My morning routine has been carefully honed over a decade of trial and error to find how I work best.
My workout or movement practice, followed by a short meditation practice, followed by writing.
Moving my body gets the blood and the ideas flowing; it triggers the dopamine that my brain needs to focus.
The more interruptions I allow between steps, the harder it is to stay on track, and the longer it takes to get my ideas down.
What is ideal, however, is not always practical or possible on a given day.
Inevitably I have days where something arises that interrupts my process.
Recently after a weekend yoga class I ended up engaging in conversation with a few people from class.
The conversation turned into a mini-class in which I shared some of my knowledge about various topics. I received real-time feedback on ideas and theories.
After two hours we finally parted ways.
The Inner Critic Blame Game
Although I felt nourished and fulfilled by the quality interaction, I also noticed that a piece of me felt resentful. Maybe even a little guilty.
There was a sense of shame at “failing to stick to my plan.”
My inner critic had a story that the conversation was interfering with my work.
It judged me for lacking discipline.
What could I do in the future to ensure this didn’t happen again? How could I fix this?
After a few minutes of listening to my inner critic berate me for my failures, I cut it off.
Why was this a problem? What if there was nothing to fix here?
That version of my inner critic is a piece of me that is still back in school, conditioned that “homework” comes before “fun” activities.
In effect, it was trying to reinforce a rule:
No socializing until you’ve done your work.
That rule may have been appropriate in a certain time and place; there may still be times when it is worth following.
But this wasn’t one of those times.
When I stepped back to reevaluate the situation in light of my core values, I found a different perspective.
Building relationships is a high-ranking value for me. I thrive on connection and real-time, synchronous conversation.
Feeling isolated drains and depletes my energy.
While communicating my ideas in writing also fills a core need, part of the purpose in sharing my ideas is to feel like I am serving others and adding value.
Without receiving feedback that I’m doing this, I am left in limbo.
What’s the Real Interruption?
So which activity is actually interfering with which?
Although there are many reasons I publish a daily blog, one of the primary outcomes is to add value.
If I isolate myself to write and publish my work, but I don’t receive feedback that my work has served others, I don’t feel fulfilled from it. The entire purpose is lost.
Publishing a blog post is not the goal; the blog is a vehicle to share ideas, create connection and spark conversation.
Having a plan is important, but flexibility in the plan is equally important.
In the long run, it doesn’t serve us well to meet our goals if we have lost sight of our outcomes.
3 Questions to Ask When Your Plan Gets Interrupted
When your plan gets interrupted – by a conversation, a family obligation, a health issue, or something else, before you allow your inner critic to lay blame on you, take a step back.
Look at the situation with a critical eye and ask:
- What’s really my real purpose here?
- What’s my priority?
- What’s the point of all of this?
Of course, being clear on your values and your outcome are important prerequisites.
When you look at it through this lens, perhaps you’ll find that the interruption wasn’t really an interruption at all.
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