Not managing your time and making excuses are two bad habits. Don't put them both together by claiming you "don't have time!" – Bo Bennett
Sound familiar?
I know I have to remind myself all the time to MAKE TIME for the things that are important to me...
Have you ever gotten suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of "stuff" you have to do and things you need to get accomplished? Have you ever felt like you can't do ANYTHING because EVERYTHING is too much? It happens to me, and I'm sure it has happened to each and every one of us!
This lesson is all about time. YOUR time!
Plan of Action Strategies:
NOW is a GOOD TIME to review HOW you are spending your time. For the next few days, TAKE INVENTORY: grab a little notepad and write down what you are spending your time on – and how.
Once you have a clearer understanding of where your time goes, consider the following:
A day has 24 hours. A week has 168 hours. A month has an average of 720 hours. A year has 8,760 hours! Let's become the detached detective again and find out HOW you can make better use of all those hours!
Here Are Ten Steps to Free up Your Schedule and Rock Your Day:
1. Are you taking ample time to cover your basic needs, such as sleep, eating nutritious food, drinking enough water, etc.? According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need seven to nine hours to be healthy and "function" well...
2. Do you exercise regularly? Exercise is an important basic need and is absolutely necessary to become/be your best, so you CAN achieve your goals and dreams!
3. Do you allocate time to "plan your day?" Take ten minutes every evening to plan your next day. If your morning is full of stress and last-minute tasks, your day could be spent in a residual reactive mode. Reclaim your morning by planning ahead. Give yourself ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour – as much as you need to start your day thoughtfully and with intent. That might mean doing yoga or working out, meditating, brewing a cup of herbal tea and contemplating your day, listening to an inspirational CD or video...(remember: the internet can be a wonderful tool. Use it mindfully!)
4. How much time are you spending doing things for others? While I am all for being of service to others, it is very important to maintain balance in your own life, so you can continue to be consistently helpful over time! HINT: Are there things you do, but don't feel comfortable doing them? Are you doing them just because it's expected of you? Be smart about WHO you give your time to, and how much you are giving away!
5. Do you have any commuting time? This is a great opportunity to use "found time" for reading or listening to educational, inspirational, or heck, even just relaxing material or music – all important ingredients for you to achieve your goals.
6. Do you schedule time for yourself, for your hobbies, and to work on your dreams and goals? Be serious about protecting your "alone" time and setting good boundaries, so that you are free to focus on yourself.
7. How much time are you spending on running errands, doing house work, etc.? Are you enlisting your family's help? Can you run errands for friends and vice versa to save each other time? Remember: it's important and totally OK to ask for help when it comes to achieving your goals. Support from the community is essential to the success of each community member, and leads to each of us being in a position to reciprocate in the future.
8. How much time do you spend using digital devices, and how much of that time is productively moving you closer to your goals? TV, computer, cell phone, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, emails...the average user spends around 12 hours a week on social media. Track your time for a week, and when the shock wears off, adjust accordingly! (Stay tuned for a future TML article on the health implications of using too much digital technology...)
9. When you make a to-do list, which tasks do you tend to check off first? The easy ones or the harder ones? Create the habit of making one tough task a priority each day! I often catch myself pushing the uncomfortable tasks to the bottom of the list. In general, it’s a good practice to learn to become comfortable with the uncomfortable things in your life. Try this: choose at least one difficult task every day and check it off your list. Making it your very first task will ease your butterflies for the rest of the day – a healthy alternative to Xanax or wine before noon!
10. Whenever you have to make an important choice, ask yourself: is this path helping me to move forward? Am I doing this as the best version of myself? OR: what WOULD the best version of myself do or say, and how would s/he respond? Practicing to be your best SELF will propel you forward, no matter what!
As always, I’d love to hear from you! Post away below and share at least one Insight so you will immediately start to put things into ACTION. That’s what will make change stick – ACTION! So post away and don’t forget, I’m happy to answer your questions.
With much love,
Petra Christensen
Providing Positive Solutions for Horses
and their Human Partners
