Life is a procession of ebbs and flows. Sometimes we are full of energy, and just bursting at the seams to delve into whatever we are focused on at the time. Sometimes we don't feel like doing much of anything. And yet, life continues to move on, whether you are ready for it or not. We all want to have a steady practice, and we all have things we wish to learn. So how do you keep up with your regular practice without loosing it all in the slumps? And how do you keep the momentum going in your studies without reaching the point of burnout?
I have the two-edged sword of time. For the most part, I have almost free reign over what I do with my days. This allows me to pursue the things I want to pursue at my own leisure. The downside of this is that I can really overwhelm myself, especially when I try to tackle too much all at once.
There is always stuff going on! If you are like me, and have interests in a wide range of things, this can get quite frustrating. I get invites to all kinds of virtual events that I can participate in from the comfort of my own home. I have signed up for a handful of them. Many of them are SO chock full of interviews or sessions, that even with a full, free day it can feel overwhelming to do them all. And many last for a couple of weeks, so it isn't just one full day, but many in a row. Often sessions are only up for a day or two, so I feel compelled to watch them all, every day.....or I might miss out.
The most basic thing I have learned about this is to really prioritize my time. I don't ask myself if I want to do something, but rather if that thing is the thing I want to do most of all today. Sometimes I have to really sit down with myself and acknowledge that more things sound interesting than I have time for...and that if I don't do them now I might never have the chance to do the again...but that ultimately I will be happier if I don't do them all! It is something that often takes work, and can be tempting to do 'just one more' thing that we actually have time or energy for. The more we think about it, the more we are tempted. But if we take a deep breath and really tune in to how we feel, we may find that the thought of spending that time is actually exhausting, and we need to let it go!
Another thing that I find sneaks up on me quite easily is a schedule full of little things. I have quite a few projects going on, most of which don't take much time individually. However, when you start adding them up, if feels like they all got magnified! It is very important, when thinking about everything we have on our plate, to actually look at it all, from time to time. This is one place where I find a calendar absolutely vital. If I start filling out my calendar for the week, and actually pencil in all of the things that I do, even if they only take 5 minutes, sometimes I realize that I am overbooking myself. And when you do something like this, always plan on things taking longer than you think they will!
Sometimes, you can adjust things to make them fit together better. I have a few things that I do on particular days of the week. I have other things that I am doing this year on the moon phases. When I plan on my moon work, I will look at my calendar and try to fit the moon stuff in on days that I don't have a bunch of other things. I also try to balance out really mentally intensive stuff with things. I have been working a lot with the Futhark runes lately, and just picked up an immersion class in Womanrunes. Being that both are symbol systems, and both studies were going to involve a lot of introspection, journaling and deep exploration, I decided it was best to not try to do both at the same time.
Always keep your commitments in mind, when people ask you to do things! I sort of keep a tally in the back of my head, about all the stuff going on. That way, when someone asks if I can help with something, I know how busy I am (or am going to be in the near future) and have a rough idea if a new project will be too much. Most of the time, when someone asks you to help with something, you need to consider not only the thing itself, but how much other work will be involved with that project. Writing an article may not take much actual time for the writing, but you also have to consider how much time it will take for you to come up with your topic, do any research, write, edit and submit the article.
We are not built to be rushing about every waking hour. Too often, modern society promotes the idea of moving non-stop from morning until night. We are always trying to multi-task, to do things quicker and to cram more into our days. I catch myself, sometimes, trying to rush through things that really shouldn't be rushed (like meditation or breath work). Or trying to do multiple things at once (which normally means I don't do either well). It is so much less stressful to take a few things off our plate, to slow down and do things well, one at a time.
Even when we have unlimited time, trying to work a big project all at once, can bring us into burnout. I love learning new things! When I am introduced to a new idea, my gut reaction is to delve in with both feet. I will look up a dozen articles, and try to read them all. I will want to practice it for hours a day. And if I let myself go that route, I almost always hit a brick wall not to far in. If, on the other hand, I place limits on myself, doing only so much every day, then I can avoid that feeling of being overwhelmed and stick with it. Not only does parceling it out in smaller bites make it less likely that you will burnout, it makes it easier to keep up the practice! If I feel like I need to be doing 40 minutes of meditation a day, and I'm not really feeling it one day, I am more likely to skip it than if I set my sights on 10 minutes a day. Practices are much easier to deepen once they are set in our routine.
It is also very easy to get stuck in just one way of doing things. But that can actually hinder us. If we are trying to learn a new concept, most of us start with finding out information in some way, whether we read articles, find a video to watch or ask people. Most of us know how we learn best, and we tend to stick to that way of learning. Once we have our method down, we do the same thing, every time we want to learn something new. Our brains are amazing things however! The more we stretch them, the more work they do for us. Find new ways to challenge yourself and enhance your learning. Definitely start with your basic method, but then seek out new ways to explore the topic. Think about how you might teach it to another person, and try it out. Make up a game that is played using the skill or knowledge you are learning, and teach it to your friends. Find an app that helps you practice. By changing up how you are approaching your topic, you engage different areas of the brain, and you are not as likely to get bored or burnt out on it.
We all want to get the most out of life. But if we are always overloading ourselves and feeling like we can't even catch our breath, we aren't enjoying what we are doing! Slow down, and let yourself really get into what you want to do...and then make sure you have time to rest, rejuvenate and refresh yourself! I think you will find that you get so much more out of the things you do, and because you are enjoying yourself and focusing on what is actually going on instead of what you still have to do, you will not miss the things you don't get to do.
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