Daily Dose 36: Concentration Cycles

Let’s see, we are supposed to be automating routine tasks and attending to exceptional ones, making a process for everything, organizing files, and never neglecting a single thing we think is important (even if we never realized how much work it would be to do….)

Not Doing it All Leads to Doing it All. . .Eventually and Systematically

Our way to handle all these things, is not to try to handle them all at the same time. Instead, we cycle our concentration. We design a little project ON PAPER, with starting and stopping times for each section of the cycle, and (at least to begin with), not too many parts to a cycle. Written starting and ending dates are crucial.

Set Starting and Ending Dates for Projects

Why? Because starting dates give you time to prepare: do you need to buy a tool? Write up instructions or process steps? Do some research? Read a book? Having a set starting time gives time to prepare for your project, whatever it is.

Ending dates provide a natural break and allow time to evaluate, a time to correct or alter areas that are not performing as you would like, a time to decide whether or how to continue or incorporate the project. They set the stage to shift focus to another area. Best of all, ending dates provide a face- saving way to set aside a clunky idea and try again.  If the ending date does not correspond to an executive oversight meeting, then make sure to schedule time during the next meeting to think over how the cycle went.

Concentration Cycle Project Ideas

Here are some idea-prompters for using the Concentration Cycle Time Tool:

Enrichment Reading

For either yourself, children, or family reading: Cycle through book categories: classic, science, history, Christian biography, free read, then start over. You, of course, can make the categories whatever you feel is most helpful to your long-term development.

Maintenance Cleaning

Cycle through developing and then evaluating the maintenance cleaning processes: vacuuming, general cleaning, kitchen, special jobs.

Routines

Concentrate on a different routine each week: ten-minute personal space, bathroom cleaning, menu planning, etc. If it is a work place cycle: first half hour routine, what you do during a special project work time, what you do during a weekly review work time, and so on. If a student: one-hour study routine, reading textbook assignments, developing research practices, review and studying routines.

Eating Habits

Rotate attention to good food habits week by week: no seconds, drinking a glass of  water before meals, no snacks between meals, no food after 8 p. m., at least five fruit and vegetable servings a day,  and so on.

Character Qualities

Cycle through developing specific character qualities. This is a good example of a cycle that could run two different ways. You can select one quality to concentrate on for a specific amount of time, and cycle around ways to highlight that quality or you can take several qualities and handle them all in the same way on a rotating basis. Try working with attentiveness, thoroughness, initiative, and diligence in a variety of ways, such as: reading Bible verses and stories addressing the quality, doing a craft project or work assignment that requires the quality, talking about the quality at meal times, and/or pointing out the quality throughout the day (thanking children and others when they demonstrate it, asking yourself how to incorporate it in a situation you are facing), writing your own story (or having children write a story, or have the family write a story), doing chores concentrating on each quality in turn. As you can see, many, many options for designing your own cycles.

Cooking Projects

Cycle through new recipes (examples: a new main dish once a week for two months OR try a new dish once a week, but cycle through the meal it is for, a kind of food to use, or the cookbook or food site used to find the recipe). Cycle through bulk cooking projects by preparing something different one morning a month: ground meat, cooked chicken, muffins. food mixes, cookie doughs. Or try cycles to learn new cooking skills: ways to cut fruits or vegetables, ways to cook chicken, making sauces, and so on.

Benjamin Franklin’s Example

George Washington’s Example

What you do during Executive Oversight meetings, personal projects, cleaning routines, Bible study projects: almost anything that can be overseen in our lives or our homes can be given a cycle of concentration. What ideas have you had? (Write them down!) What would you like to try first?