My 21 day commitment of turning off my laptop by 9pm is an interesting project. After the first two weeks, I am finding:
- It forces me to concentrate. Watching the clock tick down, I get things done quickly and efficiently before 9pm.
- I send more e-mails: I don’t stress over making detailed and comprehensive responses, and am learning to effectively communicating my message with less.
- The time after 9pm is a great stress relief. Being able to let go in the evening creates space that I don’t fill with the pressure to get things done.
- On the down side - my posting has disappeared in the last week.
Strangely though, I feel out-of-balance. My previous 21-day stretches incorporating exercise, meditation and the creativity project have vanished.
Prof. Srikumar Rao, in his course, Creativity & Personal Mastery, states that anytime you are trying to change your behavior through an act of will, you are doing harm to yourself - instead you should focus on who you are being, and let the change happen naturally through you. In a way, these 21-day commitments are an attempt to force myself to change - and perhaps not the most effective way to bring about change.