My class at Pitzer begins at 8:10 am. To walk here, from my apartment, takes approximately 25 minutes. And yet, I walk out of my door every morning at 7:30 am on the dot, giving myself almost twice the time I need. I do this to avoid jaywalking.
You may be thinking, "Wait, I jaywalk. Everybody does it. I mean sure, it's technically illegal, but it's really just frowned upon. And how many streets to you have to cross that this could be an issue?"
I cross two streets (to get to a corner), and there are rarely drivers, much less inattentive speeding cars. The traffic lights are probably run on timers or by some formula based on city planning. There are pedestrian buttons, but I'm not sure how much I believe in their effectiveness.
The reason I leave so early, and the reason I do not jaywalk, has to do with my intention for focus, mindfulness, and attention in everything I do-- including the mundane.
I have been doing a lot of reading of self help books, usually on my walks to and from class or in the evenings while I have my meditative knitting time. I am trying to cut down on my couch potato Netflix binges and instead aiming to relax with something more intellectually stimulating, such as audiobooks or TED talks.
An interesting idea came from one of my books of routine and habits (. The book argued against multi-tasking, despite its constant presence in our lives. I'd heard of this, sure, but I had always dismissed it. If neither activity is specifically brain intensive, why does it matter if I watch TV while I clean? Or knit while I am in a class lecture? Or do some online shopping while I watch YouTube videos?
The answer is this: You are never truly multi-tasking. You are just splitting your attention. By trying to attend to more than one stimuli, you are focusing on none of them.
There are exceptions to this, of course. There are benefits to fidgeting and doodling to improve focus, but those are tasks you can do mindlessly and do not need any of your focus. But in general, splitting your attention will only split your attention.
So what does this have to do with jaywalking? Well, I have been trying to avoid multi-tasking in general, but specifically, I have been trying to be more mindful in my everyday events. If you are not being mindful and your brain is occupied elsewhere, you will be living your life without really, truly, being aware of how you are living.
The first step to improving yourself is understanding yourself. You can't break your habit if you don't know what it is or that it is an issue.
Every morning, I start with my miracle morning (blog post here). I set my intention(s) for the day and approach my tasks with a mindful and singular perspective. I play a lot of roles-- we all do. I am the blogger, the knitter, the student, the daughter, etc. I have to balance a lot of different aspects of my life, but not all at once.
You can do anything, but you cannot do everything.
So when I am walking to class, I want to know that my mind is in the moment. I am listening to music, or I am observing my surroundings. I am not worried about being late, or trying to remember if I ate a full breakfast or which knitting project I should work on when I get home. There is time for all of that. There is far more time in the day than one realizes, once you learn to use your time effectively and mindfully.
I walk to class knowing that my only task for the walk is to walk to class. My task is not to make sure I get there on time-- my morning routine has that under control. My task is not to think about the homework I have to do-- I have all that written down in my bullet journal.
My intention in my walk to class is to make it from my apartment to the academic building safely and contentedly. So yeah, I can take an extra 30 seconds to wait for the light to change.
There is no rush, no pressure to get to the next thing as quickly as possible. I am simply here, in this moment, walking to class.
I can wait.
From strength to strength,
Rivi
Essentialism
For further exploration:
The Real Reason Jaywalking is a Crime, Adam Ruins Everything (video)
Crosswalk Buttons and the Placebo Effect (NY Times article)
Do the 'walk' buttons actually do anything? (article)
Might crafts such as knitting offer long-term health benefits? (article)
The reason I leave so early, and the reason I do not jaywalk, has to do with my intention for focus, mindfulness, and attention in everything I do-- including the mundane.
I have been doing a lot of reading of self help books, usually on my walks to and from class or in the evenings while I have my meditative knitting time. I am trying to cut down on my couch potato Netflix binges and instead aiming to relax with something more intellectually stimulating, such as audiobooks or TED talks.
An interesting idea came from one of my books of routine and habits (. The book argued against multi-tasking, despite its constant presence in our lives. I'd heard of this, sure, but I had always dismissed it. If neither activity is specifically brain intensive, why does it matter if I watch TV while I clean? Or knit while I am in a class lecture? Or do some online shopping while I watch YouTube videos?
The answer is this: You are never truly multi-tasking. You are just splitting your attention. By trying to attend to more than one stimuli, you are focusing on none of them.
There are exceptions to this, of course. There are benefits to fidgeting and doodling to improve focus, but those are tasks you can do mindlessly and do not need any of your focus. But in general, splitting your attention will only split your attention.
So what does this have to do with jaywalking? Well, I have been trying to avoid multi-tasking in general, but specifically, I have been trying to be more mindful in my everyday events. If you are not being mindful and your brain is occupied elsewhere, you will be living your life without really, truly, being aware of how you are living.
The first step to improving yourself is understanding yourself. You can't break your habit if you don't know what it is or that it is an issue.
Every morning, I start with my miracle morning (blog post here). I set my intention(s) for the day and approach my tasks with a mindful and singular perspective. I play a lot of roles-- we all do. I am the blogger, the knitter, the student, the daughter, etc. I have to balance a lot of different aspects of my life, but not all at once.
You can do anything, but you cannot do everything.
So when I am walking to class, I want to know that my mind is in the moment. I am listening to music, or I am observing my surroundings. I am not worried about being late, or trying to remember if I ate a full breakfast or which knitting project I should work on when I get home. There is time for all of that. There is far more time in the day than one realizes, once you learn to use your time effectively and mindfully.
I walk to class knowing that my only task for the walk is to walk to class. My task is not to make sure I get there on time-- my morning routine has that under control. My task is not to think about the homework I have to do-- I have all that written down in my bullet journal.
My intention in my walk to class is to make it from my apartment to the academic building safely and contentedly. So yeah, I can take an extra 30 seconds to wait for the light to change.
There is no rush, no pressure to get to the next thing as quickly as possible. I am simply here, in this moment, walking to class.
I can wait.
From strength to strength,
Rivi
For further exploration:
The Real Reason Jaywalking is a Crime, Adam Ruins Everything (video)
Crosswalk Buttons and the Placebo Effect (NY Times article)
Do the 'walk' buttons actually do anything? (article)
Might crafts such as knitting offer long-term health benefits? (article)
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