Balancing Full Time Job With P.development

[rush]

Hi guys,

Ever since starting work I feel I haven't been taking self actualisation work seriously and in particular haven't found the time to meditate at the same duration as before or with as much motivation. How do you manage full time jobs with this work ? I would be interested to hear how you plan your day to account for this work ?

[ajasatya]

@rush what exactly do you do from 18:00 to 22:00?

[Nahm]

@rush do your practices first thing in the morning. Get up when you need to. Utilize the cycle of will power in your favor, and eat better. 

[aurum]

The harsh reality is that my schedule is so full that it's NEVER a convenient time to do my meditation. On any given day there's an infinite number of things I could be doing. My head hits the pillow at night with a whole list of things not finished.

So given that's the case, what I do is I ask myself, "how high a priority is this?" If it's low priority, sorry. It just might not get done that day, no matter how productive I am.

But if it's high priority, like meditation is for me, then I DON'T MAKE EXCUSES.

If that means I go an hour less without sleep, then that's what is going to happen. Or I'll drop some other low priority task altogether.

Beyond that, the other thing that has allowed me not to miss a day of meditation is over a year is that I do it first thing in the morning.

Nothing get's done before I do my morning meditation. And if for some emergency reason I have to break that rule, it'll be the first thing I do once I handle that emergency.

It's a commitment I'm willing to make because I'm bought in. I know first hand how amazing meditation can be.

Really you have to ask yourself: how high a priority is this for you?

[Guest username]

@rush Could you post a complete breakdown of your schedule?

 

[rush]

@ajasatya  I get home about 6 30. I do think I can make time for meditation its just the quality and energy levels of the sit are not as strong as before. I think it will come down to making this work  a priority.

[rush]

@aurum  I see your highly motivated ! When you say "how amazing meditation can be ", what has happened for you ? How has the practice helped you

[ajasatya]

5 hours ago, rush said:

the quality and energy levels of the sit are not as strong as before

this is an upside-down view of the practice. if you're allowing the energy quality of socio-cultural interactions throughout the day affect the quality of your practice, you're not doing it properly.

the proper practice of meditation is accomplished by letting go of all avatars, social roles and cultural traits. it's dropping what you are NOT and experiencing what you ARE.

so it works the other way around: the quality of the mindful state enhances the energy levels of the rest of the day.

[aurum]

18 hours ago, rush said:

When you say "how amazing meditation can be ", what has happened for you ? How has the practice helped you

Let me put it to you like this.

Before meditation: I spend my days running around, chasing little temporary glimpses of pleasure. Anything to get rid of that constant feeling of anxiety inside of me, usually using alcohol, drugs or sex. I'd overthink and analyze everything. Tons of personal biases towards certain groups and beliefs. Terrible diet. Low motivation to actually work hard towards any type of life purpose.

After meditation: I experience a calm feeling of fulfillment the majority of the time.  My thinking is way more efficient, sometimes with nothing going on in my mind at all. I respect different people's perspectives. My diet is clean. Motivation to contribute value to others is 10x.

Of course, I can slip up. I'm not trying to paint this picture like my life is perfect and I'm this perfect person. The point is just that things are way better across the board. Progress is all that really matters.