We “modern people” tend to prepare timetables and schedules for every day and while it is very useful when trying to be organized, tidy and get as much as possible done, we tend to subconsciously “organize” our feelings and experiences of said tasks along with it.
The art of “taking it with you” – what is it about?
What is the art of “taking it with you” about? In society and in in our modern lives we often get buried in an avalanche of tasks, responsibilities, expectations, etc. So much in fact, that with our human nature and biology, or shall we say – “our processing of events“, we become unable to realize, that one task has already concluded and another one began. We’ve become so accustomed to quite literally “cutting ourselves off of one deed”, to potentially save us a minute or two with the next one, that we’ve nearly forgotten to allow ourselves to “feel accomplished.” I feel that’s a big mistake as there’s a lot of unused energy residing right there.
How does that look like?
Let’s look at an example: Let’s say you work as a secretary at a booming company and have a super packed work schedule. You are in the very midst of it all. You just completed the task of managing the timetable for the team at your company and you know that you still have to make a reservation for a meeting the next week, report to the director, address the issue the printer(s) not working properly… then you even remember that you have to pick up the kids after work and get ready for a dinner-party you’ve been invited to… Are you able to recall what you were doing last, before this pile of tasks wreaked havoc in your mind?
If I may help out – you just planed the timetable. That’s where you were in the moment. Everything else is only in your mind, at least for the time being. But it’s probably safe to say, that you feel almost as if all those tasks had already transpired, correct?
Another example: imagine you’re having a riveting, fun conversation with a friend over coffee or drink, but you realize you still have to go to the post office before it closes within the next hour and then catch the bus etc. Just take the happiness of the present moment of the conversation with you into the post office and on the way to the bus… That is exactly where the art of taking it with you comes into play.
“Taking it with you” in detail:
By taking a few moments after each and any task you conclude to stop and allow your mind to properly process it, you start creating what we can call “flow”. This flow can be very useful as a “silver lining of energy” throughout your work/your day(s). If you take hold of the fact that you just planned an appropriate timetable for the team, which will benefit everyone, even yourself, and allow yourself to process the feeling that that brings along, you successfully start “riding the flow”. In this case you’d likely feel good or at least relieved, that one daunting task is now out of the way. By acknowledging this feeling of “good/at ease”, you embrace the flow… Now just take it with you. 😀 Take this energy, this feeling of (even the slightest) relief consciously into the beginning of the next task. This then functions as just the perfect little energy-boost to make it easier for you to “jump-start” the next deed. 🙂
Do this after any tasks you perform or at any point throughout the day and you’ll be riding the flow in (joyous) fashion. It doesn’t necessarily stop there – if a task is particularly hard for you and that “little jump-start” isn’t quite enough, you can always mindfully recall the feeling you got, when you accomplished another, similarly hard task that day or even any other day before. Heck even at any point in your life! This process is timeless!
Key step: consciously!
Point is to truly embrace the feeling that wound up at that time (-that’s where the energy comes from), mindfully, so you can bring it into the present moment with a similar/same energy. Essentially, to be fair, this could be done with any strong feeling. Though probably not to the degree of a good/positive feeling, for example anger and/or frustration, could be used as “energy-fuel” for upcoming tasks, too. But overall the safest bet would be to just stick to cultivating goodness.
So take a moment to be mindful between tasks, be aware of the feeling that your accomplishment brings along with it and direct it onto the next task. That way the flow of the feeling stays present throughout any task or situation we encounter and we don’t have to redirect or divert attention and focus onto a more “serious” state… a more “dry” state, I’d even say. And with that – voila, you successfully “rode the wave” of flow on a checklist of accomplishments till the end of a busy work day. 😀
So, have you found your “flow” through the article? 😛 Are you able to reflect some or any of your habits in this description? Do you see the usefulness of such an approach? Please, share your thoughts and comments in the replies and if you know anyone who could find this information helpful, be sure to link them this article. 🙏
See/read you in another moment in time. 💜
Moment in time 