Or is it still a way too early? Even if Summer still holds it's appeal for few weeks it is the best time to shift thoughts towards the Autumn season. Seasonal calendar cleaning is great to do these days. All those great ideas that have been hanging out in the calendar without getting a closure are now re-evaluated. Even the fun ideas demand time and concentration. As a school kid it was nice to able to start from an empty table after Summer and Winter breaks. Now in adult life same kind of divisions do not exist. I did have some days of Summer holiday and still a week to come but tasks are waiting to be done after holiday, no-one cleans the table for me. It is not possible to get everything ready by a certain date because project entities are too big.
Also too many ideas are adding the length to the to do lists. It would be wonderful to be that person who gets all ideas completed but reality has other plans. What comes to blogging there are always more ideas than time to process and create. This Autumn I cleaned my calendar, or Bullet Journal, from ideas that I have processed a little but who still demand lots of time. I wanted to have an empty table to think the coming season and come up with new thoughts and projects. It is more inspiring to make a new season mind map without old to dos.
This also goes in other sectors of life. There are some things that need concentration. Larger projects that lead to something bigger. Those bigger projects form the core of professional and/or private life. Then there are those minor projects that come in plenty. Little ideas what one could hustle. Some of those just circle in mind some see day light. Those minor tasks can be re-evaluated and after that cleaned away or listed for future. What matters is the bigger picture that takes to somewhere. Days pass when details occupy the everyday life and it might be challenging to see what is necessary and what is not. Especially when there are busier times it helps to see the necessary tasks and what can be put aside. Otherwise it is impossible to have breaks and rest. Work doesn't end by doing. By listing and constructing bigger entities of smaller tasks it becomes easier to manage it all. When distractions are labelled as such it is possible to forget those and start completing a bigger project slice after slice and have breaks in between.
I have always been an over achiever. I like to do more than is required and develop the work I am doing. Mostly it is good character but it also brought me a great lesson about the essence of work and life. I always tried to complete all when I got the tasks and of course it lead me to new and new projects to do. I began to forget my personal needs and always let go off everything fun if there was work to be done. It took years to understand that work exists in the world no matter how much you do it. But a human being has limitations. It is fun, inspiring and productive to work when work - free time balance is correct and one is well rested. As important as it is to have work whether paid or not it is equally important to acknowledge the meaning of free time.
That is why going through what is filling your calendar is necessary. Processing what you are doing at the moment is a great way to start a new season. Also what comes to voluntarily accepted tasks, also known as ambitions, it can lead to better achievements if unnecessary projects are simply forgotten or listed to far future. One can ask what is it that I want to achieve with this activity? If this doesn't seem to lead to anything but filling the calendar how could I replace it? For example: Instead of circling around the same blog post ideas that don't seem to actualize, could I brainstorm brand new ideas. Those would more likely inspire more and become completed bringing the sense of joy and fulfillment. That is what I did with my blog on the step of Autumn. I consciously put away many projects to have room for new and fresh ones.
One point is also to understand when a project is finished. I think fellow over achievers will relate to how difficult it is to let go. Weeks and months, sometimes even years are spent with a work project. It has been inspiring to study and bring up new angles and make the dear child even better. But when new tasks await these old dears can become a burden that require too much time when it would be more clever to concentrate on the new. There comes a day when the work is done and you have to spell it out loud to yourself. This is it, its is complete for now and it is as good as it gets. I love petting my projects. I am not sure if it is about my branch, as a social scientist there are always new perspectives to look everything and the most simple things become massive projects that won't be finished in one lifetime.
So little time so interesting world. But these larger than life project entities can occupy the whole calendar and begin to press on free time too. One can't handle all the perspectives. When I read the news I see large issues that need to be studied to be able to understand the phenomenons better. It feels tiring not to be able to know the background of it all. But in the world we don't have to do it all by ourselves. And that goes to professional life too. We have to trust that our colleagues are doing their bit. No one needs to take the cape of a superhuman. It is respecting other people to let them do what they are best at. So one way to look at your calendar is to evaluate whether you have already done enough. It might also be that the task you took is not yours at all and you can pass it to someone else who has more to give to the subject.
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