Peace of Mind – It’s in Your Hip Pocket
Dictionary.com defines Peace of Mind as a mental state of calmness or tranquility, a freedom from worry or anxiety. In 40 Ways to Achieve Peace of Mind and Inner Calm on Likehack.org, they list listening to music, deep breathing, going for a walk, enjoying nature, and such. All good ideas no doubt.
For me, experiencing Peace of Mind comes when the chaos of life is under control. I have read countless self-help books on the subject but the one that was most helpful in getting some control was David Allen’s Getting Things Done. My key takeaways were:
- Just Do It – if something can be done in “2 minutes”, do it now
- Have a To-Do list for “things” to be done in the future
- Have a Calendar to capture “things” that are due at a certain time
Simple ideas but, for me, life changing. Capturing these items in 2 spots – either a to-do list OR calendar, freed me from a patchwork of Post-it notes or worse, being haunted by worry at 3 in the morning on the “thing” I forgot to do!
Your question – What is your system for staying organized and helping YOU achieve peace of mind?
So…why the title, “Peace of Mind – It’s in Your Hip Pocket?” Before answering the question – I need to address the elephant in the room. Thefreedictionary.com defines “In Your Hip Pocket” as:
Under one's control or influence, especially in an underhanded or unethical way, such as by bribery or extortion.
I assure you – I am not advocating anything underhanded or unethical! I do want to share an organizational “life hack”, but before doing so let us talk about pants pockets. Have you ever wondered why your blue jeans have a strange inner pocket in your front right pocket? What is the purpose? If you guessed that its is a carry-over from the time of the pocket watch you are correct! Little trivia that is NOT germane to the discussion. On to the topic at hand.
My electrician son gave me a trade-secret that was life-changing. Electricians keep a “want notebook” in their unused hip pocket to keep track of items needed, measurements, punch list of things to be completed, etc. EUREKA! It hit me – I have a pocket in my pants that I had NEVER used before – my right rear pocket! Since I am left-handed, I keep my wallet in my left pocket and my once-lonely right rear pocket went along for the ride. I now carry a thin notebook that opens from the top in my rear right pocket with a pen in a front pocket to jot down notes as they come to me. This simple trick has added order to my life, reduced the 3AM night hauntings, and has added a measure of peace of mind. I pass the tip to you with the hope it can help you organize your chaos and help you achieve peace of mind.