Getting Things Done: Affirmations

# I choose to be open to new ways of doing things.
# I choose to acknowledge the accomplishments of others.
# I choose to stay connected to the creative process.
# I choose to retain that which supports me easily.
# I choose to reach for the highest that is within me.
# I choose to maintain clarity in my work and my life.

Living Longer, Enjoying it Less

As a species, we live longer. The life span of the average caveman was 19 years. The life expectancy in Europe in 1392 was 38 years. The life expectancy in America in 1892 was 49. Today it is 74 for American men, 79 for women, and quickly rising for both sexes. Yet, for most people in our society, most days race by.

The faster we're able to travel or to gain new information, the greater our expectations regarding what can and needs to be accomplished in our lives. A day is still 24 hours but it seems to shrink in the face of more to do or higher expectations about what has to be done.

Time management is not the answer--it's too antiquated for the rapidly changing world. Instead, you and your fellow employees can recapture control of your lives:
* Reduce excess reading;
* Don't feel compelled to keep up with the news;
* Rest often; and most importantly,
* Handle your errands on weeknights--not on weekends.

On Being Too Busy

“If you’re too busy to enjoy your life, you are way too busy.” Jeff Davidson

Underfunding Healthy Foods

In a Baltimore Sun feature by Scott Kahan it appears that "A long-running contradiction in U.S. farm policy is fattening the waistlines of Americans and the profits of agribusiness at the same time. For the 30 years that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been issuing dietary guidelines, there has been a stark inconsistency between the federal government's advice and its food funding."

"True, the USDA has been doing more, over time, to promote health through dietary guidelines, food pyramids and other nutrition programs. And yet more than $20 billion yearly -- more than one-fifth its budget -- is sunk into a farm bill that supports many of the foods its recommendations warn against. At the same time, the department virtually ignores incentives to produce, promote and consume some of the healthiest foods: fruits and vegetables."

"This contradiction may play a role in today's obesity epidemic and is in part driven by a counterintuitive farm policy, highlighted by the farm bill, which is up for renewal this year in Congress. This legislation began during the Depression to protect farmers against environmental disasters and plummeting crop prices but has evolved into a massive program of handouts, largely benefiting agribusinesses. Worse, it promotes vast overproduction of crops that are the building blocks of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor, processed junk foods. It has become a 'food bill.'"

Jeff's take: overweight and obesity are the antithesis of Breathing Space. Learn to shop for yourself and eat what is healthy, or endure the consequences.

Now Sit up Straight!

Trainer Luke Richesson quoted in Mens Health magazine says: "Your body adapts to the posture you most often assume. If you sit at a desk all day with your shoulders slumped and your neck protruding forward, then you'll inevitably have a posture that looks more like Neanderthal man than Superman. Want to be the best you can be...? Think about posture every waking minute.

Your mother was right, don't slouch.

I Can't Get no Satisfaction?

Chris Michaud writing in the New York Post says "A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives -- although far fewer in New York and other Eastern states think they're better off than they were five years ago, according to a new survey."

"The Harris Poll of more than 1,000 people reported the overall 'satisfaction' level, defined as people who said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with their lot, was up 4 percentage points, from 90 percent two years ago. But only 42 percent of people in the Eastern U.S. said things had improved since 2002. By contrast, 60 percent of Southerners and 62 percent of Westerners said their lives had improved."

Hmmmm, so ignore the New York Times and the other eastern media elite, and you have a better chance of grasping current reality

Ease Up on Your Workout

Don’t work out so hard that you do lasting harm to yourself: The following news brief appeared in Newsday.com:

At nearly 60, injuries are taking a toll on Arnold: Time is catching up with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ordinarily, a politician's body would not be noteworthy. But what's happening now is the deconstruction of one of the greatest bodies ever. At 15, Schwarzenegger began transforming himself into a symbol of physical perfection, eventually winning more bodybuilding prizes than anyone in history… Referring to himself as the "bionic man," he finds himself with an artificial hip, reconstructed heart valves, a surgically repaired shoulder and a badly broken femur, an injury common among the elderly.

Wellness on Wheels

No time to make it to the gym? Check out Wellness On Wheels. From their site: “provides the most innovative approach to getting fit! We eliminate all the reasons most people don’t go to a health club: We come to you! No travel time, dealing with the weather, or getting yourself psyched up to work out - we bring the health club to your door! And when we show up at the appointed time, we also provide focus and motivation, ensuring that the time spent exercising is safe and effective!”

Uncluttering Your Life

With the introduction of more channels on the television set, the Internet, which was not prominent before 1993, and all the consumer choices that exist, there are many things that compete for your time and attention. If you cram that into the same 24-hour day or 168-hour week that you have
always had, then your perception will be that time is speeding by.

For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe the PC nearby is on the Internet, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.

Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.

You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.

The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.

The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people
actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.

Streamlining Work and Life

Mike Zimmerman, writing in Men's Health magazine, offers some advice on streamlining your work and your life:

* Switch to online bill paying instead of writing checks.

* Use one email address for friends and family, another for shopping and spam.

* Use DVR recorders to make your own TV schedule.

* Check the news at CNN.com or some other general source. Skip watching TV news.

* Stop overworking.

* Stop over-packing, stop over-promising, stop overdoing everything.

* Discard junk mail immediately.

* Stop micromanaging.

A Trip to the WELL

What is The WELL? The WELL describes itself as a gathering place like no other: uninhibited, intelligent, and iconoclastic. For more than twenty years, The WELL has been a trail stop for thinkers from all walks of life.

The people who frequent this place include artists, programmers, journalists, educators, and others who engage in discussion, swap information, and express their convictions, and who greet their friends in the famous online forums known as WELL Conferences. Is the WELL for you?