Staying Focused

I found it quite interesting that a recent issue of Wired magazine talked about how Twitter and Facebook can actually help make us more productive, not less - hard to believe isn't it?!!  Research has shown that "regularly stepping back from the project at hand can be essential to success. And social networks are particularly well suited to stoking the creative mind ... we need periodic breaks to relieve our conscious minds of the pressure to perform - pressure that can lock us into a single mode of thinking. Musing about something else for a while can clear away the mental detritus, letting us see an issue through fresh eyes, a process that creativity researchers call incubation ... regular breaks enhance problem-solving skills significantly".

I was recently inspired by an interview with Danish film director, Susanne Bier who shared this important tip (learned at film school) - “Kill the darlings and focus on the ball ".  In my own work as a soul reader and creative being I have had to learn that lesson over and over again and I still find it tough to let go of paintings I adore and to know when to call it quits on a painting in progress.

Staying Strong:

Tip 1. Soul Time - take some alone-time but without being tyrannical about it, to be in nature, take a walk, and enjoy the scenery without putting pressure on yourself to do anything but just be in the moment - it can be a refreshing way to recharge your soul and find joy in the small things that you often overlook.

Tip 2. Creative Time - let yourself dabble around in a journal to release whatever pent up thoughts, emotions and ideas are brewing away in your mind. Allow yourself complete creative freedom without worrying that anyone else will have to see or judge your scribblings, think of it as a way to let off creative steam and once again, allow yourself to be in the moment and really have fun with it.

Tip 3.  Media Free Time - free up your creative mind and allow yourself some space to hear your own mind, feelings, soul, by spending 1 day (or more) without listening to the media: news, tv, internet news, etc.

What new projects are you germinating right now and how could you benefit from creating healthy, balanced new ways of being?