It is about midnight here and I am inspired! How well do you listen? I mean, REALLY listen? To yourself, your surroundings, others... Maybe you should try the test my son and I did tonight. It has given me some new insights I'll share now.
Ever since my little guy was old enough to walk on his own, we have had a spring/summer tradition. We wait until it is quite dark and then he and I will take a walk, just the two of us, around what ever neighborhood we are in. Once we got Danny (our Havanese puppy) he came along, too.
There is something about walking at night (especially if only lit by the stars and moon) that makes me more receptive to new ideas, so it is a fabulous time to talk with my son (who is also a night owl.) He is 7 and is already getting into that phase of adolescence where he does not talk about much when he comes home other than "fine" or "OK" or "what's for dinner I'm hungry." When we go for our walks though... things are different. He really opens up and we talk about all kinds of things. I learn and so does he.
The other night, we came upon a park bench and decided to sit down for a rest before heading back. It is a BEAUTIFUL night. The air was a perfect 73 degrees with a slight breeze and NO humidity.
When we first sat down, we chatted for a moment and then it got quiet -- or did it? I asked my son to name all of the things he heard. At first he said, "Nothing." I encouraged him to pause and really listen.
We heard: The wind blowing past our ears. The rustling of the leaves in the branches above us. A train whistle in the distance. Cars in the distance on both sides of us (east and west, but at different distances). Crickets chirping. The puppy sniffing. The rope from the American Flag across the street banging up against its metal pole. A dog barking in the distance to the east. A car driving by. Mom kissing son on cheek.
"Wow! for a quiet night, it sure is noisy!" he said.
How does this relate to productivity and organizing? Great question! The noise of our lives will frequently drown out other "sounds" that our environment is trying to tell us.
Your surroundings have an impact on you even if you think they don't. The sounds we heard on tonight's "quiet" night were relaxing and calming to us. So much so that when they combined, our mind ruled them out and all of the sudden we did not hear. They were there. They were impacting us, but until we made a conscious effort to focus, we did not even know they existed.
It is about midnight here and I am inspired! How well do you listen? I mean, REALLY listen? To yourself, your surroundings, others... Maybe you should try the test my son and I did tonight. It has given me some new insights I'll share now. 
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