I plan to remain here in the Dominican Republic four more months and then travel throughout the States meeting with people to connect/re-connect and discuss whatever is on my mind at that time, which may include a possible new project (more on that soon).
I welcome your suggestions concerning how I might best use these four months in the Dominican Republic, before I return to the States, which will limit my productivity.
I seem to be doing very well here. I feel that, after decades of trying, I’ve finally learned how to be alone for a long period, really enjoy it, and be productive.
As has been the case since 1967, my primary commitment is to foster the growth of caring communities whose members support one another in their efforts to integrate the personal, the social, and the political by: 1) consistently becoming happier, more effective individuals who feel free to be who they really are; 2) helping to grow alternatives communities that point the way to a better society, and; 3) engaging in political action to improve public policy.
This week, my plan is to take Saturday as a day of rest to explore this beautiful country and, when feasible, socialize with locals. On Sunday, I go shopping, get organized, follow football on the Internet in the background, and talk with friends on Skype. Following is my plan for Monday through Friday. (RWS = Reform Wall Street; FB = Facebook; WW = Wade’s Wire; tbtf = to be too fail). In addition to normal bodily functions and occasional brief periods of rest, I go through these tasks in the following order, set my timer according to the minutes indicated, stop each task when the timer rings, and check that task off in my Log.
Task Min
Journal 15
Exercise 30
Write my autobiography 120
Read my old correspondence, journals, and other documents 120
Process personal email 60
Read other email, copy material for RWS and WW 60
Read Twitter, personal and RWS (search “tbtf”), copy material 30
Read FB, copy material 30
Post to WW 30
Post to RWS site and FB page 30
Participate in The Next Edge 30
Read a book/Kindle 45
Chill 60
TOTAL 660
I read news while eating. My exercise consists of a 30 minute walk to the beach. This week I plan to “chill” by walking to the beach and lying in a lounge chair for 30 minutes while listening to the surf and staring at the stars.
That’s my routine. Soon I’ll create a new blog for my autobiography, which is coming along well I believe, and post one or two chapters a week there, with photos. I start working after I wake, which is sometimes after only four hours sleep, and take a nap when I get sleepy. Most days, I get my eight hours eventually. I eat simply, the same items every day so I can easily modify what I eat if I need to in order to lose more weight (I’ve lost 11 pounds). As I mentioned, soon I hope to share my thoughts about a new, potentially exciting project that is crystallizing in my head and on paper.
In the meantime, do you have any suggestions concerning how I should proceed?
Richard Keene:
ReplyDeleteWhy not start a USA govt in exile site.
Marvin Surkin:
beautiful, diviertete...
Freddi Faloona:
increase time at beach to 45 minutes and have 10-15 of those minutes in the water doing a crawl back in forth in front of the beach.
Marcella Womack:
Just a thought: follow your plan unless you feel an URGE (prompting=inner guidance from the Higher Self/Intuition/Higher Mind) and then do it right then. - then - Pick up your schedule when finished (could take 5 minutes or 5 hours). This way, you are working from the Mental and also accessing other parts of your brain/Mind.
If you allow this suggestion to take hold, don't "worry" (think too much) about it. Just act when prompted. It is amazing how it works and will help you integrate all your "faculties" better. I've been doing this for years and it always works - IF I TAKE THE PROMPTING SERIOUSLY AND JUST DO IT... Interesting results, for sure.
If this feels intrusive, forget it for another time... It is only an aid that helps you incorporate MORE of what is already "available to you"...
Mike Larsen:
Do more of what you love.
Leonard Frank:
Very exacting! The weight loss and the rest sounds very good to me.
You've hit the ground running - stay in there and more good will come of it.
How to proceed?
ReplyDeleteWell, you've clearly got your priorities sorted out in your mind, and your schedule reflects the importance you place on each activity. That your plan has a schedule is good news! We're much more likely to complete our projects when we make the necessary work just another part of a good habit, and a schedule is a pattern of activities that, on becoming habitual, saves us from wasting time and effort deciding what to do next.
Schedules work best when they are absolute, rather than relative, as yours is. That means, say, that activity A starts at 6:00 am, and continues until 6:45 am, when activity B begins. Because activity B was also important enough to schedule time for, we honour it by respecting its start time - even if activity A didn't get the 45 minutes we had planned for it, due to unforeseen interruptions or whatever reason. With a relative schedule like the one you describe, the tendency is to insist that activity A must get its 45 minutes - even if it takes all day! Then our top priority task A, which we may be struggling to get any traction on, perhaps due to some emotional conflict we're not yet fully aware of, can cause us to lose half a day, a whole day, or even a week or more! During that time, we get absolutely nowhere on any other task either, no matter how high its priority.
So it's important to start each task on time. That way each task has a window of opportunity of UP TO 45 minutes, or whatever the gap between start times is. Of course, we focus as best we can to make the most of each opportunity; however, if we have to deal with interruptions, so be it.
One more thing: your food will nourish you better when you eat it mindfully. Certainly, listening to news whilst eating is too distracting to let that happen! Besides, multi-tasking is less efficient than mono-tasking, so why put extra effort into trying to track two or more tasks at the same time? If eating is important - and it is! - you should schedule time for it, just like you do for any other important (priority) task. The same applies to rest periods. You're surely aware that performance of almost all work improves dramatically after a lunch break long enough to take nourishment and a short rest.
Oh well... you did ask!!! :-) :-) :-)
Hope this helps?
Regards,
Yahya Abdal-Aziz