially considering how long it can take most people to get back to me. Mostly I think I do it to procrastinate.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from SITS :) I need to follow your "no social media after 9pm" rule because I am SO guilty. I'll stay up until 3am on Twitter or Facebook... it's a problem. Lovely post, and good luck with your goals! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeletexo,
Stephanie
Diary of a Debutante
www.stephanieziajka.blogspot.com
I've started to think that multi-tasking is a myth. When I shut down all of my tabs but one, and concentrate ONLY on one thing at a time, I get so much more accomplished.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good list. I definitely need to work on one and two!
ReplyDeleteI love this list! It's spot on. Simple, actionable and it really does make a difference. (although I check my email as they come in while I'm working. I'm just uber selective about who and what I respond to... then my inbox stays relatively under control throughout the day and I don't feel overwhelmed when I have 100 emails to answer after 6 hours of not checking it.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wonderful post! (Coming by from SITSGirls :)
This such a great list! I need to stop doing some of these things too. I have gotten better with writing things down since I got a new phone - everything goes on it, now. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Sharefest! I love this list.
ReplyDeleteThe Tatto'ed TODO list is pretty funny! (Please don't do that..lol)
I need to stop thinking so much when I'm in bed about what needs to be done the next day and enjoy the n night for what it is...!
Hi Bev, i love your list. I'll have to add to one of my lists. Happy Sharefest.
ReplyDeleteI will say now that I've started actually writing to-do lists, I don't find myself so concerned about the things I need to get done. Maybe just because I don't have to remember what they are rattling around loose in my head.
ReplyDeleteI'd write more, but I have to go check email... ;D (I check mine all. the. time.)
Hi Bev :) This sounds like a very positive list to me. I need to stop
ReplyDeletechecking email and social media so often too. It really is a great way
to procrastinate most of the day away. One of the things I would like to
stop doing so much is using text messages instead of calling people. A
few days ago I realized that I hardly call anyone anymore because I
spend so much time talking to them on fb and text messages but this is
not the same as hearing their voice.
I don't think I have enough energy to stay up until 3am regardless of what I'm doing ;-) Have a wonderful weekend as well, Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI think that's what I really need to do. At any given time I have no less than 10 tabs open, which is not only distracting but also majorly slows my computer down. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteThose seem to be biggies. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have an e-mail system that really works for you which is awesome! Fortunately I don't think I'd have that many e-mails in 6 hours of time, but I can see how that would be overwhelming (I would be too!).
ReplyDeleteThat's the smart thing to do....I don't know why I don't just utilize Evernote better since it's both on my computer AND my phone (i.e. it's basically accessible all the time!)
ReplyDeleteHaha, no worries of that (and there was another photo where the person showed the tattoo in action!) I hear ya about thinking about what I need to do at night, I'm guilty of that as well on occasion and it makes it hard to fall asleep!
ReplyDeleteYes, you should do it :-) Happy Sharefest as well!
ReplyDeleteHaha, love it! But that's awesome, writing down my to-do's definitely makes them feel more manageable, though it would be great if it made me think about them less.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hear you. Plus sometimes texting is so much less efficient. And I somehow seem to miss them. Hope you are inspired to make some phone calls this weekend!
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible about worrying about what others think of me. Sometimes, I stress myself out so bad with this worry. I always say I need to stop. I can't control them and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter that much, but so far I haven't been able to stop.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, I definitely have those moments as well, and I know how stressful that can be :-( I feel like recognizing that feeling is the first step and I imagine if you keep working at it you will see improvements with time!
ReplyDeleteOh, I can totally relate to this blog post. Yes, I need to de-tech after 9 p.m. and silence my phone so I don't get any mid-night temptations disrupting my precious sleep. Seriously, it's precious, and I need to do better. I, too, need to quit a few of the other things you've listed. I also need to quit biting my nails! I go through phases... when I'm stressed out, I usually tend to bite/pick my nails and it's so not cute!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one struggling with a few of these things.
Hi from the SITStah's link up. I'm so happy to have come across your blog! So happy to hit the follow button. Wishing you all the best with your list of stop-doing's.
-- Christine
http://xtinedanielle.com
Yes, sleep is precious! And I totally messed it up for myself last night reading blogs until after 10, and then it took me forever to fall asleep even though before that I had felt exhausted.
ReplyDeleteThis is great, thanks for sharing Bev! Easier said then done, but I need to set a time every night (and maybe one weekend day) where I turn off business mode...no answering emails, no checking my analytics, and definitely no worrying about what's on the to-do list the next day!
ReplyDeleteI am constantly working on ALL of these. It's all about creating habits that allow you to have a balanced life...not always easy, but I try! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI keep telling myself I need to do that as well, Tess! One of these days I am going to make it happen :-)
ReplyDeleteGood for you! I agree, balance is key, and I keep striving for it every day.
ReplyDelete