Life Lessons from My iPhone
ArtCreativityLeadershipProductivity
Recently I double clicked my home button on my iPhone and began to close all the apps running in the background. It literally enhanced the speed and performance of my phone. It got me to thinking about all the lingering responsibilities, tasks, to-do’s and projects that were taking up space in my head. After all, our head is the computer of our thoughts and decisions. A great deal can be going on all at once. As a creative, I realized I can learn life lessons from my iPhone. I just have to be willing to cut them loose. The benefit? More margin to do what matters most. Performance and execution can be focused and better results.
My life is stacked heavily with responsibility and creativity. My days are filled with not only taking out the trash but also how to take an idea out of thin air and bring it to reality. That’s a lot going on “upstairs”. If you get a lot of these things going at the same time it can really slow things down and performance is taxed. Not only do I become irritated, frustrated and uneasy but creatively constipated. Basically too many ideas all going.
So, like my iPhone, I had to get tools to turn off all the ideas and thoughts in the background and work on what’s in front of me. The key was to find useful apps and ways to take every thought captive and have the peace of mind knowing it is captured and on the back burner or marinating leaving me free to focus. My next post will be highlighting my productivity apps and how I organized them. This post is to show the importance of making the decision to separate the background to the foreground. I looked at the app’s I was shutting down in the background and 90% of them were apps I don’t use for productivity. The app’s I “do” use would perform much better if I cleared the hindrances and items that are dragging me down. This also gives me an idea for a post for how we can be “hoarders in business and building a brand”.
Do you deal with the same challenges? What are some keys you have found? Leave a comment below and please share this blog with others. Thanks for checking in and please subscribe to receive my blog posts via email. Thanks!!
Recent comments
Christi Bunn 11 years ago
Great post and right on point in our app obsessed world! Looking forward to the next one.
noah fine art 11 years ago
Thanks Christi for the comment and visiting the blog. Glad you’re here!
Loryl Haggard 11 years ago
I completely agree and found your post to be enlightening and something to be worked on. I heard a talk on being present last year and I think this really goes hand in hand with it. Looking forward to hearing more about your journey with this.
noah fine art 11 years ago
Loryl,
Thanks for reading the blog. Glad you found the info confirming. Thanks for being here.
Brie Wells 11 years ago
Clearing my mind of clutter is a daily practice for me. I’ve discovered several ways to to help ‘keep a clear head’. I meditate, walk briskly, journal and when I am really stuck, I get magazines and cut out pictures of how I feel and glue them on a piece of paper. I keep all words off the page and just look for pictures that give me that feeling; frustration, anger, despondent, confused or just plain old upset. It’s remarkable how helpful that simple task clears my thoughts so I can return to love and loving all around me. Sometimes I just put pieces of colored paper on the page. 🙂
noah fine art 11 years ago
Brie,
Fantastic technique. I might try that sometime. Great input and feedback. Appreciate your being here.
Matt "NuMatt" Thompson 11 years ago
I love this metaphor. I think this applies to everybody. Work, school, wife, kids, activities, extended families, hobbies…. the list can go on and on. Some of it is critical at the moment. Some of it is clutter. Learning to sort and prioritize is where the real challenge is. I admit I haven’t figured it out yet. Definitely looking forward to following this.
James Dejeu 11 years ago
I’m Really looking forward to the next post. This has really got me thinking of all the things I have going on, in my day to day life, work, and my creative life. Thank you for the perspective.