No matter what life situation you find yourself in, in the end the week is always made up of things that need to be done.
Basically, your whole life is built up like this. Getting things done. The difference lies in the freedom of choice you have. Is it things you want to do or is it things you have to do? Although I always struggle a bit with the word have to. I regularly write morning pages before I start my day, in which I simply put my thoughts on paper without thinking about them for too long. It’s always a reflection of what’s going through my head. Things that are on my mind, worries, fears, and feelings of happiness. I regularly catch myself writing sentences that start with I have to …. Then I always pause for a moment and ask myself why I have to do this. If you start to question the must, after one or two reflections, you always end up with a want, the consequence of which is the must. And from this perspective, the whole thing looks completely different. There is always a compulsion attached to having to, while wanting to gives you the feeling that you have power over what you do and it gives it a positive meaning. I still have many things I want to do, experience, and discover, and countless things still need to be done. The worst thing for me would be not to have to do anything anymore because I don’t want to do anything anymore. That would be stagnation.
Moments captured on a run
Making the progress visible
I also have a positive attitude towards the tasks in my notebook when I make my list at the beginning of the week. Or rather a collection of tasks that I want or need to tackle and complete in the coming week in order to achieve the goals I have set myself. Only in a second step do I assign the tasks to the days of the week on which I want to complete them. This way, the days fill up with work week after week and make sense. Checking off the tasks you’ve completed in the evening is a daily highlight, after which you can start your leisure time satisfied. Organizing with a notebook makes it even more fun to check off tasks. I enjoy doing it with a green ballpoint pen, which I use especially for this purpose. The little pleasures in life.
Botanical beauties
Pleasureful interruptions
I think it’s important to incorporate such pleasures into everyday life. For me, every photo that I post in the journal is such a small joy. Simply because I’ve seen something beautiful again, usually without actually looking for it. Just take an hour, go jogging and switch your antennae to reception. Or take a walk through another city – a delivery of a sold painting brought me to Bern this week. Or simply look out of the window and enjoy a brief moment of what’s going on in front of you.
Views from Kleine Schanze in Bern
Favorite tasks
It’s always a greater joy for me when art comes into play. Admittedly, it’s still going a bit slowly, but this week I’ve at least managed to transfer my new artwork so that I can start painting it. These are activities that are enjoyable in their own right, far more so than ticking off tasks.
Work in progress
Main Image A harvested field in Weil am Rhein with a view on Basel’s Roche towers
