I have a bit of a tab problem.
No, not the diet soft drink from the 80’s (which you can still purchase in bulk on Amazon…you’re welcome.)
No, I’m talking about the modern-day tabs that you can open on your web browser. I’m not sure what’s average for most people, but at any given moment, I have at least a dozen or two tabs open, often between two different browsers.
I leave the tabs open to remember to go back to something. I’ll start watching a YouTube video and then realize I want to finish it later. Same thing with an article. And another article. And then there’s my email – and the other email. It’s almost like my to-do list.
The tabs on my computer are somewhat symbolic of the way I (dis)organize my life. Post it notes, seven half-used Moleskin notebooks (no, that’s not an exaggeration), and a few to-do lists written on unopened mail (I wish that was a joke…)
The challenge I have with my system, or lack thereof, is that I often feel pulled in a million different directions, too overwhelmed by external and internal distractions to know what to do next.
Recently however, I came across a blog post where the author discussed creating her own anchors.
She defined The Anchor Project as a way of clarifying the primary values in your life so that you can focus on the essential goals and weed out goals and to-do items that are distracting you from what you really want in life.
One of my favorite exercises to do in my workshop is to have people make a list of the things they want to do in their lives, and then make another list of the things they feel they should do in their lives.
The two lists don’t often match up because we often put our shoulds before our true wants and whys.
By taking some time to come up with our anchors, we can have a clear base to return to when we start to get pulled away by distractions. A good place to start this project is by naming your values. One of my top values is compassion - and I’ve learned that I can’t be compassionate if I over-extend myself and neglect my wellness. So while I’m still in the process of coming up with all of my anchors, I know the first one is:
Holistic wellness
If I dig into this one a little bit further, I know that for me this means a focus on self-care, which includes following through on doctor’s appointments, taking my supplements, getting five minutes of quiet, physical fitness, eating nutritious food etc.
If I take care of myself, I’ll have better energy - and having better energy means that not only will I be more compassionate towards others, but I’ll also be in a better place to live the life I want to live.
The overall point of The Anchor Project (and I’m capitalizing it on purpose) is to stop letting the shoulds and distractions (and distracting goals) take charge of your life. Take some time to think about your values and decide what’s important to you - and come up with your anchors.
And if you need some help, I have two spots remaining in my Wednesday morning workshop which begins next Wednesday, April 21st and runs from 11:00 am to 12 pm in the Infinity Center.