I’m busy, my brain is in overload. Seems like there are more tasks to do and lists to write. If writing my ‘to do’ list takes longer than my morning coffee – I’m in for a big day…
My brain is fuzzy and I feel exhausted and it’s only 8am. Sound familiar? Here’s something I put in place when things are going a little haywire. It’s called OUT TO LUNCH 4 ONE.
It sounds really easy but the reality is that it actually takes commitment and discipline to follow through. We can easily distract ourselves into thinking we are so BUSY we can’t leave the business, need to work through lunch, people will look at us if we leave the office as the culture is to eat lunch in front of our desktops. We spend 30 minutes on the phone because we must be available for everyone.
If you are prepared to shift to another perspective here’s the plan:
Step 1. Decision – decide you are going to take 45 minutes out of every day for 2 weeks to implement.
Find a quiet place as your destination, close to where you are based and no phones, distractions and people – make it the same place for the first week so you are organised.
Step 2. Discipline – is the action. You will need to be prepared. This means bringing your lunch and finding the place that is close to you – we don’t want to be driving 15 minutes each way leaving you a small window of time left.
Map the place out including parking prior to the start day – no point going to the beach if there are no parks – that’s a distraction.
On the start day – set the timer on your most used device with a 15 minute alarm counting down. The 45 minutes starts from the time you walk out of your office.
Turn off your phone from this point. TAKE your lunch. It’s easy to be busy and look for distractions.
Step 3. Perspective – de-clutter and quiet the mind. When you get to your destination, eat your lunch in silence and get practised in observing what comes up for you. You will be surprised at how much more refreshed and clearer you feel. From as little as 30 minutes of self-focus can gain up to 8 hours of focused productivity and lower stress levels.
It’s giving yourself CPR – The power is in the silence.
Give it a go!
Love to hear your thoughts as you commit to Out to Lunch 4 one.
It’s time to SHIFT you!
Rebecca
