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Tag: Dear Busy Person

Doing Business Minus Business

Dear busy person,

For the love of whatever you believe in, please drop your modern day desire to make pooping productive. You don’t need to read emails. You don’t need to engage with a certain number of social posts. You don’t need to write up replies, brainstorm ideas, or review your schedules/ to-do lists. You don’t need to do anything—except your business. And you know what business I mean… I want you to do your business minus any trace or thought of work related business. If there’s any time in your day that you should keep sacred and to yourself… that should be right at the top. The business of every day life is already hectic, busy, and nonstop enough as is—no need to exacerbate it. Give yourself pockets of grace. Give yourself time to unwind. Give yourself some space to pause. The rest of your day will be better because of it.

~ Your Inner Work Person

P.s. You can read my other letters to you, here.

Schedule, Eliminate, Delegate

Dear busy person,

It’s best to stop worrying over everything you have to get done… and just start getting something done. If you can manage it, block out distractions and get going on the most important thing, first. This will give you the “it’s all downhill from here” feeling that’ll carry you through the rest of the day. If starting feels cripplingly hard, do the easiest task first and snowball some momentum from there. Either way, get some momentum. And do everything you can to maintain that momentum one task to the next. It’s the easiest way to get it all done. Remember, it’s the starting that’s hard. And it’s the worrying over everything you have to get done that makes starting feel cripplingly hard. Play “start; stop; start; stop” all day and you’ll only add unnecessary resistance to your task load. Less think; more do. And at the end of the day, do your future self a favor and schedule, eliminate, and delegate every possible task you can before the start of the next day. Pick apart a giant snowball enough and it eventually collapses back into snow. Same is true when you have a giant snowball of tasks weighing on your shoulders at the start of a day. Pick it apart enough (by scheduling, eliminating, and delegating) and suddenly, there’s no giant snowball to focus on anymore. Only a day blanketed with snow that you can manage one shovel full at a time.

Sincerely,

Your inner work person

P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.

On Serving Others

To the person who’s too busy serving others to serve themself,

Remember, the outer community you’re a part of isn’t the only community that needs to be served. There is an entire inner world of characters who require time, energy, and attention, too. And when those inner characters aren’t served… they start to act out, create conflict, and rebel. This can be felt in emotional uprisings, a nagging resistance, and a lurking uneasiness. If serving others makes you happy (which is how you’ve always justified the corresponding inner consequences) maybe seeing what’s happening within as its own community of characters will help? Not only will prioritizing your inner characters allow you to still serve others (e.g. your inner child) but it’ll allow you to enter a more emotionally light place, with less resistance, and with an ever-increasing feeling of ease. And how much happier (and better able to serve others in reality) might you be if you did that?

Sincerely,

Your Inner Work Person

P.s. I finished uploading quotes from Inner Work by Robert Johnson. This post was largely inspired by what I learned from that book. Check out my 40 favorite quotes here ➜

No Waste On Weather

Dear busy person,

The weather is out of your control. So don’t spend even more than one minute complaining about it. No good will come from it. All that will come is a worsened mood, wasted time, and a rippling effect of the same into the lives of those whom you’re connected with. You’re already busy enough. Just for today, practice complete acceptance. Whatever weather comes, comes. Whatever weather goes, goes. And how you respond is: dress for the weather regardless—while sheltering your inner weather from any unnecessary skews or upsets along the way. And if today goes well, maybe you do the same tomorrow?

Sincerely,

Your inner work person

P.s. If you’re busy, you can read my other letters to you here.

Do You Ever Wait In Lines?

Dear busy person,

I know you don’t have big chunks of time to rest your mind. So for today, try this: Whenever you’re waiting in a line (in a store, bank, or traffic), DON’T allow yourself to use your phone. Use that time to breathe, people watch, relax bodily tension, smile at strangers, and notice—through ALL of your senses—what’s emerging from the surrounding environment. No calls, no texts, no social media… just for today. See what it does for your mind. And if you like it, maybe try it again tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Your inner work person

No Refunds; No Exchanges; No Do-Overs

Dear busy person,

You won’t get this day back again. Ever. How you choose to busily spend your time today will be forever stamped inside the legacy of your life. No refunds; no exchanges; no do-overs. That said, did any hesitations come up? Second thoughts? Did any of the tasks you’ve devoted precious time to in the day ahead come into question? Give yourself some space and time to notice—really notice. Because those who do—and make the proper adjustments along the way—get more out of life. This one and only life we each have to live. Days spent with no regrets are what lead to a life spent with no regrets—my hope is that you start taking it to heart, today.

Sincerely,

Your inner work person

Lung Access

Dear busy person,

Before you check your phone throughout the day, commit to taking a long, deep breath first. Remind yourself that you are more than your notifications. That your phone is there to serve you; not enslave you. That being calm and centered is available to you in each moment—in each breath—just as the internet is (worth acknowledging the weight of that statement). You just have to choose lung access instead of always defaulting immediately to thumb access.

Sincerely,

Your inner work person