Episode 111 – Permission to Do Less

Today’s Episode

 

Today’s episode is a first in so many ways. This will be a solo episode. Yup. Just me.
And you might have noticed that last week was different from anything we have done before as well. We didn’t have an episode!!

Well, actually that happened before, shortly after we started our podcast. At that time, I had no idea about any of the tech stuff. Jenise took care of everything. Then, she became very busy taking care of her father who was very ill. After many tests and months of treatments for back pain, he was diagnosed with late stage cancer and passed away shortly after that.

Of course, Jenise didn’t have the energy for the podcast!

At that time, we had a long break. We came back strong and haven’t missed an episode since.

Until last week. If you are one of our beloved subscribers, you know that. You got a two-minute episode titled No Episode.

Podcast Movement and Podcasting

Jenise and I were at Podcast Movement in Anaheim. PM is the biggest podcast conference in the world. People from 17 countries came, and I met so many. Tokyo, Denmark, Germany, and Dubai represented among others. So cool!

One thing about podcasting you might not know is that it is a level playing field. Anybody can have a podcast. It doesn’t require huge amounts of money to get started.

And there is nobody to tell us what to say or what to do. This is especially true for the Indie podcasters. You find Podcasts which are two minutes long and others clock in at six hours!! Some are coming out weekly, others daily, or some are published whenever.

Dan Carlin publishes his Hard Core History podcast every six months or when he feels the episode is ready. It is entirely up to the podcaster and in turn to the audience- if they want to listen or not.

In a sense, it is the last free uncensored media out there.

Inner Sustainability

But this is not what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to talk about Inner Sustainability.

We have tackled this is a topic in some of our interviews. You might have listened when we talked about meditation, about Yoga, about food choices to help us retain and gain health and, dare I say, happiness.

In this episode, we are sharing a glimpse of our search for Inner Sustainability and some tips you hopefully can use in your life.

This is what is happening for us. Jenise is taking care of her mother, and I am getting a break from taking care of my little dude.

Being a caretaker takes so much energy!! It is not a joke that caretakers often nurse a patient back to health only to get sick themselves.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Being a caretaker takes so much energy!! Caretakers often nurse a patient back to health only to get sick themselves.” quote=”Being a caretaker takes so much energy!! It is not a joke that caretakers often nurse a patient back to health only to get sick themselves.” theme=”style4″]

I have experienced that. I am witnessing the struggle of a dear friend who has taken care of her sister for the past two years. And Jenise is taking care of her mom right now.

So, I offered her to take over for a bit – something she did for me last year. Then, my body was aching, I was tired and needed a break.

I want you to know that this is a very selfish act on my part. When I get overwhelmed and or burned out with something, the likelihood of me walking away is great. I think that is pretty universal. But I want many more years of podcasting with my friend!

 

My devious plan is to give her a break and then lure her back when she is rested and full of energy. Psst. Don’t tell.

Enough about us!!!!

This show was supposed to be about you and your Inner Sustainability!

 

How are You Doing?

How are you doing? Do you feel overwhelmed? Or are things going easy?

I want to invite you to sit for a minute and tune in. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and check in with yourself. Notice your body. Notice your mind.

What are you discovering?

Do you feel overwhelmed? Frazzled? Too much going on?

Right now I want to give your permission to take a break! It is OK!

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”Right now I want to give your permission to take a break! It is OK! #podcast” quote=”Right now I want to give your permission to take a break! It is OK!” theme=”style4″]

 

Sometimes, we know that we need a break. And we want to! But we have no idea how actually to do it!

My Tip

Here is my tip to you. This is what I am doing right now to help me find or maintain my inner sustainability, my calm, my joy. Maybe, this will work for you as well.

I identified the compartments which are my life.

* This podcast
* The Bancroft Center for Sustainability -a physical center we are starting
* My kids, grandkids, and husband
* My urban homestead including tons of fruit trees, chickens, dogs, and other plants
* My desire to write
* Developing a way to have an income from all my activities
* Oh and then there’s housework and laundry and cooking and cleaning!

For each of those aspects of my life, I started to make a list. Every task, big or small goes on that list. Then, I try to assign a timeframe to it each task. Toggle helps. It is a free app which allows you to time yourself. It is an eye opener. That task you thought takes 15 minutes just ate up an hour. Yup. True story!

I might have mentioned this before, but I tend to stuff my days like they have 48 hours in them and no sleep required.

I do not recommend this!!!!

It is a recipe for burn out. It feels like nothing gets accomplished. When the to do list is so long, only a few items get crossed off on any given day.

The examination or listing of the task associated with each area of my life is helping me see how I am using my time.

For example, I spend way too much time hand watering my garden. Recognizing this, I decided that this summer, I am not planting anything new and will only do so after I have successfully installed an automatic water system.

I can dedicate a whole podcast to that sad story – my failed attempts and such, but I will not. However, I will share with you what worked once I am successful – when the time comes.

To limit my garden and therefore watering was a huge item to take off my to do list.

Another example is that I was mixing my chicken feed which takes quite a bit of time. I decided to go with store bought feed instead. That saves me a lot of time. But, alas, I will go back to making my own mix since my spoiled girls don’t like the store bought feed.

So, a constant reevaluation is part of the process of achieving and maintaining inner sustainability.

When I set out with this exercise, I was looking for finding space – finding tasks to eliminate. While this is still very important for me to do, I also realized that I was missing a huge piece of the puzzle that makes up a full fulfilled life.

 

[clickToTweet tweet=”I am curious and interested to hear how you are doing! Let me know how life is unfolding for you! #podcast ” quote=”I am curious and interested to hear how you are doing! Let me know if life is flowing for you and what you do to keep it that way.” theme=”style4″]

 

Excercise and quiet time!! I used to ride my bicycle all the time. 50 miles – no problem. We did that almost every day. Or I was running, swimming or hiking. More recently, teaching and practicing Yoga filled much of my days.

Right now, I practice Yoga intermittently and do some work in the garden. That is not enough exercise and not enough quiet mind time. For me, a seated meditation is much less successful than a moving meditation.

When I am swimming, hiking or doing any of the other sports I mentioned, I come to a state when I am moving and breathing. That’s it. No mind monkeys doing their thing.

To fulfill or upkeep my goal of inner sustainability, I am shedding the unnecessary tasks filling my life. And am making room for much more Yoga, teaching Yoga and probably hiking – I miss that so much.

We Want to Hear from You!

I am curious and interested to hear how you are doing! Let me know if life is flowing for you and what you do to keep it that way. What do you think about the concept of Inner Sustainability?

And let me know if there is too much going on and something has to change. If that is you, I am curious if you made a tasks list and were able to identify some things to let go.

As always, we love your emails!! sustainablelivingpodcast@gmail.com or reach us via social media.

Btw. In the podcast, I mentioned the making money piece. One way you can support the podcast at no cost to you is to click here or on the Amazon button, you can find here on our website before you start shopping. For 24 hours after you press that button, we will get a small commission from your purchase. Your price stays the same.

Or support us via Patreon