There are 3 critical time frames in dealing with life: Past, Present and Future. This has come up in my coaching for productivity on numerous occasions as I have talked about positive or negative ways in which we approach each time frame. It seems natural to be most comfortable in one place on the Past-Present-Future Continuum: some of us are more Past-orientated, others are more Present-orientated and still others are more Future-orientated. You probably favour one of the three or you sit between two of them.

When I asked ChatGPT about how we can best approach the past, present and future, the summary response was: “The most effective way to approach the past, present, and future is through a mindful and balanced approach that integrates reflection, engagement, and planning. By learning from the past, fully experiencing the present, and thoughtfully preparing for the future, you can lead a more purposeful and satisfying life. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, these principles can serve as a foundation for your personal journey of self-discovery and growth.” You can read the full response it gave HERE. which is loaded with some very practical suggestions!

I am going to tackle each time-frames and will suggest one thing to Know about each time frame, one thing to Avoid and one thing to Do for each. Let’s start by focussing on dealing with the Past productively.

1. Managing the PAST Productively

One Thing To Know: The Past is Helpful– Our minds are truly amazing in that they help us to remember the past with incredible clarity at times and with less clarity at other times – mostly to protect us from harmful memories. You have probably been surprised at how you can suddenly remember something clearly or struggle to recall some detail. The Past really can be your friend as it helps you relive the past, make sense of the present and prepare for the future. If you are struggling with painful memories from the past then it is wise to get help from someone who is appropriately trained.

One Thing To Avoid: Ruminating – We go wrong when it comes to approaching the past when we get stuck in it – when we find ourselves anchored and unable to move forward. The one thing we need to void (not the only thing to avoid but a key thing) is Ruminating. In the book Peak Mind, Dr Amisha Jha says of Ruminating: “The tendency of our minds to get pulled by a memory or worry, and to incessantly create stories, takes us away from the here and now as our stress increases. You’re ruminating on something that occurred in the past, long after the time when reliving it is helpful or instructive.” She says: “Ruminating is rewinding the mind, pulling it away from the current moment and staying stuck in the past.” Ann Voskamp said in a newsletter that there is a downward spiral that starts with brooding: “Our tendency to brood, referred to by cognitive scientists as “morbid rumination,” often makes us focus on the negative aspects of our lives and can lead to anxiety and depression.” Clearly getting stuck in ruminating about the past is not helpful. Check out a helpful video on Ruminating HERE or read the summary HERE.

One Thing To Do: Savour the Past – Something I learned from Chris Bailey in How To Calm Your Mind, is the value of creating a Savour list. He says that we can slip into an Accomplishment mindset that stops up enjoying the fruit of our work and or from getting the most out of something that happened in the past. Rather we need to practise Savouring where we disengage ourselves from our goals and immerse ourselves in a delightful previous happenings – it is the practise of purposeful inefficiency where we set aside our accomplishments goals and switch to a mindset of deliberate enjoyment. Chris says we should start a Savour List to keep a record of things we can dwell on positively. Here are some items that I added to my Savour list: (1) The first cup of coffee in the morning. (2) Seeing a target bird through the lens of my camera. (3) Going somewhere in nature that I have not gone before. (4) The positive feelings I have when I finish a coaching or training session. (5) Road trips to a birding destination. (6) Sitting in a campsite when we have set everything up! Oh, a bonus thing you can do is create a Best Moments List (credit to John Acuff in his book: All It Takes Is a Goal) where you create a list of things from your past – they can be an Experience, a Relationship, an Accomplishment, or an Object. Just brainstorm things that come to mind as best moments in your life and link them to one of the categories – it will inspire you!

I have only just touched on the Past which is one of the 3 time frames we need to handle productively. Hopefully this will spark your thinking to explore more deeply what it means to approach your Past productively.

2. Managing the PRESENT Productively

Let’s shift our focus to the Present and explore one thing to Know about the Present, one thing to Avoid when approaching the Present and one thing to Do about the Present.

One Thing To Know: The Present is Fleeting – You may have watched an Ali Abdaal video where he reviews a book written by Matthew Dicks which has a fascinating title: Someday is Today. With the Present forming the bridge between the Past and the Present it is clear that it is not permanent – but fleeting and gone in a flash. Unless we actually engage with it as fully as we possibly can we will miss out on all that it can be. Hopefully this challenge will help you take a more intentional approach to the Present. For help with this, let’s explore one thing to avoid and one things to do.

One Thing To Avoid: Wandering – We must watch out for uncontrolled mind wandering which is having off-task thoughts during an ongoing task or activity. Unless we guard our focus on the present moment we will mind travel in one of two directions (to the Past or to the Future): (1) Travelling to the Past is RUMINATING: as we explored in the last section, ruminating is rewinding our mind, pulling it away from the current moment and getting stuck in the past, usually in a negative thought pattern. (2) Travelling to the Future is CATASTROPHISING: this is where we fast forward our mind to future events and we expect the worst – it is a kind of mental time travel away from the present moment but in a very unhealthy way. We will explore Catastrophising more in the next section. Mind wondering has consequences: it creates noise and clutter and brings health challenges especially psychological ones – so clearly it is something to avoid at all costs.

One Thing To Do: Seize the Present – To borrow from the classic movie by Robin William’s, Dead Poet’s Society, we need to “seize the day” (Carpe Diem) – or in this context: Seize the Present. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a professional basketball player, said: “When you focus on the past, that’s your ego… when I focus on the future it’s my pride… I kind of like to focus in the moment, in the present. And that’s humility. That’s being humble.”  This is a great challenge to live in the present – to be humble and avoid focusing on the past or the future where ego and pride hangout. Read more about the quotation HERE. So, what can you do to live in the present?  It helps to practise mindfulness which means paying attention in the present moment without creating a story about it or trying to explain it. It is getting raw data about what is happening. We notice everything that is going on and we observe what is happening. Check out a brilliant article on the Calm blog that explores 7 ways to embrace the present moment and as a bonus check out their article entitled: How to be more present and live in the moment.

I have only just touched on the Present which is one of the 3 time frames we need to handle productively. Hopefully this will spark your thinking to explore more deeply what it means to approach your Present productively.

3. Managing the FUTURE Productively

I am going to suggest one thing to Know about the Future, one thing to Avoid when approaching the Future and one thing to Do about the Future. Let’s explore how we can approach the Future productively:

One Thing To Know: The Future is Near – This may sound obvious but the future is closer than you think. When we were young we could not imagine being a decade or two or three older and then suddenly we found ourselves there. When we plan a trip in the future it can feel like forever away and suddenly we find ourselves on the other side of the event wishing it had not gone by so fast. So, there is no better time to see the future, take steps to get there and enjoy whatever it is that we anticipated.

One Thing To Avoid: Catastrophising – I briefly touched on this form of mind wandering in the last section when I said that we can mind travel into the future in an unhealthy way as we catastrophise by thinking the worst is going to happen. While our future may indeed include challenging moments, it really does not help to dwell on the negative possibilities. Rather we should plan for the best possible outcome and then deal with challenges that arise rather than expecting them and preparing for them. Of course it helps to prepare to some extend for unplanned happenings or expenses but that is a healthy response while catastrophising leaves us afraid and depressed about possible negative outcomes. Choose to think positively and your present will be so much more enjoyable. Check out a helpful video on Catastrophising HERE or read an article HERE.

One Thing To Do: Shape the Future – There is a phrase that has come to mean so much to me: Be Kind To Your Future Self. No one seems to know where it originated and even ChatGPT says it’s origin is elusive but it returned a very comprehensive discussion of the concept which you can read HERE. For me, Chris Bailey has been the author who inspired me to live every aspect of my life with a focus on making it easier for my future self to operate. Here are three things that I do to be kind to my future self: (1) I create Standard Operating Procedure documents for just about everything that I do – to make it easier when I need to redo the task in the future. (2) I have created an extensive document library using Notion that I can search or filter to recover something that I need. (3) I have an extensive photo library that is well indexed and backed up so that I don’t lose precious memories and can locate them when needed. These are just some ways you can shape the future! You are effectively creating motes or templates for your future self so you struggle less to get things done.

I have only just touched on the Future which is one of the 3 time frames we need to handle productively. Hopefully this will spark your thinking to explore more deeply what it means to approach your Future productively.

Challenge:

How are you doing in each of the 3 time franmes of the Past, the Present and the Future. What is your default focus and what can you do to ensure you devote time, attention and energy to managing all 3 of the time frames to be productive in a way that is healthy and holistic?