“Judy…I absolutely love to work hard, contribute and create. And I’m tired of accomplishing amazing feats to be drained and exhausted. Where is my disconnect?”

I asked this question to my transitional doula, Judy Carr, who supports people and organizations through big life changes – like career shifts, death, or trauma.

In my case, I’ve experienced massive change in the last 18 months – divorce, moving across the country, remodeling a home, and rebranding my business. Exciting, but also a lot of things happening at once.

Judy helped me shift my perspective on time by opening my mind to how other cultures experience the same 24 hours in a day.

She taught me that time is experienced as a spectrum depending on where you are in the world.

There’s something called Poly-Cronic Time (p-time) vs Mono-Chronic Time (m-time) as defined by Edward T Hall, an American anthropologist.

• M-time is linear, tangible and concrete. (This is how Americans experience time)
• P-time as flexible, people oriented and transactional completion. (This is how many Mediterranean countries experience time)

In the Hopi language, there aren’t verb tenses for the past, present, or the future.

In fact, there are many cultures – like those belonging to the Hopi, Intuit and African people – in which time is considered to be cyclical. Time is only a concept of the present and ruled by nature.

“If you want your dreams to come true don’t over sleep”.

– Yiddish Proverb

What I pulled away from this is…it’s not that I’m rushed or that I don’t have enough time. I’m simply not present long enough to reap the rewards of my contributions.

This year, I’m committing to more mindfulness throughout the day to be more in the present moment.

I want to complete something and feel energized by the progress, not depleted by the next thing on the to-do list once something is accomplished.

I’ll be using Dr. Adam Bell’s practice, and I invite you to cultivate a similar practice for yourself, as well.

It’s called a 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Practice, and I’m taking breaks during the day to pause and spend 2-3 minutes reorienting to my surroundings.

1. Find five things you can see in your immediate vicinity — the clutter on your desk, the grubbiness of your computer screen, the empty coffee cups. Don’t judge. Just observe.
2. Bring your awareness to four things you can feel — the chafing of your underwear, the ache in your lower back, your posture as you sit at your desk. Accept them. Feel them.
3. Listen for three things you can hear — the sound of your teeth grinding after five double espressos, the grumbling of a stomach that hasn’t had food since breakfast, your dog playing with a toy in the next room. Don’t respond. Just listen.
4. Sniff the air for two smells you can pick up on — the potent body odor of the hardworking entrepreneur, the stale coffee coming from those coffee cups. They are not good or bad. They are just smells.
5. Finally, one thing you can taste — the rubbery tang of the gum you’ve been chewing on for six hours.  

, are you already practicing mindfulness?  Or going to begin? If so, how?! 

I look forward to constructing my personal framework. To create more spaciousness every day.  To enjoy being continually refreshed and engaged.  To have consistent energy and enthusiasm for the work I love to do.  Ultimately to be more intentional, present and joyful for myself, for you and our lovely world we live in.