The Slow Down Challenge # 5: Gratefulness

I’m joining the Slow Down Challenge initiated by one of my favourite writers Jeff Goins. If you want to jump in, here’s how.

Today, try saying “thank you” — for everything.  Say it to your spouse who makes you wait for dinner. Say it to the cashier who moves too slow. Say it to your late lunch appointment or the call center operator who keeps putting you on hold. Say it to God for every inconvenience that causes you to grow. Say “thank you.” Don’t just think it or tell it to yourself. Actually speak the words — and mean them. Be grateful for the moments that slow you down, the ones that cause you to take your time. Use these opportunities to appreciate what you already have and tend to miss. As you do, see how much better life looks, and actually is, when you approach it with gratitude.

I’ve been literally on a slow-down mode for the past four months. I usually tell people I’m bumming around but I personally call it my gap months. In practice, people take a year off from school or work to volunteer, travel, or learn new skills. It’s not a popular practice in the Philippines, however and I can’t really afford a year off so I’m sticking with a few months.

It’s been a really good four months. Although I panicked after the first two months, I’ve learned to take it in stride. I owned my time now (except for the occasional household chores) so I had to make the wisest use of it. To date, I finished my travelogue series for my Vietnam-Cambodia backpacking trip, spoken at two news writing workshops at my alma mater, volunteered to take pictures of the school events my parents organized, started a photo blog, learned to cook omelette, cuddled my nephews and niece a lot, and I am about to finish the Slow Down Challenge. I still have a lot of things to do on my list so never for a second am I bored.

But what I’m really doing is waiting. Waiting for the next bus that will take me to my next destination. Jeff Goins, one of my favorite authors who also started the Slow Down Challenge, said that our big moments happen every now and then. But most of the time, we spend our lives waiting. And what do during this waiting period makes all the difference.  

The point of this last challenge is to say thank you to the people who have slowed you down. Since the gaps months was a personal decision and quite frankly, one of the best decisions I have ever made, I thanked HIM. My Creator. My Savior. For leading me to this path. For making me realize a lot of things. For making me breathe. For making me forgive. For making me let go of things I cannot anymore control. And for making me believe in HIM again. For everything. And I will always be grateful.

The Slow Down Challenge # 4: Disturb Me, Not!

I’m joining the Slow Down Challenge initiated by one of my favourite writers Jeff Goins. If you want to jump in, here’s how.

The Challenge:

1.       Decide what you will do and who you will be WHEN you get interrupted. You don’t have to let people steal your time, but choose your response before it happens.

2.       Block out time to spend with a person who usually interrupts you. Call her just to chat; if local, ask her to lunch.

3.       When an interruption occurs, welcome it. Look for what you can learn from the experience, and don’t get annoyed. Instead, embrace this as a chance to grow.

Lately, I’ve been doing a LOT of writing for my blog as a result of trying to accomplish the Slow Down Challenge # 3. For two weeks, I laboured over my travelogue series to the last letter. Fighting all the distractions was pretty hard, especially since we live next door to my nephew (aged 4) and niece (aged 3). There isn’t a day they don’t burst through the door screaming or giggling. I later found out they frequent our home to collect their daily dose of candies or sweets.

They are adorable, irresistible, and sometimes really irritating. My niece is THE BOSS. When she enters my room, she smiles sweetly and lets me cuddle her. Such a cutie. Then she grabs my hand, my fingers – whatever she can hold on to – and pulls me toward the canisters that keep the candies. At times when I’m relentlessly chasing an idea with my fingers, I pull back and resist. Sometimes, I win and she walks away. Sometimes, I grudgingly comply. On the other hand, my nephew and I can already engage in a simple conversation and he’s tall enough to reach the canisters so he simply drops by my room to poke his nose into my business, asking a series of follow-up questions to my answers to his questions. Here’s our typical conversation:

Nephew: What you doing?

Me: Working.

Nephew: Why are you working?

Me: Because I have to.

Nephew: Why do you have to?

Me: (Grasps for answer.)

I’ve come to love and hate their interruptions. I love those tykes! I’d hug, kiss, and cuddle them. But when they distract me, what little brats! But I realized it doesn’t have to be either or. And I found out, there’s a way to weave these distractions into my everyday routine. I started treating those distractions as breaks – just like bathroom breaks, and I actually use the time to play with them a little. It’s a huge help to my writing too. The effect is similar when I’m stuck in a rut and leave my desk for a while to get some fresh air or fix a cup of coffee. When I play with them, my mind relaxes and gives me a couple of new strategies to attack the piece. I’ve come to appreciate the distractions and turned them instead into necessary pauses. After all, that’s what I came back here for: to spend more time with the people I love.        

The Slow Down Challenge # 3: Writing

I’m joining the Slow Down Challenge initiated by one of my favourite writers Jeff Goins. If you want to jump in, here’s how.

I ended my Slow Down Challenge #2 with an admission: I’m a huge multi-tasker. As if on cue, the third challenge is the one that deals with multi-tasking. Here’s the challenge:

1.       Pick one task you need to accomplish; write it down.

2.       List all distractions that stand in your way.

3.       Share the list with one person who can hold you accountable.

4.       As you work, glance at your list and remind yourself what really matters.

5.       Turn off your phone and/or silence other pieces of technology, while you do this task. See how much better your can concentrate when you focus.

And here’s my response to the challenge:

The Task: Finish the blog post about my first backpacking trip.  

Distractions:

1.       Myself and my nagging perfectionism

2.       Internet

3.       Nephews & niece

My accountability partners: Maan and AC

It’s been four months since my first backpacking trip and I haven’t written a single word about it.  So I decided to make it my major task, only to realize later how much work and how much time it took. I went backpacking for 13 days and it’s impossible to squeeze everything in one very long post. Well, yes, if I do it sloppily – which I will not, cannot, and should not. (Refer to # 1 distraction.) I had to write more than 10 blog posts to cover the entire trip. The next two weeks were heaven and hell.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of multitasking. I was doing quite well for my first two posts – minimal checking of email, kept my phone away, being in relative seclusion to the rest of the world, and putting my entire focus on the articles. After the success of my first two posts however, I relapsed and went back to my usual routine. I struggled. The distractions loomed larger and became more persistent. My nagging perfectionism tormented me for hours. (said the voice in my head: “Nope, can’t write that.” “Boring!” “Seriously?”) There was so much going on I couldn’t resist googling the latest news about the pork barrel scam and the senators involved. My nephews and nieces kept barging into my room with all the fanfare that accompanies kids their age.

If there was anything that kept me sane for the last two weeks, it’s the thought that if you don’t know what to write, write anyway. Write anything. Just write and don’t ever give up. The hardest part of writing is when inspiration seems to have abandoned the writer. After that, everything the writer does is hard, hard work wrangling with the nouns, verbs, and adjectives and stringing phrases and thoughts together. But I showed up every day on my laptop and wrote whether I was feeling the inspiration or not. How’s that, perfectionist you. And two weeks later, I finished my major task. Hallelujah!

I still am a huge multi-tasker. It’s kind of hard to rub down years of embracing the corporate mentality that lauds multi-taskers. But with practice, more focus, less distractions, and strong will, it is possible. 

The Slow Down Challenge# 2: Fast Eater, Multi-Tasker

I’m joining the Slow Down Challenge initiated by one of my favourite writers Jeff Goins. If you want to jump in, here’s how.

I’ve been slacking. Guilty, as charged. But the day after I posted the first challenge, I got a really painful canker sore on my lower lip. I couldn’t, for the life of me, accomplish the second challenge without wincing in pain. Thankfully, after several swabs of gel, I am back to business and ready to pin down the next challenge.

I am part of a generation of fast-food eaters. I am a fast eater.

The challenge proved to be tougher than I expected. Sure, I love food. Nothing gives me more pleasure than eating out with friends and family celebrations are more memorable with Mom’s culinary specialties. However, appreciation of food itself is often short-lived and rarely went beyond the critical taste test. The rest of the eating experience is carried out on autopilot. Even when I’m eating alone, my brain is too busy reeling with all kinds of to-do lists. So yes, excuse me food, to the backseat you go. I’m too busy to count how many times I have to throw you around my mouth.

So to chew slowly and make each bite intentional and deliberate would take a lot of effort and self-control. Then again, that’s the point of taking a challenge, isn’t it?

Summoning all my energies and fighting the urge not to babble, I sat down and started with small servings. In the beginning, it was easy. My entire attention was on the food in my mouth, how I cut it to bits, or how the juices teased my taste buds. It was indeed a fuller culinary experience. I felt so much in control and so in-the-moment.

And then we started talking and the to-do lists flashed on my mind. Poof! My resolve flew out the window. But it doesn't mean it ends there. Because I’m going to keep trying.

On hindsight, if this challenge proved anything, it underscored the fact that I’m a huge multi-tasker even in the simplest pleasures of life such as enjoying a hearty meal. I have so much to learn how to slow things down. And I can’t wait to start.

The Slow Down Challenge# 1: Itsy Bitsy Silky Spidey

I’m joining the Slow Down Challenge initiated by one of my favourite writers Jeff Goins. If you want to jump in, here’s how.

It’s been more than two months since I left my third employer. I am jobless, unemployed, and “bumming professionally,” as I’d like to say. This is by far the longest I’ve been without a job. No rigid 8 to 5 routines and overtimes, no deadlines to beat, and no reports to finish.  Life couldn’t get any slower than this, I thought. I owned my time. I did things because I wanted to, not because I have to.

Then I hit the 2-month mark. I became restless, uncomfortable, and paranoid when I should be basking in this glorious, temporary freedom. I guess when you’ve been in the rat race for so long, your brain is wired to shun the dull moments and prompt you to get back in the game asap. If you’re the kind of person whose eye is always on the destination and not the journey itself, this might work. But for me, who is an avid advocate of deliberately living and not merely existing, this perspective raises red flags. Quality trumps quantity, every time.   

Anyway, back to the challenge. Here's the Slow Down Challenge for Day 1.

This was an interesting challenge. Can I slow down any further?

I decided to explore the little nooks in the house and started with the dirty kitchen. Nothing, except for 3 frogs lumped together in one corner. I stood in the empty garage, closed my eyes, and used my ears to catch unusual sounds. Except for the television sounds coming from the neighbour’s house, nothing. I checked out the trees, the plants, and everything green. Nothing. Damn.

Abandoning the idea entirely, I decided to take out my camera for a little practice shooting instead. I was about to take a shot of a small flower when I saw it. Itsy bitsy spider dancing around its web. I zoomed in on the little creature, hoping to capture a macro shot but it won’t stay still. Then I realized it was building its web. I have never seen a spider build its web before. I watched it with awe as it tirelessly spun a geometric fortress made of silk. How did it even know where to go or what to do to unleash that flimsy silk from its arms? I held my breath, almost too afraid one huff of air might blow the web away. A mysteriously beautiful creation was unfolding right before my eyes. I took a few snapshots, hoping my amateur photography skills could give justice to such splendour. 

Thank You, for all things beautiful and breathtaking.