Sunday Journal Prompt

Smoko - a slang term used on building sites in Australia, meaning a morning-tea break or a smoke break. 

- UrbanDictionary.com
                               

                                
My student Josia, who had studied in Australia, mentioned the term “Smoko” to me, referring to our class breaks in which I provide time for students to scroll through social media feeds (rather than during class time), to go for a brief walk or to get some water. According to the Australian government’s Fair Work Ombudsman, rest breaks are also referred to as “crib breaks,” “rest pauses” or “tea breaks,” as detailed in the employee entitlement section of its guidelines—though Smoko derives from mid-morning cigarette breaks taken during work or military duty.

A University of Illinois study found that the brain’s attentional resources drop after a long period of focusing on a single task, decreasing our focus and hampering performance. Though it’s counterintuitive, breaks boost our performance. While social-media breaks are better than not taking breaks, they are not re-energizing, as Andrew Deutscher, VP of Business Development at The Energy Project and an expert on office productivity, explained to the Huffington Post: “They're not going to be nearly as refreshed and recovered as if they took a real break to walk outside.”

How can you schedule mid-morning and afternoon walks into your day?

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Unlock iPhone, click on app, log food … 150 calories in Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, 30 calories in the vanilla unsweetened almond milk, 100 calories for a piece of 100% whole grain Brownberry bread, 90 calories for a tablespoon of peanut butter, 85 calories for small apple, 0 calories for 10 celery sticks, 140 calories for small packet of ranch dressing. That means in order to stay under my daily calorie goal, I can eat 800 more calories today, so I can have those two slices of pizza. No problem.”      

– Lindsay Moeller, age 21   

In her analysis of Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, my student Lindsay wisely opened her term paper with this description of her daily food log. Reading it exhausts me, accomplishing the effect she was going for.

While I didn’t use an app, I used to log what I ate each day in a notebook. It started as a way to determine which foods caused my Crohn’s symptoms, but later I added a section for my weight—since I weighed myself daily—and time spent on the elliptical machine. Not only did this take time to think about and record, but when I was disappointed in my results, the negative voice in my head shamed me—draining my energy.

The name of the app Lindsay used has the word “pal” in it, but to me it wasn’t a friendly encounter. While I know the rush of meeting daily goals, I suspect that thinking this way consumes time and energy that could be better spent on energizing tasks.

When I stopped going to the gym, stopped tracking my food intake, and stopped logging my “progress,” I lost weight, gained muscle and mindfully chose natural foods on a daily basis. I had more time and energy to prepare healthy meals. I no longer weigh myself daily. In fact, I threw away my scale and canceled my gym membership. Instead I practice yoga and meditate at home for 20 minutes daily, and attend gentle exercise classes twice a week with people who have become dear to me.

What’s your relationship with food and exercise? If it drains your energy, how can you mindfully shift gears toward a more nourishing relationship? 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “Taking the time to focus on what you are thankful for, letting that sense of gratitude wash over you—this helps us manage and cope.”

– Paul Mills, professor of family medicine and public health at the UCSD School of Medicine

In a study conducted at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Professor Paul Mills tested 40 patients and noted biological indications of heart disease such as inflammation and heart rhythm. After that, half of the patients kept a journal most days of the week, writing about two or three things they were grateful for. “People wrote about everything, from appreciating children to being grateful for spouses, friends, pets, travel, jobs and even good food,” reports Patti Neighmond in an NPR article on the study.

Two months later, the journal-keeping patients had lower inflammation levels and improved heart rhythms, resulting in reduced risk for heart disease. Mills believes that journaling about what we’re grateful for reduces stress, which is a huge risk factor in heart disease.

What are you grateful for?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“DECIDE WHAT TO BE AND GO BE IT.”

 

– Written on the side of a building on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.

 

For years we’ve heard “Just do it” from Nike ads. But the message “Decide what to be and go be it” goes a step further: We get to decide. You get to decide. Other people may have a vision of who you are or who you are expected to be: parents, partners, friends, acquaintances, even children. Yet it’s exhausting to try to be whom we do not want to be. By choosing for ourselves, we breathe new energy into our pursuits. It’s in your hands.

Whom do you want to be?

How can you go be that person?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Are you on your own team?”

 – Koren Motekaitis, podcaster

 

 

Even when we have a cheer section rooting for us, sometimes we work against ourselves. When a loved one encourages me to take a leap, my voice of doubt often trumps it: I’m not good enough, smart enough, creative enough, _______ enough. I find myself spouting off all the reasons why I can’t and shouldn’t accomplish the thing I want to do.

 

It helps to work toward my goal on a regular basis—to schedule it as a priority rather than let other responsibilities take over. When I let something else consume that time, bitterness and resentment fester—reinforcing my desire to keep my date with myself to work toward what I want. By committing time regularly, I begin to erode the voice of doubt and join my own team.

 

What steps can you take to join your own team?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Excuses are the bricks that build the house of failure.”

 

– Mrs. Weirich

 

 

Veteran second-grade teacher Mrs. Weirich said this to my son Alex, a gifted boy who had mastered excuses to avoid doing more than the bare minimum. He’s 15 now and still considers Mrs. Weirich his favorite teacher. She was on to him and knew he was capable of more than he was giving.

What excuses are you giving to others or telling yourself? How are they holding you back?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”   

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

Often we blame others for our unrest. Have you heard yourself say phrases like these? “She drives me crazy when she _____________.” “I hate it when __________.” “I wish he would _____________.” I’m not saying that what other people do isn’t annoying or frustrating, but we are the ones who determine how we react—externally and internally.

When I don’t take care of myself, my defenses are down. That’s when I’m most likely to get bent out of shape by the behaviors of others. I let external factors alter my sense of peace. But when I go to bed early (which enables me to awaken on my own without an alarm), eat wisely (avoiding sugar and processed food), practice yoga, read inspiring literature, write in my journal and meditate daily, I am fortified. I can better weather life’s annoyances, promoting peace within myself and sharing it with those around me.

 

What’s one way you can promote peace for yourself today?