How to prevent your life from slipping away
“Putting things off is the biggest waste of life: it snatches away each day as it comes, and denies us the present by promising the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.” — Seneca
Some days I just slip into the habit of delaying some of the task that I need to complete in a day. Frankly I don’t have any serious reasons for putting things off, but it has become a matter of habit. I am not a procrastinator but neither am I someone who could make an impulsive decision on something.
My new year resolution was to improve my writing skill by devoting a couple of hours in the morning to writing. I wanted to start writing a journal and I did start. But somewhere in between, like many other things it fell through the cracks. I started scouting for excuses and I knew I could find many as I was in a middle of a client project which was on its critical path.
I had also decided to develop my sketching practice. Trivial as it may sound , my excuse was that I did not have a sketching notebook. I had plenty of drawing sheets stacked away in my study, but I was putting off practicing telling myself that I need to buy a sketching notebook.
By putting of these things , I would accomplish nothing. So what was it that held me back from ordering myself to be more disciplined. I did feel guilty as I saw each hour, each day pass by. Life was just slipping away .
Creating Habits one step at a time.
“Your life isn’t about a big break. It’s about taking one significant life-transforming step at a time.”
— Oprah Winfrey
Gradually making changes to daily routines helps you achieve your to do list and your goals. Even though I had lofty goals set for myself, I was a failure because I was trying to do everything together. My mind and body resisted to the changes. To carve out time for one micro goal worked better for me. I decided to start journaling first as it was something close to my heart. By lowering down the bar, I had managed to overcome the paralysis of not doing anything. As I got into the habit of journaling, my motivation and will power improved. I had now gained the confidence to try bringing in another change in my routine. My next goal was to start sketching. As I gradually got into the groove of making time daily for these two goals, I started feeling better. My todo list had both these hobbies on it. I started feeling better when I ticked away the to do list at night . I was now getting more and more done in a day which not just included chores , office work but also my hobbies.
I had learnt to value my time. I now had time and motivation to not just complete my office work but also pursue my hobbies and personal goals.My life became less stressful and more meaningful.The days were no longer slipping away. The check-boxes on my to do list presented a very encouraging story.
How to Conquer oneself by setting micro goals.
The first and best victory is to conquer oneself.” — Plato
-Create micro goals like monthly goals or quarterly goals. These could align with a larger goal that you have set for yourself and requires to be achieved in the next few years.
-Break these down to task that would serve as building blocks to achieve the micro goals.
-These task then should appear in your daily to do list . This then becomes a useful tool to priorities your day.
-The next thing to guard yourself is to keep this to do list very short, else it would be overwhelming and may defeat the whole purpose.
-Make yourself accountable to complete your to do list and check the boxes before you call it a day.
