Book Spotlight: The Power of Full Engagment

Just in case you haven't noticed. . . I have a teeny tiny bit of a problem with consistency. I keep telling myself that it's okay because, after all, this blog is called "Jumbled Sunshine" for a reason, right?!? And that excuse is true to some extent. . . . it leaves me free to write whenever and whatever I want and not "ruin" the theme of the blog, because it's for busy, jumbled people like me, right?!

Yes. . . er . . . No. . . er. . . Well, kind of.

Honestly, I think I'm just kidding myself to think that it's okay to let MONTHS go by without posting. Don't you think? I mean, the whole point of this blog is to support those of you out there who are also "jumbled" to one extent or another. And how in the world can I support you if I don't put anything on here?!?!?

Um, yeah. . .  that's a bit of an issue.

SO - I need to let go of my perfectionism and stop waiting for "enough time" to do a post "right" and just write a post! I like that phrase: Don't wait to do it just right — just WRITE!

SO - I'm back! And I have some unfinished business to take care of from previous posts, which I am bound and determined to finish! But first things first. . .

Today's Book Spotlight

Here is a GREAT book that I've been reading with my son, Joshua, who just started some online classes with Williamsburg Academy. It's called "The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal" by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. This book is great at explaining the reason it's important to have ROUTINES and RITUALS in our lives! Sound boring? Or monotonous? Well, it's not!

Routines are NOT restrictive, as long as you don't make them too big and impossible. You need to start small and build little habits, and you'll find that your routines will bring FREEDOM and JOY to your life. I've been learning this myself again recently by implementing a solid morning and evening routine, using Flylady's 31 Beginner Baby steps - just adding a couple of items every few days, and trying to do them consistently every single day.

In fact, I've been working on my routines very concertedly since the first week of January, and guess what? On Tuesday, I didn't do my routines at all - it was a crazy day and I was very fatigued, and I just blew them off. But then yesterday I sat down to mark my progress, and guess what I discovered? I had done nearly HALF of my routine items without even realizing it! I was going on auto-pilot! It was so awesome to see that this concept really does work. It starts feeling like these little routine things are being done by magic, without hardly any effort on my part.

In "The Power of Full Engagement," the Loehr and Schwartz do a good job of explaining how implementing what they call "rituals" actually frees our lives for more creative thinking and even fun. Specifically, they teach, implementing rituals that provide us rest and renewal between periods of intense focus can help us increase our productivity and manage our energy better. So instead of having to spend the precious and limited energy of "will power" for basic routine things, we just make those important things into HABITS, and we can use our concerted effort for important things that propel us forward in our quest for a better life.

Try it for Yourself!

Check out the book HERE - it's available in a bunch of different formats. Personally, I like the audio book best because the authors read it themselves. ENJOY!