There were quite a few projects I wanted to take care of today. Some were fairly simple like cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen. Others were a bit more thought intensive – adding a door for the snowblower/mower shed that won’t get stuck due to snow. Throw in a handful of other odds and ends like putting in a closet shelf and designing a snowboard wall hanger and it’s been a pretty busy day. Sitting down to type this has been the first time I’ve sat down other than for meals and driving to and from Menards.

Being this productive on a Sunday has been fantastic. The sense of accomplishment is wonderful. What really set it apart form other times was the lack of one thing… no headphones.

Usually when I’m doing things like I did today I’m listening to a podcast, an audiobook, or music. There’s almost always something playing in the background to keep my mind busy. I like utilizing project time as an opportunity to catch up on reading or to listen to some good tunes.

Today was different. For some reason I set my phone down out of reach and didn’t turn anything on. I left my headphones off and didn’t really have the urge to put them on. I went through my day – largely flying solo – without anything else playing in my brain. It was beautiful!

I was sure I’d have some deep thoughts and maybe have some profound insight or something. Instead I experienced something else. Peace. Serenity. Focus only on the task at hand. I was one hundred percent right in the moment mentally and it helped each project flow so well. There were no mis-cuts. I only had to measure everything once. My plans worked out better than expected. It was wild! There was a different level of calm in my brain as I focused intentionally on each specific thing in the moment.

While I’m most likely not going to do this often in the future it was an enlightening experience. I am not good at pausing or doing only one thing. My brain loves to wander and attempt to take multiple trails at once. Staying on track was an interesting change of pace and felt really good.

Thanks!!!