I can't for the life of me read much when stressed or distracted. I feel as if my mind floating, or rather I'm walking outside on a very rainy and windy day. I know my destination but I have no desire to get there and just want to turn around, go home and crawl under the covers. Can you relate?

I am happy to admit that I'm becoming wiser at distinguishing the stress factors and what can be perhaps done about them. There are stress factors that we can address and perhaps solve and then there are ones completely out of our control. Ones we need to apply stoicism to and re-shift the mind, set a different focus. I've been working hard on a morning routine to set the tone for the day. It's still in the beginning stages but I feel the positive effects of it already. I have a stack of my the  books and journal and pen ready on my bookshelf. This simple stack simplifies my routine and doesn't give me an opportunity to sigh and get distracted. I know what I need to do and it's already in a neat stack. As I go through each book, I just build the stack again and once done put it all back. 

I'm not picky on how long to spend on each book and don't want to make it a forced activity. If I feel a small paragraph of one book is enough today then that's all I'll try to conquer. My morning pages journaling is first on the list. I set a timer for 15 minutes and usually have plenty of time to pick up a book and read a bit too. Currently, I am re-reading Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Complete Confucius, Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal and Imagine a Forest by Dinara Mirtalipova. 

My pens, highlighters and timer keep me company while I re-visit each book and try to take in a bit more. Sometimes I take notes but I find that I rarely consult my notes in a different notebook, so I just annotate the books as I go along. This whole morning routine is perhaps 30 to 45 minutes long depending on the day and I work on it whenever I can. Slowly, I plan on adding my art books to the mix, and do some light sketching or watercolour as well but that still seems a far way off. 

As Arnold Schwarzenegger says in his book Be Useful, you need to really see it. You need to envision yourself clearly where you are. You need to really see it. So I see myself every morning working towards my goals by starting the morning with a cup of tea and my stack. My simple goals. My way to re-shift and set the tone. Goal of the day: Close eyes, envision goals first. Then write down today's personal priorities and work on the top three. 

 

Wishing you a lovely day!

Loba