Tag: July

Any Day – EVERY DAY – Is A Good Day to Start Fresh

It’s a new week.  A new month.  For some, it’s a new fiscal year.  It’s the second half of the calendar year.  It’s a holiday week.  It’s a Tuesday.

Some of you may say, “Whatever, Coll.  It’s a Tuesday.  What’s your point?”

My point is… well, I guess I have a couple of points.

First, time is completely arbitrary.   It’s all relative.  

I know, that is a weighty statement.  But, weighty or not, it’s true.  Time is a human construct, a way of conceptualizing the phenomenon of Time Passing.  Even though I coach lots of people in Time Management, I am still the first to say that Time is arbitrary.

However, and here is the real point of today’s post, Any Day – EVERY DAY – is a good day to start fresh.

We’ve had a busy few months.  I’ve mentioned the two graduations and accompanying round of award banquets / events / concerts / ceremonies / parties.  We’ve also had a health challenge or 2 (everyone is fine), some work and service challenges, and everything in between.  And it’s all good, and we’re doing fine.

Everything I mentioned has required mental and physical energy, and I have been glad to spend both!  But this week, after a big event this past weekend, I am feeling a shift in my focus.  I must admit, yesterday I was just feeling a lack of focus :), but today  – I am looking forward with a new vision.

I am feeling motivated to mentally clear clutter and make plans to move forward in a number of areas, and I invite you all to do the same!

Accept that time moves, and moves quickly, whether we want it to or not.

I was chatting with a friend yesterday, her oldest son and my youngest son are both heading to high school in the Fall.  I was talking about the boys preparing for college, and then apologized for rushing, to which she wisely replied “It’s 4 years, we have to think that way.  Just yesterday, they were in 5th grade”, and it really does feel that way.

Take a few moments to appreciate where you have been.

One of my favorite exercises around Time Management and Productivity is writing my Done List.  Mine is typically a day or week at a time, but imagine what your list of major accomplishments in life so far would be!

Appreciate all the moments that lead you to this place in this time today.  Be grateful for the good, forgive the bad, and learn from both.

Next, take stock of where you are today.  How are you doing?  What is awesome, and what could be a little better?

What areas do you want to work on?

  • Personal Wellness
  • Financial Wellness
  • Work, in general
  • Professional development
  • Nuclear family
  • Extended family
  • Fun!
  • Spiritual development
  • Community Service
  • (Fill in yours here!!)

And, Where do you want to go? Looking at your focus areas above, what more do you want to do with your

  • week?
  • month?
  • summer?
  • year?

Today (and this week, this month, this season) is a new opportunity to make positive change.  What will you do with your opportunity? 

A new idea occurred to me the other day, to change our shopping habits to save time and money.  EXCEPT… that is not actually a new idea.  It’s a goal I stated wayyyyy back in January (and probably last year), but I think it’s time to create a plan and task list and deadline for it, and make some progress in that area.

Same thing for my personal wellness.  Good habits slip sometimes when life is especially crazy, so this week, I am also re-committing to some neglected wellness goals.

These are just a couple of examples from my own mind.  What will yours look like?  What do you want to do with your time, arbitrary or not?  Today is the Day!  Any Day – EVERY DAY – is a good day to start fresh!  Got get ’em!

How Will You Declare Your Independence?

I had a fireworks moment this morning, in respect for our Independence Celebration last week!  An article I read recently made a whimsical statement to “declare independence from eating food you don’t like”, like the usual cook-out food, for the 4th of July.  I happen to like traditional 4th of July food, so we trotted out all the favorites: BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, corn on the cob, and ice cream at a local ice cream place for dessert.  But the article made me smile, and it makes me re-think other things, like what I would declare independence from if given the opportunity.

Then I read a LinkedIn post about a mid-year goal / New Year Resolution check-in.  I really liked that idea, so I ruminated on that for a while.  Then the two ideas collided in my head!  Pow, fireworks, etc!  (ok, not really, but you get the picture…)  So, Time Management ideas for this week…

Back in January, I decided to ask “Why Not?” instead of “Why?” for 2013.  I resolved to Say Yes! to things and people and ideas, in my personal and professional life.  And so far, I have achieved or am making progress on a number of goals for 2013.  So what else do I need to declare independence from?  And how will that allow me to say Yes! to?

Independence from being sedentary. 

Few people who know me would consider me sedentary, but when it comes to formal exercise, I am.  At least I am more sedentary than I would like, or than what is good for me.

How much time and mental energy could I free up if I just went out and exercised like I know I am supposed to?  I would also be declaring independence from pain, tight fitting clothes, sense of failure, cholesterol and cholesterol medicine in the long term, evil prostaglandins, and a host of other things.

And I say Yes to living a healthier, better life.

Independence from our hectic schedule.

This started out as “independence from busy weekends”, but truly, I would like to work on the whole schedule.  I have spent some time this past weekend with wonderful life-long friends.   And the recurring theme of many conversations is how busy and burned out we have become.  My family and I deserve better, as do my friends and their families.

So I will say yes to time for my family and myself with more intentional scheduling. Now, bear with me, this is the declaration of independence from our hectic schedules, but I still have to work out the implementation plan!  Did our founding fathers outline and strategize such things?  I wonder!

Independence from Judgment, of others and of myself.

My internal soundtrack (my own voice inside my head) is often very judgmental.  I make snap judgments of others based on appearances, perceptions, my own state of mind, etc.  And I quickly and harshly judge myself for any slight failing or slip-up.  I usually catch myself, and then try to turn things around, but the negativity exists.  I don’t share or act on the judgments, but they are still there, and they taint my thoughts and my happiness.  So, I will work on being open to others without judging, and also accepting others and myself more readily.

So, now I have shared my Time Management suggestions for this week.  My question to you is “For the second half of 2013, what will you declare your independence from?” Let me know!