First off, can you believe we are just days away from Christmas? Are you ready? I think we’re as ready as we’re gonna be. Amidst all the festivities, S and I went out on a limb and bought a little rental house. It’s small but will make the perfect home for someone(s) someday but for now we are fixing it up (in all our free time).
Friday night we went over and took all the kitchen cabinet doors off so that we can take them home and repaint them except when S started to sand them we found 8 layers of paint and underneath all that was some beautiful wood. After a little conversation, we thought we might strip the cabinets and stain them so after the kids went to bed we started stripping paint….
Three hours later we had finished a third of the cabinets and there was still a lot to do but rather than feeling over whelmed and like maybe we should go a different direction, we were/are still committed to bringing these cabinets back to life.
One thing I wasn’t expecting but found so comforting was the feeling of focusing on something for three straight hours. The only distraction was a short break to check on the kids. I didn’t even notice the time flying by. I think what made it even cooler is that S and I did it together. I guess it’s about as close to a date night as we are going to get this time of year but that’s OK. You would’ve thought we were kids opening new toys…with every layer of paint we just got more and more excited. We finally decided to call it a day at around 11:30.
I went in and found my phone sitting there on the cabinet and realized I never once checked it. It was a brief, yet important, reminder to unplug, be present in the moment and find that feeling of focus every once in a while.
Whether that’s through running, yoga, family time or just stripping paint off cabinets, when the motivation is there the focus will follow and the feeling will be exhausting, satisfying and amazing all at the same time!
What do you find your focus doing? Have you ever just got so engrossed in something you didn’t even realize how much time had passed?
I find it very difficult to unplug at home or work, but I absolutely love getting lost for hours in a book or couple of magazines on vacation. Second to that is sharing a meal that neither of us cooked or have to clean up with my husband… I could veg out over great food and have a delightfully interminable conversation with that man everyday and not get bored.
Oh, I love going out to eat and sitting there with my husband!
I am really trying to unplug while on vacation this week but as you can see i’m not doing such a good job! Thanks for the reminder
hah same! thanks for reminder. unplugging as soon as i finish some extra work. Thanks for this Katie!
🙂 Same here…unplugging real soon
Ha! Go relax Deborah! 😉
Such a good reminder to unplug. I have such a hard time doing that!
Thanks Sue!
no i can’t believe christmas is almost here, it’s freaking me out!! I love when I get engrossed in a project!
It’s the best feeling!
Wow! What a fun project. I love house projects. I can totally relate to the feeling. I love getting totally engrossed in something. Good luck with the rest of the renovation and thanks for the reminder to unplug!
It’s been a lot of fun to work on!
Great reminder! Yesterday afternoon my 2 youngest kids were off playing nicely with each other and my oldest was at hockey practice with my hubby so i pulled out a book and started reading – it was so nice to sit and read unplugged by the fire and the Christmas tree. Congrats on the new rental place – there are short term rental companies that will help find executives etc to rent homes that you could look into teaming up with. A friend of ours does that with their rental property. Cheers!
Thanks Janice!! Cheers!
I love when that happens! It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it is such a refreshing feeling to realize afterwards!
Exactly!
I’m looking at things to help clear distractions recently too. I am good about this when snowboarding (and my hands are too cold to pull out the phone), but I am too connected!! I just deleted swarm today, I’m done checking in to every spot I visit. Baby steps. 🙂
I wish I could snowboard like you! I don’t even know what swarm is. 🙂
it’s the new foursquare app that you use to check-in now. 🙂
I find myself unplugging and focusing, becoming engrossed, for hours with a great book. The last three amazing books were, Sarah’s Key, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and The Invisible Wall.
Oh.I haven’t read a book in years (since the kids were born)
HOW did Christmas sneak up on me?! Lol. Good luck with the rental. We tried that once, but it just got too time consuming for me.
I know!! It’s here! the house worries me a little but we’ll give it a shot
I get laser focused when I am trying to PR in boot camp or something like that. Especially during sprints. Time passes when I am ready amazing fitness blog posts such as this one too. Very nice.
Awe thanks Diatta and good luck with the PR!!
I used to get so absorbed in a book that I was reading that I swear the house could have burned down and I would not notice. I can’t seem to find that focus anymore. It’s definitely something I need to work on in the new year.
It seems to be tougher the older we get
I have been making it a point to put my phone away in the evenings, after dinner and just focusing on some family time. It’s nice to unplug; even for just a couple of hours each night.
I need to do that more too!
Love that you had that pause and realization … and enjoyment of focusing on something for that duration. I can’t really tell you the last time I focused on something for that length. BUT… unplugging and focusing on family/nature/self is always nice.
It was definitely a rare moment.
I’ve unplugged a lot in the past few weeks and it’s something I will do more often in the future and not just during holidays or when family and friends visit. Unplugged as part of everyday life.
It’s great isn’t it?
Always a great reminder! I’m finishing up some internet stuff this morning, then unplugging until Monday to spend time with my family. Merry Christmas!