Recently came across a beautiful and profound quote
“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.”
Abraham Maslow
The real benefit of being in the present moment helps in every aspect of life. Because mental wellness means higher productivity, higher performance, and lesser stress.
But what is the way to practice being in the moment?
I believe the way, we perform our activities is first step towards practicing being in the moment.
The way most of our activities organized is wrong. Instead of being productive, joyful with what we do, most of us are becoming stressed, feeling bored end of the day.
There is less energy left to do the things we love to do. Family time is reducing and more of the time is spent in doing low-value work.
If there is one killer toward being in the present moment is the habit of multi-tasking or doing more than one task at a time. Or plainly said, being distracted constantly.
A recent study says, if one is doing multi-tasking between 2 activities, then the time available for each activity is only 40%. 20% of the time is wasted for the context switch. We lose momentum and getting back to work is a challenge.
The constant interrupts due to e-mail, social media, meetings are taking away productive work as well as draining more energy.
To overcome distraction and become more productive and developing mental wellness, practicing Being in the present moment is the key., And it starts with how you organize your activities.
Being in the moment, a high-performance trait
Ask this question, How do you choose an activity to be taken up in a given moment?
I am sure you all have a list of activities for the week? When I say activities, consider work-related, personal, family everything. I am sure even if you don’t have listed all the activities, spending just 10 minutes, you can list down 15-20 activities.
Now how do you choose an activity to be taken up in a moment, say Monday morning at 10;00 AM or every day at 7:00 AM, etc?
From now onwards, I would like you to consider when planning your asks in a 4D way. What is this 4D way? It is looking at activities by considering 4 different levels or dimensions in terms of,
- Context
- Time
- Energy
- Priority
I am sure everyone has an idea of activity from the point of time it takes and also context. But viewing the activity in a 4D way helps you organize the whole day, week at much higher level.
The common issues everyone faces of being distracted, feeling of being stressed, bored in doing activities is all because we organize our tasks considering only time and context.
The high performing people, know that one must consider activity in a 4D way.
Only by categorizing activities in a 4D way, you can make a huge difference in terms of how much value you are creating end of the day, week, and having the energy to take up new and bold projects.
Let’s explore the elements of 4D and how it helps to be in the present moment,
Context
This is a basic premise for any activity. I am sure you will have 3 meetings fixed over the week, proposal to be sent by Tuesday 4:00 PM. These are context-driven activities.
But what one must remember is keeping activities in the right context.
A simple question as “Do I have the right tools, knowledge, to perform this activity at this moment?” sets the context better.
For example, if it is an evening at 7:00 PM and you get the message to send a proposal to a customer by next day morning, the first thing is to check, do I have all the necessary materials, knowledge to create a proposal that meets the standard?
If no, then you are in the wrong context. Now instead of going ahead with activity, come what may, stop for while and think how can you set the context correctly?
Can you request for change of time or if time cannot be shifted, can you seek some help from colleagues?
The whole idea of being aware of context itself makes a huge difference. Because doing activity in a wrong context, means lower productivity, higher stress.
Time
Time is something everyone does consider. We are all conditioned to factor time for the activities. But considering an activity in terms of only time is not optimal.
I have had a share of troubles whenever I committed to activities, without knowing how much time it requires! As time is the scarcest resource we have, allocating time to any activity must be done with considerable care.
Few things that is good to consider for Time is,
- When you know you are constrained by time, avoid taking up the unknown or high-priority activity. For example, if you have a meeting at 5:00 PM and there is still 15 minutes to go, don’t squeeze this 15 minutes with a call to the client to check about the proposal you had sent. Since you won’t know how long that call can take! Instead, choose an activity that is of 10-minute duration to do in this 15-minute gap.
- Keep the time specified for as many activities as possible and stick to that. I have seen people who are extremely good timekeepers. They manage time to a level where, they allocate time to watch social-media, access e-mails, and stick to that.
Now the Context and Time are something most do consider. But to achieve the state of being in the moment, it is the 2 other elements, Energy and Priority is key. Unfortunately, most of us miss out on this.
Energy
Energy levels drive our actions.
The basic premise is this, our energy levels vary throughout the day. Also, depending on personality, some have high energy in the morning or evening or even night for some people!
Now, the activities we do are best matched to our energy levels. The first thing to note is not all activities require equal energy levels.
Planning activities based on the energy level is the highest form of driving performance.
To know what action takes how much energy, is something one must develop intuitively over the time. Few tips are,
- If the action doesn’t require thinking, even at low energy you can perform. Our brain energy spent is low when following routines or following steps or guidelines given by others.
- If any activity requires thinking, if it involves decision making, best done when your energy levels high.
- People’s engagement requires more energy than doing tasks that can be done by oneself. Most people miss this. Asking good questions, active listening all requires high energy. So keep meetings, feedback sessions when you are in good spirits, feel energetic.
For example, if you are making a strategic plan for the next quarter, or want to make important decisions, then do when your energy levels are high instead of doing anytime.
Of course, at times unexpected work comes and we need to take up. Then it is important to feel your energy levels and if you feel low, boost your energy level before taking up work.
The simple but powerful tips to boost energy levels naturally is, practicing deep breathing for 2-3 minutes, followed by some physical actions that will help you gain immediate energy.
To know more on this, read my blog here 5 habits to maximize productivity
Priority
Now you know the context, time and energy, then only thing to consider is the priority of the task. This is something many miss just like energy.
Without knowing the value of the action, spending time on that can completely go waste!
At any time, we are always confronted with multiple things to do. What is the most important thing to do? Sometimes, even
Consider not doing anything, just being relaxed is an activity by itself
The way to prioritize any activity is something can be done effectively only when you have identified your goals, mission, and values.
Only when you know what is most valuable to do which meets your long term purpose, you can identify whether to attend the meeting is important vs spending time on a new idea or spending time with family, etc.
It is impossible to feel good about your choices unless you are clear about what your work really is..
David Allen, Getting things done
I have separate blog on this, on how to learn to prioritise. Those interested do read the blog as practicing prioritising alone can make huge difference.
Conclusion
Learning to be in the moment is what drives ultimate performance at personal, professional, and every aspect of life.
Also being in the present moment means, you are focused on one activity, meant to be doing at the time, and utilizing the right resources in terms of your energy, time, and any available tools.
And this starts by focusing on how to look at the activities in a much broader way than just thinking how much time it takes.
I hope the above article gave you some new perspectives on organizing tasks and practicing being in the present moment.
Do leave a comment for me below if you liked or even otherwise.
