Time with No Lists

Being present in the moment.

It sounds good but not really easy to do. It’s easy to be critical of those Facebook posts of ‘special moments’, and feeling sad that they thought more about social media than the actual moment itself. But then I struggle with my own unbalanced priorities, with a compulsion to be ‘productive’, to be thinking about my to-do list rather than being able to simply enjoy beautiful weather or time with friends and family.

It sounds obvious but one of the lessons I was reminded of this week is that there’s a time to forget about the to-do list. And put away the phone. We went for a hike at Pyramid Mountain, some beautiful hiking trails not far from home, and I consciously decided to forget about anything else and just enjoy being there with family. It was great. Cool temperatures, beautiful colors and a trail that was just tricky enough to be interesting without being difficult. And a view of the distant Manhattan skyline that we hadn’t expected. We made a mistake navigating and doubled the length of the hike, and were glad we did.

One moment really made me realize how easily I’m distracted away from what’s around me. I made the mistake of checking my phone. Not even for messages, but to check on a few sports scores. No big deal, but enough to take me away from the present and completely distract my thoughts. Phones are amazingly useful devices, but how harmful they can be too sometimes even when it’s not social media causing the distraction.

So a simple lesson. I love lists and love using a phone, and they’re both extremely valuable to how I plan and organize. But sometimes that all needs to wait.