Archive for time management
Loosen Your Grip on Time
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Time is a precious commodity just like gold or diamonds. But, we don’t always value our time the same as we do for something we can reach out and touch. We say, we waste time, kill time, make time and hold onto time. And, we think time flies as fast as a 747. We never seem to have enough of it or we have too much.
Yet, we are all given the same gift of 24 of hours or 1440 minutes in a 24-hour period.
So, how are you using this valuable gift?
I started to think about how I spend my time recently when one of my subscribers said, “I have to loosen my grip on my time”. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that so I asked.
This is part of the answer she gave me:
“We must loosen our grip on our time and minds by letting go of what no longer serves us”…
The more I thought about what she said, the more I realized how much time I spend playing my favorite game, Chuzzle or flitting from website to website when I could be doing something much more productive.
Here are some ideas to loosen your grip on time:
- Re-evaluate your priorities – Are you focusing on how much you have to do with little time to complete your tasks? Do you want to paint the bathroom, rearrange the cupboards or spend quality time with your family? Only you can decide what’s most important to you and how much you can accomplish within a given time frame. Set realistic priorities on your time and energy to avoid overwhelm.
- Eliminate unnecessary interruptions – Chit chat is a great way to unwind and catch up with friends. But if you’re spending hours on the phone, perhaps you could reduce the time you talk on the phone or simply turn off the ringer so you can accomplish one of the goals you’ve set for yourself.
- Perform a mind cleanse – Whenever you’re feeling like you’re running out of time, stop for a few minutes to clear the cobwebs clinging to your brain. It my sound counterproductive, but taking a few minutes to unwind will give you the energy boost you need to continue the tasks at hand.
Maybe you don’t play games, surf the web endlessly or spend your time talking on the phone, but I’ll bet you can easily think of some ways you can use your 1440 minutes doing something more productive and rewarding.
How do you loosen your grip on time? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Gladys M. Anderson - Life Coach, Therapist, Author
Gladys Anderson helps nurses, teachers, social workers, therapists and other care-giving women to set limits so they have more time, more joy and more energy for self-care.
Spinning Wheels Get you Nowhere Fast
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Chugging along continuously, feeling just like a hamster on a wheel – spinning, spinning but going nowhere fast. That’s how a lot of women feel.
I often hear women say, “there’s just not enough hours in the day”, “where did the time go”, “it seems the more I do, the less I get done” and my favorite, “I just need more time to get everything done”. Have you ever found yourself saying any of these things?
How do you slow down the spinning wheels of your life? Most women place time high on the priority list of what they want. The reality is we all have the same 1440 minutes or 24 hours in a day. It’s more about how you use the time you do have versus the amount of time available.
When you believe you must handle everything yourself or it won’t get done (at least not the way you want it done), or it must be done just so and no one can do things that satisfy you, then what you are really looking for is control and perfection. No one (including you) is perfect. Your dinner party does not have to rival a Martha Stewart event. After all, she has staff to perform a multitude of tasks; she delegates and uses the resources available to her.
Oops, I used the “d” word. Usually when I suggest that women delegate, they think about delegating inside the cubicle of family. Step outside the box for a moment and look at the things you do on a daily basis, things you enjoy doing, things you absolute wish didn’t exist and the things that you don’t love doing but do not create anxiety for you. Think about who you can use as a resource. If you are stuck, consider some of the following to get you going:
Laundry - If laundry is interfering with your personal time and it’s not something you enjoy doing, investigate one of the wash and fold laundry services. You can either drop your clothes off or some services will pick up and deliver. How much time would that free up for you?
Housecleaning – Is housecleaning just another chore that eats away at the time you could be using for other pursuits? Why not consider having someone who enjoys this work do it for you? And, don’t use the excuse, “I can’t afford it” – remember the law of attraction – if you think you can’t afford it, you can’t.
Grocery shopping – Are you aware that a lot of supermarkets deliver and you can order via the internet? This just may be the time you need to exercise or join a class.
Yard work – Mowing the lawn and other weekend chores may be getting in the way of spending quality time with your family or taking time to pursue pleasurable activities for yourself. If so, you may want to enlist a high school or college student to mow the lawn instead of hiring a lawn service. Maybe there’s a master gardener class held in your community. Often, these students need to earn hours by doing gardening work.
Use these tips to free up more time to do the things you want most.
Please feel free to leave your comment below on how you slow down and get off the hamster wheel
Gladys Anderson - Life Coach, Therapist, Author
Gladys Anderson, founder of Coach for YOUR Dreams, is a certified life coach, licensed marriage and family therapist, writer and speaker. Gladys combines years of experience, training and a genuine commitment to helping nurses, teachers, therapists and other care giving women to set limits so they have more time, and energy to devote to self-care.