Funneling
Do you ever get that feeling that there’s just never enough time? You have lots of plans, ideas, chores, errands, or work to do, but you just don’t see a way to get it all done? Oh? I’m not alone? Good.
Maybe we can start practicing being on-purpose together then. I recently read this book by Kevin McCarthy called The On-Purpose Person. While the book had some fatphobic language peppered in (minimal, but my trained eye/ear caught it and rolled my eyes), is rather heavy on the Bible quotes and Christian-based narrative, and the writing is rather corny, the overall crux of the book’s idea seems solid. SoJoHello’s brief synopsis: there is a METHOD that can be used to become an “on-purpose” person that can help you funnel all these competing things into a more focused and intentional way of being.
If you’re looking to find this book, it can be found on Amazon or the audio version is on Audible.
I liked doing the Audible version so I could take notes as I went along. It was less than a 4 hr listen.
If it sounds like I’m feeding you a bunch of goofery, well, I totally get it. It sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo and who has time for all that when there’s so much else that has to get done?
Or maybe, just maybe spending some time investing in yourself right now will help you to have more time for the pleasurable stuff later. Less time spent thinking about all the things you want to get done and more time and energy to actually do them.
I’m going to give it a try, though. I believe that when things feel broken or like nothing is working for you, the answer can sometimes be in trying a new approach. Of course, this doesn’t apply to everything in life. Some things can’t be fixed by thinking our way out of them. For sure. But we absolutely can strategize on how to change our circumstances so we’re better prepared to handle it. Then, when life throws us the inevitable curveball, we’re in a better place to swing at it.
So the first step is on my plate for this next week. I’m going to be spending several days making some WANT lists, separated into 8 separate “Life Accounts”, as Kevin McCarthy calls them.
Financial / Material (money and physical possessions)
Vocational / Career / Work (your job or regular thing you do to make a living)
Social / Community (friends, clubs, dating, online groups, etc.)
Family (both immediate and extended)
Physical / Health / Recreational (I like to call this one joyful movement)
Mental / Intellectual / Emotional (our mind, or what we can control of it)
Spiritual (this can be religion, but it absolutely doesn’t have to be)
Other (ie. finding a new partner, starting a new business, finding a new hobby or craft, etc.)
The goal here is to make a page for each separate life account and start filling it up with all your wants, big and small. Rotating between writing one want at the top of the page, and the next want at the bottom, then the next want under the first want, and so on, filling the pages up. Exhaust all your wants. If you need more pages, add more pages. Don’t list them in order from top to bottom, though. You’ll see why when we get to the next step.
McCarthy suggests carrying around your papers with you everywhere you go so when you think of something, you can add it. My suggestion is putting it on your notes app on your phone, carrying around a notebook, or my personal favorite is using the OneNote app so I can have access on my computer or my phone at any time.
If you’re playing along, whether it be because you’re interested in seeing where this goes or you’ve truly found yourself in a rut lately, let me know in the comments below!