Empower Newsletter – January 2016
Welcome to the January 2016 edition of the Empower Newsletter and the start of an exciting New Year. This month the focus is on creating awareness around what we see as being a productive use of our time.
Do you know?
‘your criteria for being productive’
So many of us make it wrong to do something we really want to do, especially if we see it as being unproductive. It could be watching too much TV, reading a book for too long, spending too much time socialising or just simply relaxing.
It’s interesting how some people see some things as a waste of time and others do not. Some people can quite easily spend a lot of their free time reading, to the point that they think it is unproductive not to read. Whilst others see it as a complete waste of time.
For some people it may depend on what type of book they are reading to determine how productive it is. Our assessment may be quantified by the amount of time spent reading the book or even what time of day it is.
We all have our own criteria for what constitutes something as being a waste of time! In other words we all have beliefs around what we consider is and isn’t a productive use of our time.
Throughout our lives we have been subjected to our parents, teachers, friends and families view of what was a waste of time and we usually take these views on board as being our own. Unless we consciously think things through for ourselves and create our own criteria that serves us, we more commonly than not take on other people views.
You may have been told as a child that you were being lazy for doing something you liked and of course the inference was that being lazy was not a good quality.
Does it really matter what you are doing as long as you enjoy it and you see it as enhancing your life?
We can reframe any activity from being unproductive to being productive by changing our belief around it.
In the example of reading, it could be your relaxation time, time to recharge your batteries so you can be and give more of yourself to others. If you looked at it this way it could seem that if we did not take time out to recharge our batteries that we are actually being selfish as we cannot be at our best for ourselves and others.
If you have a negative belief around allowing yourself to do whatever it is you like to do, or for that matter have to do, why not change your criteria so it serves you!
Definition
Criteria
a) A standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something.
b) A defining characteristic of something.
Something to Ponder
Are you having trouble getting out of your own way today? Depending on which productivity expert you ask, you’re either in need of a lifestyle overhaul or a new perspective.
Quotes of the Month
“I always had the uncomfortable feeling that if I wasn’t sitting in front of a computer typing, I was wasting my time — but I pushed myself to take a wider view of what was “productive.” Time spent with my family and friends was never wasted.”
~ Gretchen Rubin ~
“Being lazy does not mean that you do not create. In fact, lying around doing nothing is an important, nay crucial, part of the creative process. It is meaningless bustle that actually gets in the way of productivity. All we are really saying is, give peace a chance.”
~ Tom Hodgkinson ~
Affirmation Corner
‘I am doing what I love, enjoy and find fulfilling whilst feeling good about myself.’
Newsletters | Di | 
December 31, 2015 12:40 pm
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