Funny how much spare time I’m finding throughout my days when I make a few behavioral changes. A couple of the big things I’ve been focused on are cutting out internet usage (except for Wall Street Journal, travel, and recipes), not pulling out my phone as a time filler, and making better use of the time I have. Without those instinctual reactions to a lull in the action I’ve been left exploring what the heck to do with all the extra time I have on my hands. Case in point – the past five days have seen my phone’s screen time tracker dip below 60 minutes each day – significantly lower than the embarrassingly high total it had been averaging.

Throughout the day I’d hit this little pocket of time when I had a chance to breathe. I caught myself as my hand reflexively went towards my phone and would do something different. Earlier this week the new action was reading a book. Yesterday it was pausing to collect my thoughts and jotting notes to myself about a future book idea. Today it was going back to an old homily from one of my favorite priests. Tomorrow? Possibly back to one of those three previous ideas if the weather is still bitterly cold. If it’s just a tad nicer out maybe I’ll get a little bonus outdoor time on a walk. Maybe pause and do a little exercise? Who knows?

What’s I’m grateful for is the feeling of accomplishment I’ve already had from choosing right actions rather than reaction. The focus on intentionality is already helping me focus more on the long term goals I have for this year and beyond. There’s a lot for me to work on and do, I’ve now got more time to to get it all done.

Thanks!!!