I was checking out Meredith Medland’s Living Green podcasts (cool) and decided to look at other titles in the Personal Life Media series she’s part of. In the process I found some podcasts by Mark Michael Lewis in a group he calls Money. Mission and Meaning. There were three episodes called the Genius Cycle that I listened to and these are the basic principles:
- Focus attention
- Study your experience and look for patterns
- Recognize (re-cognize) the pattern and make it distinct (separate out from other aspects of the experience).
- Name it.
- Experiment with the distinction through conscious choice (choose a specific behavior).
- Deliberately act on your choice
- Test the results with observation (focus attention again)
Like the podcaster mentioned, it’s the epirical method (observe, isolate, try something different, observe and modify). So, since I’m interested in developing a new and profitable business to balance the non-profit side, I thought I’d apply it to my own personal challenges. When I focus my attention on what seems to block attempts like this (and there have been many business ideas that have been experimented with and later abandoned–maybe the nature of things), what came up was difficulty with the first step. There are so many competing ideas and demands for time (none of which seem willing to defer to others) that it’s difficult to focus attention (or enough attention) on any one to make substantial progress. So, if I apply the method to that here are the results:
- Focus attention
I focused attention on the issue of manifesting something that I want (to make money enough to support myself, do work that gives me an opportunity to learn and grow, travel often to Europe)
- Study your experience and look for patterns
When I looked at my experience, I find that distraction causes me to switch frequently from one project to another (looking for inspiration, maybe feeling that there are too many obstacles to overcome and that I don’t know where to start).
- Recognize (re-cognize) the pattern and make it distinct (separate out from other aspects of the experience).
It seems like when I get to this point I procrastinate. Just put the problem aside and pick up something else–which leads to more distractions. The truth is that more projects, more research, more ideas turn into more distractions.
- Name it.
If I had to choose a name for this pattern it would be procrastination which is usually about putting off the inevitable to give me the sense that I have control, when in fact I often don’t. I can postpone paying a bill, but will eventually have to pay it and the more I procrastinate, the more it will cost me. Some things I have control over and some things I don’t. I can control when I pay, but not whether I pay.
- Experiment with the distinction through conscious choice (choose a specific behavior).
So, in this case, I decided to stop procrastinating to avoid distraction. This reminds me of the Insight time management course I took. The premise was that you dump all the unfinished business out of your head where it is a constant distraction and first prioritize (what are the critical needs) and then act on the highest priority tasks first.
- Deliberately act on your choice
I’ve been experimenting with paying bills on time. I keep a file ordered by due date, open my mail and sort it immediately so I don’t get caught unaware and pay on the last possible date (to keep some semblance of independence) that avoids penalty. Now I’m trying to deal with all tax penalties to get that anxiety out of my consciousness. The twisted logic is that I procrastinate to maintain control (when I don’t have it) which results in action by government and creditors that actually reduces my control (they kidnap your assets which reduces control further).
- Test the results with observation (focus attention again)
The results have been good. I have more control rather than less. When I finish with the tax payments, I’ll have much less financial distraction which has been much more severe lately. So, how else does procrastination affect me and accomplishing what I want? That’s the next step.
