Week 349 (brendan@brendanbarca.com)

Here's your weekly dose of Fuel Your Mind Friday where I, Brendan Barca, share business building ideas, lifestyle design hacks, and inspirational content to help you thrive in your work and find purpose in your life.

---

PSA: My wife, Pema Sherpa, and I launched another blog called The Mindful Minute! Check it out here.

---

HOW TO "COMPLETE" YOUR TO-DO LIST

​

On Monday morning my wife and I took the subway from Brooklyn into the city for two doctors appointments. The trip was planned months ago and had been in my calendar for weeks. We arrived on time and the appointments went smoothly. Mission accomplished.

The problem?

While I had created space on my calendar to attend these important appointments, I had not truly created the space in my mind. Over the last 5 years as a small business owner and through 12+ years of my career I've viewed Monday morning as "work time." It's time I use for deep strategy work that sets the plan for a successful week ahead.

As we traveled to and from appointments that morning on the 6 train I noticed a part of me feeling overwhelmed. Thoughts flittered through my mind:

"I'm going to fall behind my work this week."

"How can I make up for this missed work time this afternoon?"

Our last appointment ran late and we ended up taking an unplanned lunch. We grabbed salads and found some tables nestled in a rose garden in Union Square. As Pema and I ate our salads a bee buzzed by my ear and landed on a flower over my shoulder.

Studying the bee's activity I experienced a temporary reprieve from my busy, work-obsessed mind. I then took a look around and realized (for what felt like the first time ever) where I was. I was eating lunch with my wife in a tree-lined section of Union Square Park on a picture-perfect New York City spring day.

Taking in the scene while reflecting on my work-obsessed thoughts, I started to feel ridiculous.

Why was I in such a rush to get back to work?

Why was I letting these old habits of working on Monday mornings rob me of this beautiful moment?

I looked back at the bee and took a deep breath. I dropped all of my unhelpful thoughts and got back to what I was supposed to be doing — enjoying lunch with my wife.

As we took the subway home that afternoon I started to unravel the roots of my work-obsessed thoughts. I determined that these thoughts come from a feeling of "incompleteness." For both business and personal goals, my To-Do list is never-ending. And it's thanks to this endless list that I tend to feel behind. I'm always racing to feel complete. But if I rely on finishing my never-ending list to feel complete, then the feeling of completeness will never come!

The solution, I realized on Monday and still agree with this morning, is to give myself the permission to feel complete now — no matter where I am relative to my goals.

If you struggle with this feeling of incompleteness, the same may be true for you.

Can you give yourself the permission to feel complete now?

​

---

Until next week,

- Brendan

​Let's connect on LinkedIn!

​brendanbarca.com​

Don't miss our newest creation, The Mindful Minute -> ​Check it out here!