Friday Musings—16/02/24

I'm looking into switching platforms and making some changes to my content schedule, so my posts may be a bit more infrequent and/or shorter for a while. However, I still want to show up to share a few of my musings and spread some positivity :)

Speaking of spreading positivity, remember you can email me your good news—whether it's something you've heard in the news or a personal win—and I'll add it to one of the next newsletters. Or simply share them in the comments. In a world filled with bad news, let's encourage each other to direct our attention to the positives.

Cool stuff 😎

"Reclaim your brain" Week 3 – Last week's focus was on taking back control and treating our phones as tools, not distractions. This included redesigning our screens, creating “no-phone zones” in our homes, and experimenting with deleting the apps that took up most of our time and attention.

The advice for this week is to create a "phone break" schedule. Most of us have gotten used to having our phones on us or near us at all times. We want to break this habit and start spending stretches of time away from our phones. Ideas on how to do this include leaving your phone behind as you go out for a walk or for lunch; setting a rule that one hour before bedtime and one hour after waking up you won't look at your phone; while sitting on the bus/train/subway or waiting in line, rather than immediately pulling your phone out, take the time to look out of the window, do some breathing exercises, or even try to strike up a conversation with someone! On weekends, experiment with making these phone breaks even longer.

Another thing I found useful is to set aside some uninterrupted time to read each day. The more I do that, the more I notice my ability to focus come back. I started reflecting on how easy it was for me as a kid to spend hours reading with no interruption whatsoever, whereas now it takes me a lot of discipline to do it!

Good news corner 🌈

Spreading the love – Did you celebrate St. Valentine's Day? Here are some stories of how people devoted themselves to spreading love this year, with acts of kindness towards their partners, but also towards themselves and their community. I found it a good reminder to show some love and appreciation to the people in our lives (and not just on Feb 14th!).

Quote of the week ✍️ 

"Distractions are plentiful. And time is short".  (Adam Hochschild)

As always, I welcome your insights or questions in the comments. You can also send me an email or book a call to talk about where you're at in life and where you'd like to go. Don't forget to share this with someone who may find it useful.

Enjoy your weekend and TTYS

ML