#5 Your agenda tells your story

My way-too-long-and-unplanned nap (almost 3 hours…on a Tuesday afternoon!) frustrated me so much that I had to learn something from it to weaken my guilt.
(By the way, my most effective way of dealing with guilt is definitely by growing from it. What’s yours?)

A kinder version of myself would pat me on the shoulder and say that I had no choice but to simply enjoy a short, invigorating nap because of 2 simple facts that created a perfect storm; 1/ I ate a burger and fries (the best in town) for lunch, and 2/ it was a super chilly day, below 32°F, the kind that makes you dream so badly of fluffy blankets by a fireplace… Get the picture?

Yet, I blamed myself because not only was this too long nap predictable, but it was actually utterly conditioned.

How so?
Dear Watson, would you mind opening the victim’s agenda and looking at Tuesday afternoon please? What do you see?
-Nothing.
-That’s it! NO-THING. Mystery solved. Thank you Watson.

Work by itself doesn’t compel you effectively, scheduled work does.
You can be the busiest bee in the world, but at the end of the day, what story does your agenda tell?

Now, please open your calendar:
- Look at tomorrow.
- Then look 25 days ahead.
- And then, check the 3 weeks in between.

What do you see?

Let’s dig deeper answering these 3 questions:

1. What kind of things do you put in your calendar? Meetings, dates, production time, chores, leisure, things you are afraid to forget about… Make that list and pay attention to the nature of yours tasks. What does it reflect?
2. Who/what is benefitting the most from your time? Who is the lucky one?To whom/what are you bringing value to?
3. Is your calendar revealing who/what you want to be in 10 years?

If our agenda tells our story, is the story you see consistent with the life you desire?
Now ask yourself what changes are required so that it will be serving your own aspirations.
Any time you open your calendar, use it as your best ally, enjoy shaping your life one day at a time.

Two more points I would like to underline ;

1. I don't want you to become a hyper-achiever, but rather a conscious-aligned-achiever.
   Indeed, I love saving free time just to wander, and I do it. Empty slots are a wonderful invitation from life to encounter all the things that could come along your path in those moments, and that includes the good... the bad, and the ugly. Let's own it then, and enjoy it, consciously.
   
   
2. A final word for those of you who are “employees” with minimal control over your schedule.
   Please, don’t exclude yourself from this exercise, and in fact, my message here is even more useful for you. I have been there, exactly in your place, being a change management consultant, in a classic consulting company. I know what it is.
   Because you are dedicating 7-10 hours each day to someone else’s dream, you better save some quality time for your own aspirations, whatever they are.
   You deserve your most caring attention and time for yourself, nobody else will give you this but you.