How can we Focus our Intentions in this fast paced world?

It's 5 am, and it's dark outside. That is when the morning starts for me.

There is a lot to fit in a day.

Once the day of a professional diver starts, there is no break to be able to catch up on emails, social media, and phone calls. 

Add to the day the regular tasks of taking care of the house, family, cleaning, shopping, cooking, eat with the added flavors that life loves to present us with.

How do we make it all fit when time never seems enough? How do we slow down and yet extend the value of time?

Learning to focus our intentions means learning to budget our time well. Similar to a monetary budget, we need to discern what is fundamental and superfluous and focus our time in the correct direction.

These are a few of the tricks I have learned through the years.

If we are in certain types of business, social media are essential. There are different methods to address them, from scheduled apps to hiring someone, if we can afford them, or handling everything ourselves. Ultimately, it means treating social media like many of the other tasks of the day.

If we are distracted after we post, it works well to put the phone face down and mute it.

The next trick I use is to set up an alarm that spans from 15 minutes to an hour for different jobs. During that time, there are no tea or pee breaks but only focused work of the kind we elect.

When that time expires, we take a small break, then set up the next alarm. To avoid distractions, we remove all stimuli and temptations.

Ultimately I found out that the best way to extend the time for all that life throws at us is to set a special section for ourselves.

That might be the most challenging part of our focus, but with a bit of practice, it becomes easier, like anything else. This process involves the capability of prioritizing and also saying no to some requests.

The time becomes valuable to nourish ourselves correctly at a physical and mental level.

I love to care for three areas: physical needs, active time, and quiet time. These can change from individual to individual, but they can be an example when we are still determining where to start.

Physical Needs: Taking time to nourish the body physically establishes balance in our energy and hormonal levels, ultimately affecting our mental state. Let's opt for healthy choices and take the time to savor the meal, no matter the size.

Active time: preferably outside when available, is excellent for discharging energy and replenishing our well-being with health benefits at mental and physical levels.

Last but not least on my list is quiet time. And it doesn't mean laying on the couch or in bed, scrolling senselessly through the phone, unaware of how much we absorb. I am talking about taking the time to rest with intention. It's time we dedicate as a tribute to our bodies and minds. Some might call it meditation, but it is the rest for the mind.

The best way to know if it works for us is when the brain can sit still and in the now. It is not jumping from one thought to another, from one to-do list to another, but feeling content in the moment.