Tuesday

This was a three-day holiday weekend (Memorial Day), but I worked all three days. On Saturday I worked the majority of the day, on Sunday I taught my Sunday school class, Monday I worked half of the day. None of that really matters.

What does matter is that I finally seem to have broken out of being stuck. I really hit the breaking point when I realized that I need to simply work the way that my wants to work. I can't fight what I am. I finally stepped back and made a simple set of rules to follow when doing anything. These rules seem to be universal, but more testing will be required:

1. Treat each day and situation like taking a day trip, or going to an event. Other things will have to be set aside so that I can focus on what is in front of me.
2. Take care of today's "annoying" items and get them completely out of the way.
3. Make a list of everything else on my mind that will need to be dealt with later. 
4. Get myself mentally ready to do what needs to be done. This may mean taking a break or stepping out for a while so that I can start making the mental shift and eliminate any latent emotions.
5. Clean the area of anything not involved with the upcoming task or project. Set it all aside, file it, shove it into a cupboard, whatever. Just get it out of visual range.
6. Set up the environment for close focus work.
• Get my "kit" of items needed for this project.
• Remove any remaining distractions such as noises, smells, etc.
• Limit potential disturbances as much as possible (phones, etc.)
7. Play the right kind of music for the task that I'm about to do.
8. Do the job in a way that it requires mindful physicality. There has to be a physical act related to what I'm doing that requires some focus on how I am doing as much as what I am doing. This may simply mean writing my notes in the most beautiful penmanship that I can.
9. Art must be in the work. It cannot simply be a task. There needs to be some kind of art or excellence tied to it. 
10. There must be an internal goal that is the target. It is not known to anyone else, but it is what I want. Moreover, I aim at this target without aiming. I focus on the mechanics while the back of my mind remembers the target.
11. Get "close" to the task. Give myself tunnel vision. Set apps to full-screen. Get closer to the white board. Get closer to the document. Whatever it takes to focus on the "sites" not on the "target". 

As I started to put this into play I found flow in each of my tasks. Each step was critical to my success.