Finding time for feeling inspired

Holding hands

In this deadline-free week, instead of focusing on one task after the next, numb to everything except the pressure of finishing tasks on time, I have had time to ponder, to think, to observe...and time for feeling inspired.

It has been an intriguing week of emotional ups and downs, of excitement and frustration, of joy and melancholy. This week has been an emotional rollercoaster… yet nothing has happened.

There have been no births or deaths, no accidents or windfalls, no important events. In fact there have been no deadlines – a very unusual week. There has been no mad dash to get a report or project finished. There have been no planes to catch or appointments to keep.

I have been working quietly at home, doing my accounts, tidying my office, mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, working my way through a large pile of ironing.

So why the emotional ups and downs? Why has this been such an intriguing week?

I’ve been pondering this question and think it’s that I have had time to feel.

I haven’t been rushing or fiercely focused on one task after the next, numb to everything except the pressure of finishing tasks on time. I have had time to ponder, to think and to observe. I have had time to feel guilty about not working at full tilt - I think we always find time for that.

I have had time to feel frustrated whilst apartment hunting via distance. I have had time to feel annoyed with myself when little tasks don’t get done. I haven’t replied to that email. I haven’t made that phone call. And I’ve had time to indulge myself at the end of the day, to forget about what hasn’t been done and have a glass of wine, watch the seven o’clock news and cook dinner.

Most importantly, I have had time for feeling inspired and to re-focus on what’s important. I have given my three week-old niece a bath for the first time and felt useful, helpful and significant in my sister’s family life. I have spent two glorious hours in the sunshine working in the garden and felt physical, productive and warm, a wonderful reprieve from Melbourne’s chilly winter.

I have felt pride on seeing an article of mine published in a professional magazine and gratitude when a reader emailed to say thanks, and I’ve taken the time to check in on the online community of solo professionals whose pursuits, positive outlook, goals and achievements regularly inspire me to achieve bigger and better things myself.

This week I have taken the time to recharge, refocus, re-write my list of goals and get ready to get going again. It’s a good thing too. Next week I will be back boarding planes, lugging laptops and racing deadlines. But I’ll be doing it with more spring in my step and the knowledge that I know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I will be feeling inspired.

If you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than your own life. Positive psychologists suggest keeping a journal in which you make a note each night of at least one item, issue, conversation, story, person, scene or experience that inspired you that day. Review this regularly and use it to help you form your goals. What have these things inspired you to do? What small step can you take tomorrow that will get you on the way to achieving that goal and maintaining that inspiration?

Ellen Jackson is a consultant psychologist specialising in people at work. She is also co-author of Turning 30: How to Get the Life You Really Want.

2 comments | Add your own

What a great article! So insightful . . . I also have weeks of being absolutely "flat-out" with work, to which my friends say "Oh! that must make you happy!" but really, I feel almost nothing at all during these busy times other than a sense of total immersion. I feel happiest sitting on my balcony with a cup of tea and gazing out at the sky. Donna McDonald from Brisbane
Let us never forget that one of the great gifts of being a solopreneur is the freedom to manage our time. I can choose to spend an afternoon sitting in the sun with a (non-work-related) book. The trick is to keep the guilt-demon at bay. When I do convince myself to kick back a bit, and I start to feel bad about not working, i remind myself that not working is actually working because the break always leaves me more freshed and bursting with ideas afterwards. Here's to tea, sky, socks, fin ideas, and cats. Zern from eicolab

2 comments | Add your own

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