Back To The Basics Simplifying
It’s here. The New Year is upon us, and from the letters and phone
calls I’m getting, things aren’t any easier. So how do we get through
yet another year that is faster paced and just as hectic as last
year and the year before and the year before that?
STOP! Get fed up ENOUGH to take “at least” one weekend off to gather
with your family and regroup. The more stress you endure and the
longer you endure it will lessen not only your “quality of life,” but
also your “life span.” If you don’t care enough about yourself to
stop and smell the roses (or in my case the coffee), then care enough
about those around you. There are many people whose life you have
touched. There are probably many you don’t even know about!
I bet many of those people are tired, fed up, overworked, and moving
through life too fast as well. Unfortunately folks, this is where
our world is today. We either keep plowing through and die early
or we devise a plan to organize our chaos.
I care about you! I’m just sad that I can’t get you as fired up
and excited about taking control and lessening your chaos in a written
article, as I could in person. But stick with me here and just maybe
I can make even a tiny difference in your day.
Let’s talk about things we can do to gain some control and lessen
the chaos.
1. Schedule less. I know, easier said than done. But when I personally
look at my monthly calendar and see myself saying yes to too many
things or when the kids have too many plans, I make everyone STOP
and take the entire weekend off to clean house and spend time together.
The laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc… will be there tomorrow is a
popular saying until enough is enough and everyone needs clean underwear.
In essence, I schedule less. I couldn’t make my dental appointment
in January when I originally planned it, so I planned it for February
when my schedule is sparse.
Same thing goes for your emotional well being. When you neglect
your body, mind and/or spirit for too long, coming back into sync
is much harder. So I ask you, How Tired are you? How FED UP are you?
2. Re-Group. Sit down with a calendar. (My preference would be The
Busy Woman’s Daily Planner ) But even a wall calendar will
do. Go over the entire family’s HAVE TO’s in one month. Once those
are written down, plan FREE TIME as a family. For example, today
the family scattered. But it was family free time and two of them
wanted to go to the car show. Two of them wanted to go out with a
friend who lives too far to see all the time. And I just wanted to
work on this article and the website for my daughter’s school.
We all did what we wanted with our free time today. Tonight we’re
going to watch a movie together. As many of my other articles say,
Plan, Plan, and Plan! If you don’t plan at least some of your time,
then you end up wasting a lot of your time.
Re-Grouping involves planning. You assess what is not getting accomplished
and schedule those things into your month. Remember that if you are
busy doing out of the house things, you’re not in the house cooking.
So don’t forget to plan meals.
3. Spend Time with loved ones. Spending time isn’t just sitting
in front of the TV, although it’s one of MY favorite things to do
these days. It’s watching what your children do on the Internet,
who they speak with on the phone, etc… If you have smaller children,
listen to their noises or what’s being said when they play with others.
Watch their facial expressions when they’re watching TV. If you don’t
have children but find your laundry isn’t done, the dishes are still
in the sink, you’re eating out more often, you’re finding yourself
over booked and/or everything is falling apart around you, then you
definitely need to re-group. (Refer back to #2)
4. Find Help. If you need help, find it; take it when offered by
family and friends. Oh what people can accomplish with a little help
from their friends. (One of my new mottos) Others feel good when
they can do something that makes a difference in someone else’s life.
So if you don’t allow someone to help a little, you’re robbing them
of THEIR joy. Now that doesn’t mean to take advantage and ask for
help all of the time. But when people have mutual needs that are
met by one another, life can be so sweet.
I have friends who help me. Apparently they feel I help them just
as much. I don’t feel like I do, but they say so and I decided not
to argue with them. It’s the “old school” way of being.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to bring some of those slower time mentalities
back to the future. What do you say?
©2003 Susie Glennan
Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3 teenagers,
and is a Home Maker, Nurturer, Teacher, Author, Professional Speaker,
Toastmaster, President of The Busy Woman, Inc., DBA - The Busy Woman's Daily
Planner®. She teaches time management seminars, offers FREE consultations
with your order, and will help you set up a schedule that's right for you.
800-848-7715 www.thebusywoman.com
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