I realized last night that in my enthusiasm to do new things, and find my happiness in everything, I have started more projects than I have the time to devote to them.  Today I will wrap up a few loose ends to allow myself more time to devote to the things that truly make me happy – happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy. Today will be a day of less fun tasks that will lead to greater happiness in the long run.

• Finish vacuuming the rest of the house with my new vacuüm – that means the baseboard, the window sills, everything!
• File or throw away every computer related CD & instructions – just do it!
• Create order for my books in progress – too many
• If I stumble upon something that I can wrap up in fifteen minutes or less I will do it now.

 I know that spring in western Montana is a little of this and a little of that but it may be on its way!  Last night we had rain, such a soothing sound that I slept with my window open enough to hear it.  This morning there was a dusting of snow but the sun is out and it has melted in the sunny spots already.  Another beautiful day in the neighborhood!

On mindfulness, I bought a little notebook to track all of my food and beverage consumption, which I will decorate to make the un-fun a little more so.  I need to pay more attention to what goes in my mouth, and knowing I have to commit it in writing may slow me down some.  I found an acronym from someone  who had been in rehab; I think it is  a healthy tool to use to bring oneself back to mindfulness in the present.  Ask myself:

• H – Hungry?
• A – Angry?
• L – Lonely?
• T – Tired?

And then use a mindfulness technique to become fully present while sitting quietly with eyes closed:

• S – sense – what do I feel in my body? Cold, eyes tired, back hurts, blister…
• I – image – what do I see with my eyes closed?
• F – feeling – what emotions am I feeling right now?
• T – thinking – what am I thinking?

By the time I go through HALT and SIFT I may have lost the urge to mindlessly graze – one can hope!  Time to start my terrific Tuesday – I can hardly wait to see how much I can finish today.