I just got news from the doctor this morning that this baby could come any time now. My response? Actually…it was…NOOOOOOOOOO…not ready yet! Despite the heat and the discomfort, I still have some loose ends to tie up before I feel like I can give in and have a baby. Not that it’s really up to me…but…you know what I mean.
The thing is, though…I am not enjoying the chaos this puts my life into at the moment. Not knowing whether I have days or weeks to go puts things in an awkward place. I am feeling patient to wait for the baby right now, but I’m sure that will change at some point.
This all got me to thinking…do you remember what it was like to wait for something highly anticipated when you were a child? How NOTHING could drag it from your mind and your focus as you spend lots of energy looking forward to this event or thing occurring? Has it become easier for you to wait for highly anticipated events as you’ve aged? Have you discovered any tricks to playing the waiting game? I have! The principle tool? DISTRACTION!
- Place your focus elsewhere and get busy!
- Make a list of things you want to accomplish before the anticipated event
- If you don’t have a full to-do list, get busy on ignored projects and make some headway
- Start a new project if you don’t have anything to finish up
Do you get enough? Do you crave it? If you crave it, you don’t get enough. I know there have been times in my life when I absolutely CRAVED solitude…usually around the times that I had a needy newborn and was running ragged. But, my experience is that solitude is not a want, but rather, a need.
When you have time alone, you are able to:
Think
Get to know yourself
Create
Unwind and kick back
Reflect
Hear your inner voice
Optimally, everyone should have enough solitude that they do not feel compelled to squander it in busyness. Quality solitude will rejuvenate and renew. If you spend your solitude running around trying to get things done, you will not be renewed when your solitude ends and you will be left feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.
Find a way to get some solitude each day. For me, solitude is more important than sleep. Although I dearly love my bed, I think I love solitude more. I am willing to get up at 6 am to get an hour of peace before kids start to get up. This is arguably one of the best parts of my day and I’m not sure what I’d do without it.
So…do you get enough solitude? Is it worth it to you to carve out some solitude out of each day? I heartily recommend you give it a try.
Have you noticed that our society seems to be obsessed with being “busy?” You cannot be too busy, it seems…and people even enjoy topping each other to see who gets the title of “Busiest.” BUSY is the new status symbol that gives people an instant lift of self-esteem. They are SOMEone if they do not have enough hours in the day.
Well…the bad news (you knew there was some) is that this hyper speed will inevitably lead to burn-out. The elevated stress may lead to sleep problems, headaches, digestive problems and even serious health issues over time.
So…time to take stock. Is it possible you are TOO busy for optimal productivity and happiness?
Are you constantly multitasking?
Do you lose items often?
Are you missing important family events?
Are you becoming increasingly short tempered?
Do you use caffeine to fight fatigue often?
Do you get frequent headaches or other physical signs of stress?
Do you skip exercise because you are too busy?
Are you phasing out hobbies you used to enjoy because you don’t have time?
Yes answers to these questions may indicate your life is moving too fast.
Being too busy has to cut somewhere…and this is often found in a key area of your life. Family, health, career, spirituality, home…do you see this evident in your life?
If this seems to fit for you, come back next time and we will begin to explore how to rebalance a life that is TOO busy.
How well do you say “No”? When your schedule is already crammed and you’re already stressed…do you say a reluctant “Yes” or do you simply say…”Sorry…no cigar…”
We are human…can only do so much. There are only so many minutes in the day and there comes a time when you just have to accept that you are fully committed and give a reluctant but firm “No.”
It can be exhilarating to accept your limitations and give a no instead of a yes that you feel obligated to say. I encourage you to try it!
How’s that for something you didn’t expect? Yes…that’s actually what I am telling you. In this age of everyone running around frantically trying to squeeze as much as is humanly possible into every second of the day…I am asking you to slow down and actually be LESS productive. Sound scary? Sound…interesting? Read on!
Many people have lost the ability to enjoy life with the fast-paced speed they keep as they rush through their days. Why are people feeling the need to be constantly “getting more done?” If you fall into the category of people who live like this out of actual ENJOYMENT, then more power to you. I submit that you are in the minority, however. My thought is that people would be happier if they were in the “getting less done” camp.
Simple relaxation tends to make people happier in the long run. Allowing yourself the treat of taking a nap when you are tired or sitting down with a magazine you love will energize not only your mind and body, but your spirit as well.
Some suggestions for incorporating relaxation into your days:
- Go outside. This is especially important if you tend to spend most of your time inside. Make yourself go outside and breathe fresh air, look up at the sky, see birds, notice flowers, etc.
- Play with a kid. If not your own, then find a friend’s kids and play with them. It will make you feel younger.
- Take a day off – completely and entirely. Do something memorable and fun.
- Sit down to eat lunch. Don’t eat on the go.
- When the evening comes, shift gears and relax instead of working right up until bed time.
Take baby steps to try to incorporate a slower, relaxed pace into your days to inject a sense of peace and serenity.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I was bored. I’m sure it was over 21 years ago before I had any children. If that truly was the last time I was bored (and I think it was)…I remember why I was bored. I was young and I was not challenging myself sufficiently. I believe that is the crux of boredom. People get bored when they are not challenged enough…when they do not challenge themselves. Challenge doesn’t have to be unpleasant…challenge can even be entertaining! Keep your mind busy and you will never be bored.
- Set a new goal for yourself.
- Tackle some decluttering.
- Get busy on a hobby or learn a new one.
- Learn something new.
- Get some exercise.
- Read a book.
- Call a friend.
- Write a letter.
- Window shop online (LCD mount anyone?)
- Run an errand.
- Listen to music.
- Organize something.
Technorati Tags: challenge, decluttering, entertaining, hobby
Emails piling up? Yeah…me too. It can be scary how quickly inboxes can become clogged with junk. Here is what I do if I let down my guard for a day or two and my inbox becomes too full of spam.
1. Highlight all junk mail, chain emails, newsletters, offers for weightloss pills, shopping notifications, auto-replies, etc., and delete them unread. You’ll never miss them…I promise!
2. Highlight 50% of the other emails that you can tell are not important from the subject line and archive them. You probably won’t miss these either.
3. Skim through the rest and archive 98% of these. Choose a few that need replies or actions from you and save these.
4. Reply to these few emails as succinctly as possible immediately and file the email away in the appropriate folder as taken care of.
Email is a great barometer of life. Do you feel you need to reply and act on every single request that comes in? Wouldn’t you rather take control of your time and do what you feel is important instead of letting outside forces dictate this for you? You don’t need to respond to every email or even read everything that lands in your inbox. Choose what is important to you and focus on these. After you get good at doing this with your email inbox…try it out on the rest of your life!
Technorati Tags: barometer, email, inbox
Is a stress-free life possible? Stress is a response to challenges. A life without challenges would be quite boring when you think about it. Most stress is unnecessary, though, and we should try to eliminate it if possible. There are some methods for reducing daily stress. It’s not a quick fix, but if you apply these methods you should be able to reduce the stress in your life over time.
- Identify the Stressors: Figure out what stresses you out. Take ten minutes to think about your daily and weekly stressors and what causes these stressors. Make a list and then look at your list to determine what can be eliminated from your life.
- Eliminate Commitments: We all have commitments that are unavoidable. I’m not talking about things like work, family, home maintenance, etc. These things are unavoidable. However, consider each of the other commitments you have, the positive things you get out of them and the amount of stress they create. Remove the commitments that are not worth the stress they cause.
- Procrastination: Don’t allow things to accumulate. Make a “Do it Now” habit to keep your inbox and desk free of piled up work.
- Disorganization: It seems like even the best organizational systems tend to shift toward disorder over time unless we are scrupulously diligent about maintenance. Disorganization creates stress, however, so it should be avoided if at all possible.
- Running Late: Running late causes stress because of the rush involved. Strive to be early instead because there is much less stress if we are habitually early. Make a note of how long it takes you to do certain things so you know how much time to allow to get yourself out the door.
- Let Go of Control: A need for control causes stress. When we try to control situations and people we create stress. Learn to let go…the only thing you can control is yourself.
- Limit Multitasking: While it may seem that having a bunch of stuff going on at the same time is making you more productive, this way of doing things actually causes stress and prevents a focus on one task.
- Eliminate Energy Suckers: Have you noticed certain activities that drain your energy? Certain things tend to create exhaustion. Identify these things and eliminate them.
- Avoid Difficult People: We all have these people. If possible, avoid contact with these people.
- Simplify: Simplify your routines, your commitments, your clutter.
- Un-Schedule: Keep wide open blocks of time that are unscheduled. You will come to love having an open schedule like this.
- Slow Down: Take things at a slower pace. Enjoy mealtime, enjoy your family, enjoy nature.
- Help Others: Helping others gives you a good feeling and also lowers your stress level.
- Relax: Take mini-breaks during the day. Stop what you’re doing, get up and stretch, walk around, get a drink. Life doesn’t have to be all about productivity.
- Exercise: This not only relieves stress, but also prevents it. Exercising helps relieve stress and makes you more fit. A fitter person is better able to handle stress.
- Eat Healthy: Become healthier your stress levels will dissipate measurably.
- Be Grateful: Develop an attitude of gratitude. Eliminate negative thinking and reduce stress. Learn to be grateful for what you have and the people in your life.
Technorati Tags: daily stress, stress-free, stressors
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin
Greet the day early! Are you a night owl or an early bird? If you are a night owl, I encourage you to think about some of these attractive benefits of early rising…
- Quiet: Probably the number one benefit in my book…QUIET. Peaceful quiet where no one is yelling, crying, or asking me for something. This early time of the day is priceless to me.
- Head Start: This quiet time allows me to start my day with a routine that sets my day on a good path of productiveness and accomplishment. I can get a lot done in these few hours of quiet!
- Sunrise: Watch the day evolve and the darkness disappear. This can be a magical time.
- Breakfast: Start the day with the time for a healthy breakfast.
- Exercise: Get that needed exercise in first thing so that it doesn’t get shoved to the back burner and not done.
- Set Goals: Get myself organized and figure out what I need to accomplish with this day.
Have I convinced you yet? Ready to give it a try? OK…now some suggestions for instituting change (if necessary).
- Go to bed earlier: By at least an hour so that you are well rested and ready to get up.
- Move your alarm clock: Away from the bed so that you have to get up to turn it off.
- Get moving: As soon as you turn off the alarm you are up for the day! Get going!
- Reward yourself: Make a cup of the “good” coffee. Have a treat for breakfast. Make getting up attractive.
- Use the time: Get something productive accomplished so that you feel good about getting up.
OK – pep talk over. Try this out tomorrow and come back and tell me how it went! Maybe I missed my calling…I should have gone into sales training instead of pursuing a life of simplicity…LOL.
It’s that time again…time for us to save some daylight!
Before you go to bed tonight, don’t forget to set your clocks ahead an hour because daylight savings time begins Sunday morning at 2 a.m.
The Energy Policy Act (of 2005) moved DST up to the second Sunday in March. DST will end this year on November 1.
A few trivial tidbits for you:
- A recent study has found an increase in heart attacks during the first week after DST begins. This is thought to be connected to a loss of sleep. When DST ends in the fall there has also been shown to be a slight decrease in heart attacks for that first week.
- Researchers have also found that DST reduces fatal car accidents. This is thought to be because people can drive more safely during daylight hours.
- Two states (Arizona and Hawaii) do not observe DST. Indiana gave in and began observing it in 2006.
- DST began during WW1 to conserve fuel. The theory was that more daylight hours would reduce the use of artificial lights. Experts disagree about whether or not this works.
Technorati Tags: daylight savings time, DST, spring ahead
