Summer Time and Seven Keys to Living Timefully

The clocks go forward this Sunday, which means we lose an hour out of the weekend. Although it is lovely when British Summertime is here and we get lighter evenings, it does serve as a reminder to make the most of all the time available.

Mindfulness coach Tom Evans and author of The Zone: How to Get In It and Stay In It,says that by clearing your mind, you make space for decision-making clarity and remove thoughts that would usually serve as barriers to your best ideas.

He said: “Anyone who puts aside ten minutes a day to meditate will be more relaxed, happy and creative as a result. By clearing your mind, you make space for decision-making clarity and remove thoughts that would usually serve as barriers to your best ideas.”

Tom's mindfulness movement is called ‘Living Timefully’, which is mindfulness with time management at its core. Here he has compiled seven time-full and mind-full ways to take control of the passage of time.

Key 1: Meditate daily
It is thought that every minute spent in the meditative state, gets added back to our lives. We either save any time spent by having a better day or add a minute to our longevity. When we learn to enter the meditative state with our eyes open, time seems to bend and stretch so we get more done in less time.

Key 2: Make a date with your Creative Self
Each day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes, a date with our Creative Self is like a recharge for the mind, body and soul. We might write ‘morning pages’, pick up a guitar and strum or visit an art gallery. Just going for a walk in the park and imagining the most amazing future counts too.

Key 3: Trust your gut and follow your heart
Our head ‘shouts’ quite loudly; so much so that sometimes the signals from our gut and heart get overlooked and overruled. So, for each decision you have to make, ask your gut for a Yes or a No. Next ask your heart if it is cold, lukewarm or boiling hot about it. If your gut and heart give you the green light, proceed with gusto. If not, ask them what would have to change in order to get their blessing.

Key 4: Create a To Love List
It’s said when we love the work we do, we never work as such again. So ditch your To Do list and start a To Love list. At the top, put the things you love to do first and tackle your list from the top down. If there are things on there you don’t like doing so much, either outsource them or be creative about how you could love doing them.

Key 5: Sync with natural time
Our modern calendar has caused us to fall out of sync with natural time. Our creativity waxes and wanes with the seasons, the phase of the moon and the hours in each day. When we discover our naturally creative times, we go with the flow and stop pushing water up a temporal hill.

Key 6: Be thankful
At the end of each day, either in a journal or just in your head as it hits the pillow, reflect on the highlights of your day. As you drop off into slumber, say one last ‘Thank You’ for the day to your bed for giving you a good night’s sleep.

Key 7: Perform a Random Act of Kindness
When we get into the habit of performing a random of kindness to a stranger each day, something rather magical happens. Other people, who weren’t aware of our act or the recipient of our act, perform similar kindnesses to us. The ratio of kindnesses is more than two bestowed back on us for everyone we give out. The result is big time saving.

Tom wants to get everyone to meditate, so has also made a ten-minute ‘Be Calm’ meditation that is available free of charge. You can find out more about that and about Tom's work here: http://www.livingtimefully.com/ Tom’s main web site is: http://www.tomevans.co

His books include New Magic for a New Era: How to Live a Charmed Lifeand The Zone: How to Get In It and Stay In It.

Note:  the clocks go forward 1 hour at 1am on the last Sunday in March, and back 1 hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October. The period when the clocks are 1 hour ahead is called British Summer Time (BST).

Links and previous related posts
http://www.livingtimefully.com/
http://www.tomevans.co
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/01/tips-how-to-overcome-12-barriers-to.html
New Magic for a New Era: How to Live a Charmed Life
The Zone: How to Get In It and Stay In It