We’re increasingly busy these days. The internet and other technologies that have emerged in recent years have brought many more options for productivity. They have also opened the door for much more mental clutter and downright anguish! I have something that will help you feel better and have more control over your time and mind. You actually don’t need to set the alarm for 15 minutes, we will take care of that for you.
Master Your Mental State for 15 Minutes
I’m not going to tell you to pull out the meditation mat, because let’s face it, meditation is not easy. I’m used to knowing the instant that I have an email in my inbox and handling 5 conversations simultaneously. Sitting in one place with my eyes closed doing nothing is absolute torture! If you’re like me, and are looking to declutter your mind, read on.
Let me tell you about something called an Endless Beautiful Session. It’s a 15 minute long audio session that is comprised of several sound clips that I have recorded and stitched together with my partner Carolyn. These clips can be the ticking of a clock, birds chirping, riding the subway. At the time of me writing this, we have used 400+ sounds. No two recording are every used twice!
How do we do this and why is it important?
Okay, so this is what I want you to do. Download one of our sessions in our store. We have a free one that you can try out. We have a bunch of other ones to choose from. Grab yourself some paper and a pencil or a computer. You’re going to need something to play the EB Session with. So maybe use your computer or your cell phone. You’ll want some headphones if you are in a noisy environment.
Hit play and start writing. Don’t just try to identify the sounds. This isn’t a gameshow or a contest. Loosen your mind and let it play with what you are hearing. Memories are generally a good place to start. I bet you have a lot of those swimming around. The only rule here is that you can’t stop writing until the 15 minutes are up.
What are we doing here?
This handy little writing exercise is something called the Endless Beautiful Method. The core of the method is the 15 minute audio sessions that I mentioned. The EB Method is used by many different types of people for many different purposes. For you it might be to set your alarm for 15 minutes a day to just do some deliberate writing. For writers, it can be used to help defeat writer’s block. Teachers use it as a classroom activity to get students writing. EB users use it to help them with journaling. Individuals can use it for family reunions and other parties with friends.
The method is incredibly flexible. All you need to do is figuratively set an alarm for 15 minutes during your day and do a session. The benefits or doing this are enormous!
How to Maximize the 15 Minutes
Good, so you’ve decided to give this a go. I’m going to share some tips to help you get the most out of your 15 minutes.
Don’t worry about form or topic in the beginning.
Your journaling might turn into a poem which then in turn might turn into historical fiction. You’d be surprised what can happen in 15 minutes! This is okay. The time is for you to exercise your mind in a creative and positive way. You will get better the more you use the EB Method. After a while, you will probably start to develop a style that works for you during the 15 minutes. You can take a look at our results page to see some examples of what participants came up with during the 15 minute session.
Share what you came up with.
This is a huge component to using the EB Method, and it can make a really big difference for you. By sharing what you came up with during the 15 minutes, you are getting this amazing creative piece out of your head and into the wider world. You don’t need to share it with millions of people. Just one person. It will feel great. Trust me. Also, you only took 15 minutes to create what you came up with. That means it isn’t super long, and you aren’t asking too much of the person when you share it with them.
Don’t stop writing.
Seems simple. Many of the first-time users of the Endless Beautiful Method report they are shocked by how easy it is for them to keep on writing. I will often lead a workshop, have somebody come up to me before we get started and tell me that they are not creative, and then proceed to produce multiple pages of amazing content over the next 15 minutes.
Keep in mind that not stopping does not just mean that you don’t stop making your work longer. You can also work in a circular fashion. I primarily write fiction when I am using an EB Session. There are dozens of my stories along with other artists in the Endless Beautiful Podcast section of our site.
And oftentimes, I will find that my story will take a turn that I don’t necessarily like. Or maybe I will reach a conclusion for the story, and pushing it past that point will detract more than it will add. In those cases, I go back up to earlier sections to enrich them with finer details. This can really add some amazing texture to the stories and characters. Just don’t stop dead in your tracks during the 15 minutes and you will be fine.
Set Alarm for 15 Minutes and Make a Routine in Your Week (We’ll Start There)
15 minutes a week. Pick a day. Pick a time of the day. Set it aside. That’s all this will take. The time will become sacred to you, and you’re probably going to want to do it more than once a week. This is very much like working out in a gym. The time and money required to do it is much less than your standard gym commitment.
The more you use the EB Method, the better you will get at it. You will begin to set little challenges for yourself. It’s always fun to watch newbies to the method marvel at what they came up with during their first session and then look it months later after they have been using the method for a while. Your creative brain gets very good at this stuff.
I personally like using EB Sessions in the morning after I eat breakfast and make a cup of coffee. Trust me, I am not a super morning person that gets up at 5 am. I have to set my alarm a little earlier, convince myself to get out of bed, and shoehorn those 15 minutes in just like everybody else. And it feels awesome when I complete it!
Take 15 Minutes to Redirect a Bad Mood
I’ve definitely done this one too. I’ve been going about my day, and for whatever reason, I was just having a crappy day. I didn’t use a session in the morning, people were rude to me, etc. I remember a specific moment where I pulled into a Walmart parking lot, pulled out a pad of paper and pen, picked a session, and took 15 minutes to write. It was like a massive weight was taken off my shoulders.
What did I write? Some weird thing about soup that I threw out after I was finished. It didn’t matter. Those 15 minutes saved me from an entire day of having a bad mood and all of the other nasty consequences that come with a bad mood. I obviously had something on my mind that I couldn’t just let go of without taking the 15 minutes to do some creative exercise.
What are you waiting for?
Okay, I appreciate you reading this entire article, but it’s time to get writing! First step is to snag your Endless Beautiful Session. You can snag your first one for free here. Or if you want more of a selection, check out our store. We have boatloads of sessions to choose from!