Getting off the Hamster Wheel, or Living an Intentional Life

A little while ago I had an "AHA" moment. Actually it was more of a "shower-of-bricks-on-the-head" moment. I realized that my life had become a flurry of tasks over which I gave little thought. I was back on the hamster wheel, spinning constantly and getting nowhere.

Late last year, during a stretch of unexpected unemployment, I started to live in an intentional way for the first time in my life. Without the demands of work pulling at me, I had the ability to decide what I was going to do, and when I would do it. I loved it.

After returning to work, the trend continued. But slowly mindless busy-ness started creeping in.

I decided to take a look at how to get back to my intentional life. Here is what I came up with:

Decide what you want your life to look like. Although I cannot fully determine how to spend my weekdays, I still have full control over my weekends. I need to decide how my ideal weekends would be, and work towards that.
Jettison commitments. Even after I cut 50% of my extracurricular activities last fall, I had to purge some more. Many commitments were things I didn't particularly want to do anymore, things that brought me no joy and sapped my energy.
Stop mindless tasks. My todo lists can get littered with things that are not all that important, but show up there regardless, nagging at me.
Be careful what you routinely do. Sometimes my routine items get done because they are habit. Periodic reveview of those items lets me purge those that are no longer desirable or necessary.

By taking these steps, I am looking to build a more fulfilling life for myself.