ME TIME

Confessions of a High-Capacity Person, Learning to Live in the Moment

By LISA COWNIE

I have been described as a high-capacity person. I’ll admit that has generally been true in both my personal and my professional life. I raised four children, that alone means high capacity! My ability to get a lot done day in and day out comes in quite handy especially during the holidays, when there is so much extra to do!

A high-capacity person is often described as a person who has the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else, yet seems to maximize every minute and do all the things at once.

Wrong.

Want to know a little secret? I get A LOT done, by doing ONE thing at a time.

One thing I have learned over the years is to always be in the moment I am in. I have learned, practiced even, to focus only on the thing I am doing at any given moment. Because to be honest, if I thought about all the things I have to do, my stress level would be through the roof! So, I take things literally one thing at a time. To focus on what I am doing right then. That way I can enjoy the experience fully, give it my full attention, then quickly move on to the next thing!

When my kids were little, this took on a very different meaning than it does now. Then, it was pushing work from my mind to be present during their games or dance recitals. It meant not worrying about the sink full of dishes until after I read them the bedtime story. It meant talking to them during carpool instead of making phone calls. Being fully present with them was my priority.

Now, as an empty-nester, life looks different.

For example, when I am on the KEYC morning show from 5:30 – 7 a.m., I’m not thinking about the class I have to teach later that day, or the dry cleaning I have to pick up, or the story I have to edit, or what’s for dinner. I think only of what is happening with the show. After the show, my calendar may tell me I have to make some phone calls to set up future stories. So that’s what I do, I don’t think about the gift I have to pick up for my daughter’s birthday or the interview I have later that day. At 9 a.m., I go to teach my class at Minnesota State University, Mankato, focused only on what I have

prepared for the class and how I can best help the students for that hour and a half with them. I don’t think about the meeting I have at MRCI at 1 p.m.

You see, high capacity doesn’t mean constantly multitasking. It does mean creating a calendar and to-do list that helps keep you on track with preparing for what you need to get done in a day.

Here’s what I do; each Sunday night I take 15 minutes to plan ahead. I split that into five-minute increments. I spend five minutes looking a month out at my schedule. Do I have a trip? A social gathering? A fundraiser to attend? I think about what needs to be done for these things: get a pedicure for the beach, I put that in the calendar; make reservations for the get-together, I put when to do that in the calendar; I make sure the fundraiser is on my calendar too, including travel time.

Then I spend five minutes looking at the week ahead. Do I have a holiday party on Friday that I need to bring a treat to? I plan when I am going to make (or more likely go buy) that treat and put it in my calendar. I plan what I am going to wear. I look at my work projects and block off time on my calendar to conduct that interview, write that story, prepare for class, well, you get the drift, each task has its own time allotment and that is all I do during that time.

Then finally I look at the next day, what is coming up tomorrow? I just make sure I know the flow of my day, when I need to be where and what I need to have with me.

Really that 15 minutes is what I need so I can feel prepared for each step of my day. Yes, this means I put EVERYTHING in my calendar: errands I have to run, a time to return texts/calls, time to focus on a work project. By doing a little bit each day on a big project, it helps keep it manageable.

VERY IMPORTANT: I schedule Me Time every single day. At least 45 minutes to exercise and 30 minutes to read. Those are my priorities. If other fun stuff comes along, like a happy hour with a friend, that is a bonus!

Now, are there times when something goes wrong and the calendar gets off track. Oh yes, in fact that often happens by 9 a.m.! So I just adjust. Knowing that while I am teaching class, I can’t do anything about the meeting at 1 p.m. anyway, so why worry about it now? While I am in the meeting at 1 p.m., I can’t make dinner, so why worry about it now?

It takes practice to be intentional about living in the moment, it takes practice to put your long to-do list out of your head, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find your capacity might grow too! What matters most, though, is knowing your current capacity, accepting it, and optimizing what you have. ■