The series of posts about my daily reminders was based on a list as of January 12, 2019. I thought once I completed my initial analysis of each item, I would periodically return to the list and review new additions. I've accumulated a few since January so we’ll return soon and cover those in a series of upcoming posts.
For today, I wanted to make a quick point about how the way I’ve used the reminders has changed. I gave the impression over the course of the series that I carefully read each reminder every single morning. This was perhaps true at one time but over the course of 2019 I found myself gradually reading less and less each day. It just takes too long, you know? Plus, I think the process of thinking and writing about these reminders here on TOA helped me internalize the messages. The ideas remained helpful but they could hardly be called ‘reminders’ if I knew the full story, right?
Over time, I adapted my method. I’ve recently settled on an approach that feels right to me – I think I’ll do it this way for the foreseeable future. Each week (usually Saturday morning) I review the full list as carefully as I once did on a daily basis. I try to ask myself probing questions like ‘did I live up to this ideal over the past few days?’ Then, I’ll highlight (using bold and italics) the eight to ten reminders I’ll focus on over the next week. When I open the document each morning during the ensuing week, I just read those highlighted reminders. It’s proven to be exactly what I need and I’m looking forward to applying the same type of process to other aspects of my life.
Here’s my highlighted list at the time of writing (October 27):
-Be bigger than you feel
-Rororo, calm calm calm
-Do the next right thing
-Prove yourself wrong
-Hungry?
-Label negative thoughts
-What three things?
-Don't let people do what you will resent
-Protect your time
