3) Boundaries. Set them...

You are not available 24 hours a day. Look back at the bubbles. Outside of that centralized area where you take care of yourself and then the people closest to you, boundary.

We are not available, exhaustible resources.

One night, when I could not sleep, I checked my email. At roughly 4 AM, I had inadvertently engaged in conversation with a student. (If said student happens to read this..It’s all good, I’m just making a point.) I have made an effort to stop engaging in everything at all hours of the day. There are times I need to focus on work, and I am paid to do so. There are other times where I need to be present for myself and my family. The reward outweighs the paycheck. Other times, I am a student. This is important to me and deserves my mostly undivided attention from time to time ( a lot of time).

But, time is finite, and there are only 24 hours in a day.

Prioritize- and be firm-

2) Shut off…

I share a lot. I do not share everything. There is value in sharing feelings and experiences, but you do not get all of it.

How amazing is it that at any hour of any day all over the world we can be connected to people and news and events and opinions and criticisms and nonsense and so on? Stop it from time to time and connect with reality.

To put words into practice, try:

• shutting off your phone
  • disconnect your email so you can only focus on the content when you are ready (make sure you make time to be ready)
  • turn off notifications
    • check all of your media (social and otherwise) when you are ready. Disconnect from the dings, lights, and vibrations
• stepping away from the computer
  • give an hour (or more) a day to being at the computer to deal with what needs to be dealt with there
• turn off the TV
  • I do not watch much TV, but it does provide background noise pretty often. Still ok to turn the thing off

1) Practice Patience…

…and recharge. Set the example when you are on information overload. Outside of an absolute emergency, people can wait, and so can you. Set priorities. If you need to answer something by the end of the day, do that. If you need to check 3 times and day and provide feedback, do that. When you are “off”, be off. Do not compromise the integrity of the many positions that you hold.

Make your contributions meaningful, not half-assed.

A few extras…

I have found something that I absolutely love. My Apple Watch to the rescue when I need to focus or if I’m feeling extra anxious. The “Breathe” app has been amazing. The program includes a graphic representation of an expanding image to coincide with inhaling. The watch also pulses along with the inhale. Why is this amazing?

There is something to pull focus away from whatever is overwhelming. I used this for the first time just before a flight. Now, I use this in public, at home, or wherever I need a second to center. Nobody knows what I’m doing, because I’m just breathing, The pull away from outside stimuli whether real or perceived that triggers anxiety (BTW, thanks anxiety!) is helpful.

You are able to set the duration from 1 minute to 5 minutes of focused breathing. My favorite practice is to set it for 5 minutes, and go ahead and reset once that is over.

For the watch I own:
Apple Watch

If you are not into apple products, it looks like Fitbit has a comparable feature:
FitBit

 

Eve is a mom, student, daughter, sister, blogger, doer, thinker, and more. Any and all blog content should be viewed as opinion and any sources should be verified prior to using any of these words in that particular order to form your own (opinions). For more, visit: Happy Kotter: Disclaimer. Have a great day!

3) Boundaries. Set them...

You are not available 24 hours a day. Look back at the bubbles. Outside of that centralized area where you take care of yourself and then the people closest to you, boundary.

We are not available, exhaustible resources.

One night, when I could not sleep, I checked my email. At roughly 4 AM, I had inadvertently engaged in conversation with a student. (If said student happens to read this..It’s all good, I’m just making a point.) I have made an effort to stop engaging in everything at all hours of the day. There are times I need to focus on work, and I am paid to do so. There are other times where I need to be present for myself and my family. The reward outweighs the paycheck. Other times, I am a student. This is important to me and deserves my mostly undivided attention from time to time ( a lot of time).

But, time is finite, and there are only 24 hours in a day.

Prioritize- and be firm-

2) Shut off…

I share a lot. I do not share everything. There is value in sharing feelings and experiences, but you do not get all of it.

How amazing is it that at any hour of any day all over the world we can be connected to people and news and events and opinions and criticisms and nonsense and so on? Stop it from time to time and connect with reality.

To put words into practice, try:

• shutting off your phone
  • disconnect your email so you can only focus on the content when you are ready (make sure you make time to be ready)
  • turn off notifications
    • check all of your media (social and otherwise) when you are ready. Disconnect from the dings, lights, and vibrations
• stepping away from the computer
  • give an hour (or more) a day to being at the computer to deal with what needs to be dealt with there
• turn off the TV
  • I do not watch much TV, but it does provide background noise pretty often. Still ok to turn the thing off

1) Practice Patience…

…and recharge. Set the example when you are on information overload. Outside of an absolute emergency, people can wait, and so can you. Set priorities. If you need to answer something by the end of the day, do that. If you need to check 3 times and day and provide feedback, do that. When you are “off”, be off. Do not compromise the integrity of the many positions that you hold.

Make your contributions meaningful, not half-assed.

A few extras…

I have found something that I absolutely love. My Apple Watch to the rescue when I need to focus or if I’m feeling extra anxious. The “Breathe” app has been amazing. The program includes a graphic representation of an expanding image to coincide with inhaling. The watch also pulses along with the inhale. Why is this amazing?

There is something to pull focus away from whatever is overwhelming. I used this for the first time just before a flight. Now, I use this in public, at home, or wherever I need a second to center. Nobody knows what I’m doing, because I’m just breathing, The pull away from outside stimuli whether real or perceived that triggers anxiety (BTW, thanks anxiety!) is helpful.

You are able to set the duration from 1 minute to 5 minutes of focused breathing. My favorite practice is to set it for 5 minutes, and go ahead and reset once that is over.

For the watch I own:
Apple Watch

If you are not into apple products, it looks like Fitbit has a comparable feature:
FitBit

 

Eve is a mom, student, daughter, sister, blogger, doer, thinker, and more. Any and all blog content should be viewed as opinion and any sources should be verified prior to using any of these words in that particular order to form your own (opinions). For more, visit: Happy Kotter: Disclaimer. Have a great day!