Finding presence in a distracting world

It's that most excellent time of the week again; Friday. The weekend is here! I've had an average week due mainly to a meeting I had at work on Thursday that sapped my energy completely leaving me de-motivated today. It's all on the up now though as weekend mode has been engaged. I'm motivated to get the most out of my weekends and have some pretty cool stuff pre-arranged usually. This weekend, however, I have a whole lot of nothing planned. I guess, a plan to do nothing is still a plan though so I'll focus on it and hope to achieve that goal of achieving nothing. Take a look at the image to the right you'll see a picture of me doing nothing which is exactly what I'm going to look like this weekend. Ok, so it's actually a sloth, but I'll resemble this sloth over the weekend so it might as well be a picture of me. Source

I have to be honest and say that I actually have a couple of things planned: Gym both days and a little organisational work in my garage which is looking somewhat less-than-organised at the moment. It's also an F1 Grand Prix weekend (Spain) and so I'll be sitting in front of the TV watching that in the evenings with my wife. It's still something I suppose but usually we have a fairly full weekend planned and we work towards getting the most out of it.

I'm an advocate of being present, I mean really present in every moment be it work, social or relaxation and I work hard at doing so. I hear people talking about balance, work/life balance and they mention a 50/50 scenario however I'm not convinced. That paradigm suggests that a balance must be found between work and personal life however I prefer a different paradigm altogether. It's really quite simple.

I seek to be 100% present in each moment I live whether at my workplace, on the phone with a client, my wife, writing a steemit post, hiking in the mountains, shooting a competition...Everything. I find it keeps me more focused, productive and also brings a greater feeling of engagement in my life. I also feel that my employer, the people I spend time with and my own inner-wellbeing appreciates the 100% present ethos.

When I go to the gym for instance, I don't look at my phone in between sets, I don't even take it! When I'm shooting a competition I leave the phone on silent, in my shooting bag, and when at work I have my personal phone on silent so I can focus on the task at hand. It doesn't just relate to phones though. When I am with my friends I work at engaging, at being with them not just present but pre-occupied. We live in a world where it's easy to become distracted and to split ones' focus in different directions however I feel that whilst multi-tasking can seem productive it also means one doesn't fully engage. For example, if I chose to multi-task by taking my lunch break strolling in the park and ate a sandwich in between making phone calls to clients am I being truly effective with the clients? Am I fully enjoying my lunch? Do I receive full-value from the walk in the park? No is the answer. Everything is diminished.

My 100% focus changes constantly too, it's flexible depending on the situation and circumstance. I could be 100% present at work and shift that focus instantly to 100% present on a personal matter in a heartbeat. It's situational. I work hard on keeping it at 100% though. Sure, it's not always there, however most often it is.

Many multi-taskers believe they are super-productive however I challenge them to try a different approach; The 100% present approach. Maybe not at work to start with, but try it when socialising or with a partner for instance. I think the people they are with will appreciate the engagement as much as the person applying the 100% present ethos. It's important not to let life fly by without giving each moment in it the attention it is due.

[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default -]