Taking time to enjoy the now

Fridays are tip days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Life can turn into a flurry of scheduled events and task lists. It is easy to slip into a cycle of do-do-do and go-go-go.

But no one dies with an empty inbox.

One of the things about my personal philosophy about being productive is that I want to have time to be a human being, and not a human doing.

I recently had the opportunity to have a technology-free weekend. We were going camping, and normally that means I pack the netbook so that I can get some writing done. But after a hellish week of early morning and late nights working, I decided to leave the computer at home. Instead, I packed a notebook that I could write in.

I didn’t use it.

I spent the weekend talking to people. I sat and listened to the birds. I read a book that presented no challenge to my brain at all, but was immensely entertaining.

By backing away from my normal activities, I was able to fully appreciate where I was, and what I was doing.

There’s a lesson there for my life. I need to have daily times when I am not doing, but just being.

Photo by rambla