Happy Thanksgiving! After talking so much about two of tenets of getting out of overdrive—taking a media fast and having unstructured time—I decided to put both to the test. On the night before Thanksgiving, I shut off (!) my computer. At first, I tried to cheat because my music is also on my computer, but I realized it was futile to try and outsmart myself. So that left me with no computer plus a lot of quietness. I realized how many times I unconsciously go to the office to check email; simply checking my email would lead to something else, and an hour later I'd still be working/sending messages/surfing around. It turns out that, with my computer off, I used that time to sleep! I feel like I caught up on a year of sleep. I slept every time I hit a horizontal surface, whether it was the couch, bed, or even the floor. I didn't plan much, either, and it turned out to be a wonderful four days.
I'm going to be on an east coast radio program called Women's Room. You can listen to it Thursday, December 7th at 2 pm Pacific Time on WGLS on a program called Women's Room; go to
http://wgls.rowan.edu/ and then click on the Live Streaming link. If you miss it, it will be archived on this site in the archives department.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
KALW and Moms Rising!
It's almost impossible to talk about Women in Overdrive without talking about motherhood. And this is precisely the topic that kept coming up during my radio interview on KALW's Your Call Radio with Rose Aquilar the other day. We mothers feel like we don't have enough support when it comes to maternity leave, childcare, flexibility at work, and healthcare. So a very helpful listener (thank you!) called in to tell us about www.momsrising.org, which is a group working to do all of these things.
The caller also recommended a book, If Women Counted by Marilyn Waring. I haven't read it, so I'm just passing along the information to you.
A bit more about the show; I was really pleased to hear many men calling in with their questions and concerns. I know that Overdrive isn't only a women's issue, but the men who called in seemed genuinely humble and interested in becoming part of this important conversation.
People also confirmed ways to get out of overdrive that I talk about in my book, including exercise, meditation, redefining success, staying aware of each moment and taking it day by day. I especially liked the caller who did puzzles to get out of his head and bring awareness into his life!
Thank you.
The caller also recommended a book, If Women Counted by Marilyn Waring. I haven't read it, so I'm just passing along the information to you.
A bit more about the show; I was really pleased to hear many men calling in with their questions and concerns. I know that Overdrive isn't only a women's issue, but the men who called in seemed genuinely humble and interested in becoming part of this important conversation.
People also confirmed ways to get out of overdrive that I talk about in my book, including exercise, meditation, redefining success, staying aware of each moment and taking it day by day. I especially liked the caller who did puzzles to get out of his head and bring awareness into his life!
Thank you.
Take Ten Minutes to Breathe
Life has a funny way of hitting you over the head with a message. It seems like every time I have an event for my book. Women in Overdrive, something extremely stressful has happened. It's almost as if the universe is saying "ha! Let's see if you can follow your own advice now, Miss Know It All!
I can't go into every instance, but two stand out in my mind: Heading for a 6:30 reading, I was stuck in downtown traffic—at 6:30! The second example happened before book party: The carton of books I was meant to sell had some major mix-up at FedEx and never arrived, despite the fact that I had made two trips to South San Francisco to try to pick them up (Each person claimed they were at the other station!)
So I'm trying to take my own advice, and stay calm in these situations. Despite the stresses, it's been wonderful to see
how many people want to talk about overdrive. During the past few weeks, at reading and workshops, whenever I say this women start nodding their heads dramatically: "We want to have it all, live life to the fullest. But the one thing that falls by the wayside is time for rest and relaxation." So just for today, try to carve out ten minutes with no TV, no computer, no book. As one of my teachers always says, We are human BEings, not human DOings!
I can't go into every instance, but two stand out in my mind: Heading for a 6:30 reading, I was stuck in downtown traffic—at 6:30! The second example happened before book party: The carton of books I was meant to sell had some major mix-up at FedEx and never arrived, despite the fact that I had made two trips to South San Francisco to try to pick them up (Each person claimed they were at the other station!)
So I'm trying to take my own advice, and stay calm in these situations. Despite the stresses, it's been wonderful to see
how many people want to talk about overdrive. During the past few weeks, at reading and workshops, whenever I say this women start nodding their heads dramatically: "We want to have it all, live life to the fullest. But the one thing that falls by the wayside is time for rest and relaxation." So just for today, try to carve out ten minutes with no TV, no computer, no book. As one of my teachers always says, We are human BEings, not human DOings!
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