How did I go from a busily scheduled life to one with substantial unstructured time?

1/ More creating, less consuming

I stopped obsessive mindless scrolling and started creating. Instagram for artworks. Twitter for thoughts. Unsubscribed from other apps. Saved a LOT of time.

2/ More deep focus, less context switching

I loved to be involved in many projects, but didn’t take into account the cost of making the mind switch between works. I decided to choose one important project and pour all of me into it.
3/ “It’s either hell yeah, or no”

I dropped projects that didn’t make me feel all fervent. I ruthlessly purged the guilt and FOMO. It was hella scary and uncomfortable at first, but was liberating over time. Knowing your why is the key.
4/ More focus on health and people

I was generous with time when it was for my health and people. I exercised, did yoga, went on for walks, and slept whenever I wanted. Same way, I didn’t look at the clock when I was with people. I resolved to be there and only there.
5/ Less worrying about saying no

Well, this was perhaps the toughest one for me. I was so used to being involved in many projects, that retracting myself from them was almost impossible. It was SO painful. Yet, I trusted it would be a wise choice long term and bore the pain.
6/ Fighting the feeling of “wasting time”

Some days I felt utterly unproductive and restless when I had more time than usual. I nostalgically looked back at the times when I was busy and felt guilty. Reinforcing faith in my worth and time crucially helped.
7/ Being in a conducive environment

All said and done, your peers and managers will need to believe in your worth and work. I got super lucky here cuz my mentor aggressively propagates unstructured time and pushed me for it.
Having unstructured time is the key to unlock your potential. You’ve to be comfortable with doing nothing and let your mind naturally gravitate towards what gets you into the flow . 🙂

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