Core Values ~ Simplified Time Blocking

Dear Thoughtful Leader, Conscious Creative, Mindfulness Practitioner,

~ Cheerleader Moment ~ Pssst… You can skip down to the ‘Now, For The Main Topic’ section if you’re not into verbal affirmation. It’s not for everyone ;-) First and foremost, You Are Amazing! I’m so grateful that you continue to show up, put in work, and show your genuine care. The work that you do, both within and around you, keeps us inspired and motivated. The courage it takes to be who you are and do what you do is not for the faint of heart! So, thank you for not throwing in the towel, and instead choosing to courageously move forward even if you have to pause for a moment or slow down for a little while. Kudos to you for getting right back in tune with your mission(s) in life and your biggest dreams after falling, failing, and feeling shaken and/or broken. Cheers to you for continuing to motivate others to do the same. You are appreciated, admired, respected, and loved! Friendly Reminder: Because you are a thoughtful, conscious, and mindful being, you care about the impressions you make (for yourself as well as others) and you aim to lead by example. You show and prove it in your mindset, emotional responses, speech, and action. Your connection to spirit, your development in character, and your core values give you the fuel that you need to be able to move through business meetings, creative projects, work, study, consultations, collaborations, etc. with beautiful grace as well as a strong will. ~ Now, For The Main Topic ~ I’d like to discuss the significance of scheduling your daily activities with your personal life values in mind. ​Our relationships, wealth, hobbies, etc. (aka core values) help us to create and maintain self discipline, healthy boundaries, ongoing success, and share special moments with the people that we love. When we consider implementing what matters most to us in our daily routine we're cultivating deep focus and uninterrupted attention. For example, my mister (intimate life partner) is an important part of my life and I believe that he deserves my full attention when he speaks to me. So, when we hang out together I practice putting down my phone, listening to him when expresses himself, and sharing one-on- one quality time with him. With that said I’ve got a couple of questions for you: (1) How often do you revisit and reevaluate your core values? (2) Do you make a point to schedule them into your daily activities with one pointed awareness for each and every one? I’m working on answering these questions with a simple reply: (1) Constantly and consistently (2) Yes, absolutely! How am I doing that? You guessed it, I’m blocking out time. For at least one hour, and sometimes even just 10 minute increments, I attend specifically to my core values. Mind you, I’m not nailing it flawlessly, but that’s ok because it’s a process and a practice! Maybe you're already familiar with time blocking due to work endeavors, collaboration assignments, and/or entrepreneurial activities. If that’s the case, good for you! I encourage you to hone in on how you schedule and perform your personalized blocking style. Yeah, that's right, apparently there’s different time blocking methods (more details below). If this is new for you, I would strongly advise to focus on narrowing down to just a 1 hour daily time block. During this time you are dedicating your full attention to something that is really important and personal to you. When you get the hang of that you can add more blocks. Another Friendly Reminder: There's a type of schedule blocking that entails dedicating every single hour of the day towards a specific activity or group of activities. Though this can be helpful, focusing on something that you personally consider to be important in elevating your quality of life for only one hour a day (which you can split up however you wish) allows you to fuse in the sense of flexibility necessary to continue with this practice long term.

Practice ~ Deep Focus & Uninterrupted Attention

1. List 10 Core Values: What’s important to you? Think of as many areas of your life as you can including people, places, and things that need constant and consistent attention from you to grow and thrive. This is your brainstorming moment, so feel free to have a list that exceeds 10 lines. Examples: Spa & Hygiene, Family, Finance, Nutrition, etc.

2. Pick 3-5 Values For This Week: If you could only pick 3-5 values from your list, what do you want to focus on this week? Can some of your values be grouped together? If yes, create 5 categories with sub categories. Example: Reading and self spa are values that I group together under the category of Self Love.

3. Block Out 1 Hour Daily: Is one hour too much to start with? No problem, begin with 10 minutes a day. During this block of time you're planning to have little to no interruptions. Put it in a planner, use a scheduling tool, and hold yourself accountable. Examples: Digital Calendar (Phone and/or PC), Whiteboard, Bulletin Board, Planner Book

4. Track Your Progress: When you wholeheartedly attend to one of your core values (remember we can plan for 1 hour but only do 10-30 minutes worth) go ahead and cross it out. It's a celebration!

Additional Notes:

• We're working with less than seven core values just in case you miss a day or two. This way you can make it up later in the week. If you're right on track each day, start over with your first value or randomly pick a value to attend to again.

• By the way, you're welcome to pick and choose some or all the values from my example below.

Jessi's Example

Here’s how I’ve adapted time blocking into my schedule See link in the 'Learn More' section for other options to suit your lifestyle

• My 5 Core Values include self love, home care, connection, creativity, and ongoing to dos

• I use a planner book to assign 1 hour each day for one week, notating when I most likely will have little to no interruptions (before work, after work, leisure days, etc.). I notate my time block with a highlighter or with stars depending on my mood. I usually don't assign a core value activity until the day arrives.

• Each day I choose one core value from the list above and attend to it during the time I've already set aside. I write it in my planner book for the day and cross it out when I wholeheartedly attended to the value I picked.

• If I miss a day I circle the core value so that I remember to make it up later. Example: I missed a workout for my self care category this Friday. So, I circled it and I'll attend to it in on one the first time blocks I have for next week. Additional Details For This Example
  

• Self Love

  • These are activities for ‘me time’ (mind, body, and spirit)

  • Hygiene and Spa

  • Nutrition and Fitness

• Home Care

  • These are activities for my living space and can incorporate others (family, life partner, pet, etc.)

  • Daily Chores

  • Groceries and Home Essentials

• Connection

  • These are activities for my social life (family, friends, etc.)

  • Text, Call, Video Chat With Loved Ones

  • Check out a new local hangout (invite someone, meet someone new)

• Creativity

  • These are activities that I enjoy (solo or with others)

  • Write lyrics to a new song

  • Practice a phrase for language practice

• Ongoing To Dos

  • These are miscellaneous tasks and may not fit in only one category​

  • Take the dog to the groomer

  • Get gas and wash the car

Learn More

"With time blocking, you can regain control of your calendar in order to focus on what truly matters. Time blocking can help you align your attention with your intentions, so you always prioritize the right work at the right time. With this time management strategy, you can also dedicate time for your personal time, downtime, lunch, and other essentials that often get left out in our “always-on” working world." ​- Asana.com: Time Blocking

---

Original Post ~ 8.13.21 ~ Core Values ~ Simplified Time Blocking