I was away over new year with some friends and their children and the theme of 'stopping doing' cropped up quite often, particularly as we were accommodated in someone else's quite pristine new home. Of particular concern were the games of ice-hockey on the wooden floors and the integrity of the glass balcony rail. Thankfully everything survived intact and we left the house the way we had found it.
As well as the children though, we did have several discussions about the way people who have stopped doing something, such as work, can then fit other things in their place. Retired people have more flexibility and so can make use of good off-peak offers and one of my friends has just finished part-time study for a Masters and we talked about being more available at home. This all led on to thinking about the busyness we experience daily. Hopefully over Christmas at some stage you were able to stop. To sit. To be. The holidays will be over very soon though (unless of course you're already back at work - sorry) and the busyness starts all over again.
What could you do differently in 2011 to make more time: not actually extra hours over and above your allotted 24 but more available hours within the day? What would you stop doing? The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible talks about there being a season for every activity under the sun, including a time to keep and a time to throw away - some things we can instantly identify as being precious and we must keep them, others will obviously be jettisoned. There will always be activities howeve, that are like the keepsakes from our childhood - when space is at a premium we need to make some hard decisions. How do we decide?
Jim Collins talks about the 20-10 problem which says:
Suppose you woke up tomorrow and received two phone calls. The first one told you that you had won £20 million with no strings attached. The second phone call informed you that you had no more than 10 years to live. What would you do differently tomorrow and in subsequent weeks and months? In particular, what would you stop doing? Maybe your 2011 assignment should be to find your answers.
As well as the children though, we did have several discussions about the way people who have stopped doing something, such as work, can then fit other things in their place. Retired people have more flexibility and so can make use of good off-peak offers and one of my friends has just finished part-time study for a Masters and we talked about being more available at home. This all led on to thinking about the busyness we experience daily. Hopefully over Christmas at some stage you were able to stop. To sit. To be. The holidays will be over very soon though (unless of course you're already back at work - sorry) and the busyness starts all over again.
What could you do differently in 2011 to make more time: not actually extra hours over and above your allotted 24 but more available hours within the day? What would you stop doing? The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible talks about there being a season for every activity under the sun, including a time to keep and a time to throw away - some things we can instantly identify as being precious and we must keep them, others will obviously be jettisoned. There will always be activities howeve, that are like the keepsakes from our childhood - when space is at a premium we need to make some hard decisions. How do we decide?
Jim Collins talks about the 20-10 problem which says:
Suppose you woke up tomorrow and received two phone calls. The first one told you that you had won £20 million with no strings attached. The second phone call informed you that you had no more than 10 years to live. What would you do differently tomorrow and in subsequent weeks and months? In particular, what would you stop doing? Maybe your 2011 assignment should be to find your answers.
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