30-Minute Day

Yesterday, as I was wrapping up to brave the cold after the workday was through-
-by the way, the Winter is finally here in SoCal! Yaaay! I was missing those gloves of mine-
-I had kids on the brain. Not that I want them yet or anything, but I was thinking about my future with them, one day. I want to be a very hands-on mom when the time comes, and even am in favor of homeschooling (I have a background in education and see how horrible our public schools are. Lots of my friends are teachers. Don't get me started about what I know...Oh, also, just my decision. I know homeschooling definitely isn't a good fit for everyone...) Anyway, I thought about how I get lost in things, and can go hours without even looking around the room when I'm wrapped up in a task that I'm interested in.

This just won't do. When I have little 'uns, their attention spans aren't more that 15 minutes long!

Then, that got me to thinking. One reason why I'm in favor of, more or less, treating (as in, talking to) kids like they're adults is that, I remember being 4, and 7, and 10 years old. I was the same 'me' that I am now. The voice in my head hasn't changed because I've gotten taller, or because I have a driver's license or a rent payment. Why are attention spans necessarily different?

I think it's probably natural for our attention spans to be "short" like that. Goodness knows that mine is when I'm doing something that I don't want to be doing. And add to that the fact that I'm not a huge fan of my days flying by, good or bad (bad=I feel like I've lost a day completely; good=I wish I had enjoyed it more, moment-to-moment), and I came up with the 30-Minute Day.

I've decided to change what I'm doing each half hour. At work, that's easy to do - my desk is full - and at home, I'll make it easy. Exercise for a half hour (that's all you need with some good Pilates, trust me). Meditate and write about what you experienced, both in the half hour. Unpack one room for that long (or in my case, one box), then move on to another.

I think it'll help space my day. And by staying aware of the time, I'll experience my time, rather than having it slip through my fingers.

I only have 7 minutes left to post this, a desk full of work, and a paper to finish tonight. Wish me luck!