Continuing with this week’s theme of reflection I have been giving some thought to what I’d like to do more of and less of in the new year. I am sure many of you will relate to feeling like the days and weeks speed past. Time stops for no one and when life is busy it is easy to just rush from one task to the next without giving too much thought to how and why we are doing the things we do. This is why, as I wind down for the year, I am making time to be mindful about how I approach my work and my life outside of work.
Rather than commit to definite resolutions – which perhaps I will do in the new year but for now I don’t have the appetite for – I am focusing on what I’d like to do more of, and less of, in 2014. I have divided mine into work and outside of work and encourage you to do the same.
At work
More: Of all of the fantastic pieces we have published this year from Megan Dalla-Camina the one that resonated with me the most was her advice about balancing the need to be strategic with the daily demands of any job. Publishing a daily newsletter before lunchtime means my mornings are always occupied writing, editing and compiling stories. Editing a website that provides commentary around topics in the news also requires me to be reactionary. Keeping in mind the fact I will still need to be flexible, next year I would like to have more structure around my time.
Less: Managing my inbox is a constant battle. I could read and reply to emails from 8am to 6pm every day and still not get to the bottom of my inbox. I am pretty good at responding promptly to emails that require my urgent attention but managing the stream of non-urgent messages is something I struggle with. I set aside time a few times a week to action non-urgent emails but they still build up. After speaking to a few of my editor-colleagues at our work Christmas party I have decided I would like to worry less about this. It’s a dilemma many of us face and, short of adding an extra three hours into every working day, it’s not a problem that will disappear. I would like to accept that the other components of my job necessarily occupy more of my time and worry about it less.
Outside work
More: This is perhaps the holy grail for every single one of us both in and out of work. I would like to be more mindful about the task immediately in front of me. When I am feeding the kids dinner or playing at the park or chatting to a friend or even watching television, I would very much like to enjoy that moment as much as possible. I would like to stop my mind from wandering to the multitude of other jobs that need doing later and simply think about what is in front of me. When I do that I feel happier and so much better for it but it’s something I sometimes forget. For some reason I am better at this at work than I am outside of work. It’s a habit that I know I can improve so I’m aiming for more of it next year.
Less: One of the most entertaining, perceptive and achingly honest books I have read about life with small children is Say It Again In A Nice Voice by Meg Mason. (If you’re looking for a Christmas present for any friends with small children this is worth considering.) In it Mason talks about the art of rallying which is what parents do when it feels like they’re only just surviving. Rallying is not what happens when you’re having a wonderful time with your children; that’s living. Rallying is what you do when it feels like you’re up against it. When your kids are sick or throwing tantrums and you’re sleep deprived and it all feels like hard work. You rally. You put one foot in front of the other and you persevere. I have rallied a lot this year and I would like to rally less next year. I would quite like to live more.
What about you? What are you going to do more and less of in 2014?