Month: April 2021

Multitasking is an Antiquated Notion

Multitasking is an Antiquated Notion

Posted on by kbodtmann

We are driven by the “do more, achieve more” hustle culture that has permeated our mindsets. However, grinding out task after task does not lead to personal fulfillment or happiness and neither does saturating every moment with as many inputs as possible. Like a computer, the more windows and processes you have open and running, the more memory you are using. The more “memory” you are using, the slower the execution of all your inputs with less detailed, slowly loading outputs. The myth of multitasking has been robbing us of two things – our efficiency and our enjoyment of life. The antidote is two-fold and simple – learn the art of single-tasking and focused acceptance.

If you want to be more efficient then work on one task at a time. Of course, we all have family members, friends, or emergent messages and tasks that will inevitably interrupt our flow. This is not what I am referring to. My recommendation is to set an intention prior to anything you are doing and become in-distractible during that task. For instance, write that proposal, make that presentation or finish your charts without browsing social media, checking slack, and tidying your desk simultaneously. There are so many tools that can help us but a few suggestions I can make are utilizing the Pomodoro technique (25 minutes focused work /5 rest or 50 minutes focused work/ 10 rest), turning off ALL notifications on your phone or putting your phone in another room, and utilizing the FREEDOM app that blocks all web distractions on all your devices simultaneously. When you work on one task at a time, uninterrupted, you are able to utilize creativity and inspiration to get into “flow” (aka the zone) and execute that task faster. Your brain is a beautiful processer but you can’t jam it up with 100 requests at once. Give it one question to mull over without distraction and the answer will come quickly and the solution will be simple and eloquent. You just need to give your brain the space it needs to deliver on your request. You deserve to achieve great things, but you are standing in your own way if you are not giving yourself blocks of focused time to single-task on the goals and projects that matter most.

You deserve more. You deserve a life where you can savor each thing you are doing with your full attention. The people around you, at work and in your home, also deserve your undivided attention. If you commit to spending an hour with your children then they truly deserve an hour of your full attention. Do you know how children spell love? T-I-M-E. If you are going for a walk then put down your phone and look at nature with awe and gratitude. At work, be the highly engaged and motivated person who is intently focused on your patient’s/client’s/coworker’s well-being and is present in the moment and always ready to help or be part of the solution. Be deeply engaged with life as it is. This is what I call – focused acceptance. It is understanding that you can not control what is happening in every single moment of your life so instead of wishing you could change it or that you were somewhere else, doing something else, fully embrace each moment as if you did choose it. I would find myself unable to enjoy the beautiful moments of life because I was obsessed with making each moment productive. This looked like cramming work in during family events or resenting park days with my children, mourning the time I could have spent cleaning or making some other forward progress on my to-do list. Until I realized how sad and meaningless a life like this is. What I had was a life filled with multitasking and a bank of memories filled with tasks instead of people and adventures I loved. We all deserve more. Be where you are. When it is time to work do so in a structured and efficient single-tasking manner. This will create even more time for you to appreciate the space between and cultivate the precious moments you cherish most. With a clear mind and purposeful intention, you will be fully present with the people and ideas you love. After all, isn’t this what life is all about?

Ode to Earth – A Poem by Kristin C.

Ode to Earth – A Poem by Kristin C.

Posted on by kbodtmann

In the vacuum of darkness and limitless direction, a glowing blue marble of relative perfection.
Change is the only constant from your unfaltering motion, natural rhythms conducted by your cycles and oceans. 
The passage of time, we measure in every rotation, the extent of our experience in every revolution.
Slightly atilt from early volatile collision, led to the awe of your lunar and seasonal creation.

Deep within, molten rock and your charged iron core, a secret weapon of external solar deflection, is a force that does more –
This mighty presence is your Electromagnetic Field, it generates polarity and is a powerful shield.   
Life is made possible through it’s atmospheric protection, as well as the provision of navigational direction.
Your seemless beauty and all that came next, truly can not be understood from theories or text.

Along with the passage of unfathomable days, an immense biome evolved in variable ways.
From single-celled bacteria to complex vertebrate form, some more than others have left scars on their home.
Visible on your dark side, away from the Sun’s eye it’s hid, a distinct presence is ‘shone’, illuminated in grid.
Human kind has left the largest footprint on your earth, yet it’s important to state our purpose is of no greater worth.

We are united together on you, our ONE planet, plain truth from this distance above,
Therefore, we should treat one another, each species, and YOU with great LOVE.
Those dedicated to this call, rise up and remain vigilant, yet many are blinded by ego, blissfully unaware, or plain ignorant.
ALL was brought forth and nurtured from your motherly womb, as ALL will lay rest and be recycled in your encompassing tomb.

Often, it can be turbulent on this marble in space, and your inhabitants will succumb to multiple fates. 
Sometimes by your hand through elemental disaster, but more often by our own undoing, we get there much faster.
In the midst of existence, our tribulations and our yearning, one thing is for certain, you, Earth, will keep turning.
Sometimes all it takes is a view from afar, to see just how magnificent of a planet you are!

Thank you Earth!

Written on April 22, 2020
Happy 51th Anniversary of Earth Day today

Be True To Your Life Values

Be True To Your Life Values

Posted on by kbodtmann

A person of integrity stands true to their moral and ethical values at all times, no matter the circumstance or who is watching them. They stand strong to their personal principles and always act ethically and morally. To me, this is one of the most important attributes of a good person and is a paramount quality for a good leader. In fact, the best leaders are those who do not simply have the title but naturally influence others by living from a strong set of personal principles and step up to help and encourage even in the most difficult of times.

There are people in this world that seem to change their colors like a chameleon, altering themselves constantly for some personal gain or interest. There are others that seem to easily shed their skin like a snake. They lie to themselves that the rest of the world can not see who they really are but with each shed, the snakeskin is always left behind as a remnant of their past indiscretion. These remnants can be easily found by others. The snake may shed its skin thinking itself fresh and renewed but people can still see that at its core, a snake is a snake. Don’t be a chameleon and don’t be a snake. Be a person who knows themselves and lives each day at home, at work, with friends, with partners as their true self. Commit to life values that we all know to be paramount – honesty, kindness, respect, and consistency of character. If you make an honest mistake, own up to it. Take agency and accountability for all of your life decisions and don’t blame other people or outer circumstances for your poor decisions or unethical behavior.

When you stray from your life values this can have a ripple effect on everyone around you and damaging consequences. If you think people can not feel disingenuous behavior or see the inconsistencies of your character, you are wrong. People have a deeper sense and intuition about others and an ingrained talent to spot those who have a self-serving or deceitful nature. There is just so long you can fool those around you when you act in an incongruent manner. We have all been around someone who makes us feel uncomfortable and a sense that this person is not who they say they are – and trust me if you have felt that, you were right. If you are reading this blog, you are undoubtedly a person who is interested in growing, evolving, and striving to be a better version of yourself. My advice to you is to cultivate an unshakeable set of life values that can guide you in all your decision making from narrowing down your list of life priorities to having a deep sense of self that guides you in your most difficult times. If you live out these values day to day and vow to always be a person of high integrity, then you are already winning. The world has a way of rewarding those who are true to their highest self and virtues and unfortunately, the adverse is true as well.

This post is dedicated to my Father who is a constant inspiration and embodies what it is like to live a life of high integrity with love for his family and a deep sense of moral value and my soul sister Kristin who is walking beside me on the same path and has taught me to love and always be true to myself. Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people.

Prioritize Important Over Urgent and Cultivate a Deep Life

Prioritize Important Over Urgent and Cultivate a Deep Life

Posted on by kbodtmann

If you feel you are not making progress on your goals, likely you have allowed the unimportant and urgent tasks of life to take over. The path to finding meaning is to find a way to move forward on your creative endeavors or side projects and cultivate joy by pursuing your own personal passions. These arguably are the most important aspects of a fulfilling and enjoyable life but they often get pushed aside every day. Be different and make a stand for yourself and the life you choose to lead.

I will be happy when (insert said accomplishment or milestone) is a slippery slope toward discontent and frustration. It leads you to believe that every moment must be productive or it is wasted. Happiness is found by accepting what currently is and finding meaning in each moment regardless of the outcome. Paradoxically, the most productive people do not cram their schedule with constant things they can produce. They allow white space in their life to understand what is important to them and then put those things above all else. Having this clarity and prioritizing what holds value to them leads to a deeply felt sense of inner joy. Operating from this space of inner joy is what allows them to experience happiness NOW and adds a dimension of flow and ease to their daily work. Enthusiastic people who live in the moment with a deep sense of happiness are the most successful people – not the other way around.

Simply said, wake up every day and take time to determine what you really value. What pursuit would fill you up with a feeling of accomplishment and pride? Is there something you have always wanted to do or be that would bring a deeper meaning to your own life? Whatever this may be for you, find a way to work on that before all else. Know and prove to yourself that you are committed to bringing yourself joy every day and are moving forward and creating momentum on the projects and passions that light you up. Prioritize what is important to you over all the other unimportant tasks that are screaming for your attention and you will begin to trust that happiness is today and not some future destination.

One Bad Day Does Not Define You

One Bad Day Does Not Define You

Posted on by kbodtmann

One bad day turns into a bad week. That bad week rolls into a bad month. Pretty soon you look back on your life and your physical appearance and think – How did I get here?

We are our choices and habits. It is imperative that we take each moment and choose the next right choice that will bring us closer to our dreams and bolster our inherent values. HOWEVER, the inverse of this is not true UNLESS you make it so.

I always struggled to lose weight and then would gain it back quickly. I would start a new diet plan and be super strict and feel good about it for …. Oh, about 2 days. Then I would give in and eat something super unhealthy – whether it was for convenience or an intense craving in a moment of weakness. Then I would spiral – well I already ruined today so might as well just eat as much as I want today and start new tomorrow. I would tell myself it was ok because tomorrow I would be really strict and start fresh. Except tomorrow would never come because I would repeat this cycle over and over. One bad choice should not equal an entire bad day and one bad day should not equal a bad week of poor eating habits. When you let your mind take control and rationalize your bad choices in the moment because some future “you” will magically start over and gain willpower. You are making a crucial error in your thinking.

Let’s think about things in a new way. What if the new you has a bad moment and that is part of the plan, part of the growth. Your bad day or bad food choice does not ruin your new diet because your new diet is a way of life that allows you to have a bad day. Your new life allows you to celebrate with that birthday cake or have that sugary indulgence and that will not derail you. That bad food choice is actually part of your new diet plan. It is more toxic to berate yourself over a bad choice than to accept that a life worth living has to make allowances for these moments. The distinction that is important to make is that this ONE choice is not the foundation for the person you are becoming. If you allow it to define you then you will become a person that consistently makes bad choices. Tomorrow, you will still have renewed passion toward making one more positive food choice and one less negative one, even if you fell from your diet goal today. Your next best choice will be berries over ice cream EVEN IF the rest of the day was pizza and doughnuts and you are still on track because this is part of your diet plan. As long as you are overall moving in a positive direction, you will get there. One food failure does not make a whole year of terrible food choices unless you allow that to happen.

Likewise, those of us who are working on being a more fulfilled, happier, and joyful version of ourselves will have our occasional downfalls. What is important is waking up every day and committing to a better life. Taking time to cultivate those daily habits that move you toward living a life of integrity; with passion for your goals, love for your family and friends, and embracing an attitude of eudaimonia. There will be days that the daily grind gets in the way of making progress on your goals. Instead of being angry over your lack of discipline or your inability to find your flow to knock things off your to-do list, accept that there will be those non-productive days and give yourself grace. Your daily intention of patience may just go out the window in that one moment when your child interrupts you for the 15th time. Your values may take a dip when you succumb to participation in that juicy gossip or judgment of another. So you had a bad moment. We all do. Do not let that bad moment ruin your day and do not allow that bad day to turn into a bad week. A lifetime of bad weeks is not a life worth living. See things for what they are and know you are still committed to that future version of yourself and you are making progress every day. Your bad choices, your non-productive hours, your momentary lapses do not define you unless you allow them to. Your continued pursuit of excellence and commitment toward making better choices every day is who you are. One day you will wake up and find yourself proud of who you have become and think in a good way, “how did I get here?”.