The Time Finder with Paula Eder
The way you use your time is the way you live your life.
Archive for November, 2008
Find Time for Self Care
Posted on November 28, 2008 by Paula, under Self-Care Time, Time Boundaries.
Did you find time for yourself on Thanksgiving Day this year? Were you able to take some grateful pauses in the midst of entertaining or socializing with family and friends? Did you steal a moment after all the dishes had been done, the leftovers had been put away, and the guests had gone?
If you visited friends or family, were you able to take space to reconnect with yourself, recharge, and feel grateful? When you’re away from home, it can be an even more difficult assertiveness and time boundary challenge to find the time that you need … and then take it!
Particularly during the holiday season, it’s easy to get swept into the flow of events and lose track of your own needs, priorities, and rhythms. Time management skills and solid time boundaries are even more essential than usual at this time of year.
To avoid feeling depleted, setting some time boundaries and making self-care a priority will serve you well. Remember, self-care is not an indulgence. It’s a responsibility! If you are not addressing your own needs, you won’t be able to be available to others in any meaningful way.
Be your own best friend, and give yourself what you need!
The first step in doing that may be to get to know yourself a little bit better. Many of us are so used to attending to others that we have trouble identifying self nurturing activities.
Take a few moments today, and jot down five things that make you feel cared for and nurtured. Make sure that they are things that you can do for yourself. Once you’ve got your list, set a time — think of it as an appointment with yourself — and then pursue your nurturing activity.
This is one of the best ways that I know to re-energize myself and reconnect with my own individual rhythms.
How does it work for you when you take time for self care? I’d love to hear!
What if you could find another hour every week? You can! For more Time Finding resources, you are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Finding Time for Gratitude
Posted on November 27, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
Finding time to be grateful is one of the keys to living your fullest life. The attitude of gratitude opens hearts and minds as nothing else can.
Gratitude reframes challenges, making them manageable. It unpacks the gifts in each moment and transforms grey-looking landscapes into colorful tableaux! On the Website Think Simple Now, there’s a very helpful post by Tina Su offering “5 Tools for Appreciation.”
You’ll notice that the first step, as with so many tools for enhancing our lives, is to pause. This may seem counter-intuitive at first. Finding time to pause in our busy lives can be a challenge that looks impossible on some days.
That pause, however, is one of the points where your time choices and your values intersect. Taking a moment to breathe and look around, you refresh your spirit and give yourself the space for choice-making. When you pause and reflect with gratitude, you put yourself back into the moment and open your heart to all that it contains.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie~
Try giving yourself some grateful pauses throughout the day today. Aim for five, and see how it goes. I suggest catching yourself when you are feeling overwhelmed or frustrated. Choose those moments to pause and reflect.
How does that work for you? I’d love to hear how it goes!
What if you could find another hour every week? You can! For more Time Finding resources, you are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Finding Time with the Times Three Rule
Posted on November 26, 2008 by Paula, under Time Management Skills.
Not to raise any time management red flags or anything, but have you noticed that Thanksgiving is nearly here, and Christmas and New Year’s are right behind? Your time choices today will definitely affect your experience on December 25th and January 1st, and even November 27th!By preparing for each upcoming holiday now, you’ll feel less stressed and more organized. Most importantly, you will find more time to enjoy friends and family throughout this special season. After all, that’s what it’s about!
Start planning for upcoming holidays soon – say, this Friday! Begin anticipating how you will approach Christmas, for example. If there are things you learned from your Thanksgiving experience, be sure to incorporate them as you move ahead.
Above all, be sure to resist that easy temptation of underestimating the time you will need to get ready. One time management rule of thumb related to holiday preparation is a constant, year after year – the “times three rule.”
Do you recall the “times two rule”? It states that everything on your To Do List will take twice as long as you anticipate. In the very busy time from October to January, you can confidently change this to the “times three rule”!
Nearly all of us experience the feeling that we don’t have the time to complete our numerous tasks between Halloween and New Year’s. You can pretty much count on feeling that way. But, when you expect the feeling, it is much easier to manage!
Finally, don’t forget to build in time for self care along the way. Setting time boundaries and saving time to relax and recharge will greatly reduce your stress and enhance your appreciation of this special time.
What works best for you tomorrow? What lessons will you use during this holiday season? I’d love to hear your time management tales!
What if you could find another hour every week? You can! For more Time Finding resources, you are invited to sign up and download The New Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s FREE, and when you sign up you will also receive (if you don’t already) my FREE, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips and my FREE, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Find Time With Time Boundaries – The Power is in Your Hands!
Posted on November 25, 2008 by Paula, under Time Boundaries, Time Management Skills.
We’ve been talking a lot this month about finding time by creating time boundaries.
Many of you have downloaded and started using The New Finding Time Boundary Template. I am very pleased to report that as of today more than 130 of you have taken the opportunity to use this excellent, FREE tool!
One thing that becomes increasingly clear as you develop your skills around setting time boundaries is how much power it gives you in your life!
Time boundaries aren’t simply about saying no to external demands. As anyone who works on the Internet knows well, time boundaries also have to do with developing internal boundaries. Strong internal boundaries allow you to maintain your focus and stay on task amidst all the interesting distractions that cyberspace offers!
Don’t under estimate the power of choice. You give your self esteem and self trust a wonderful boost every time you set a boundary and follow through on it. Each time you do that, you are telling yourself that you are in charge, that your goals and aspirations are important, and that you are on your own side!
I encourage you to tap into this power. If you haven’t done so yet, check out The New Finding Time Boundary Template! In 9 simple, sequential steps, you can find the time to recharge your energy and move beyond frustration and disappointment. Download your FREE template by clicking here.
When you sign up for The New Finding Time Boundary Template, you will also receive, free of charge, our twice weekly Finding Time Tips, and our monthly, award-winning, Finding Time E-Zine.
So click here to move from where you are to where you’d like to be. Remember, the way you use your time is the way you live your life.
Start using The New Finding Time Boundary Template today, and discover that 24 hours really are enough!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Finding Time as You Start Thanksgiving Week
Posted on November 24, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Values.
I hope the start of this week finds you rested and looking ahead to a warm and happy Thanksgiving.
A quick survey of my Facebook and Twitter friends reflects a certain level of pre-Holiday excitement, anticipation, and stress. Many are wondering how they will find the time to do everything that needs to be done before the guests arrive! In households all around the USA, favorite family recipes are being pulled out of files and dog-eared cook books. Food shopping is being done in crowded stores, and fancy linens are being retrieved from attic storage to grace holiday tables!
The downturn of the economy presents particular challenges this holiday time. It makes us all much more concerned about the costs of things, of course. Planning for the future becomes more difficult and fraught with worry. Choices that might have been made lightly last year are carefully considered now.
As well, though, I am noticing that the precariousness of the economy makes me feel more thankful for the many gifts in my life. Realizing that good fortune is not a “given” makes it that much more precious. I find myself approaching my life these days with much more of an attitude of gratitude – and that affects everything!
As you prepare for your thanksgiving holiday this week, do you find that the economy’s problems are affecting your choices? Is your Thanksgiving fare different? Have you or members of your family changed travel plans?
And aside from what you do, or what you purchase, does the shifting economic terrain affect how you view your time? Has it changed your time priorities?
I know it has for me, as the preciousness of each moment is enhanced by a heightened awareness of its uniqueness and fragility. Here’s to your warm experience of this special time!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Finding Time to Fill Your Time Basket with Dreams Fulfilled!
Posted on November 21, 2008 by Paula, under Time Boundaries, Time Management Skills.
We’ve been talking about creating and maintaining time boundaries as a way to enhance your time management skills.
This is definitely one of those areas where “less is more.” When you’re successfully maintaining your time boundaries, you may feel like you are saying “no” more often than “yes.” But the reality is that each time your “no” is in support of a time boundary, you are actually saying “yes” to the things that are most important to you!
If you say yes to everything, your basket of time will be overflowing — but not necessarily with the things that you value. It will be filled with a mishmash of crisis demands, interruptions, distractions, other people’s needs, and your own goals. You might often feel frustrated, like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.
On the other hand, when you exercise your power to choose and maintain your time boundaries, you let go of needless stress and frustration. Your “no” in the moment creates the possibility of many “yes’s,” as you apply your energies toward the things you value and the dreams you want to achieve!
Picture yourself tending your garden. As any gardener knows, if the weeds are left to their own devices they will choke out the plants that you are trying to nurture. Creating and maintaining time boundaries is a lot like weeding. It gives your dreams a chance to flourish!
I’ve created The New Finding Time Boundary Template to help you develop and maintain your own time boundaries. It’s my free gift to you, and you can download it by clicking here.
When you sign up for The New Finding Time Boundary Template, you will also receive, free of charge, our twice weekly Finding Time Tips, and our monthly, award-winning, Finding Time E-Zine.
So click here to move from where you are to where you’d like to be. Remember, the way you use your time is the way you live your life.
Start using The New Finding Time Boundary Template today, and discover that 24 hours really are enough!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Finding Time with TweetLater Twitter Tools
Posted on November 20, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Technology.
Your time management and time boundary skills can be greatly challenged by the many interesting temptations offered by the internet! Twitter and Facebook alone – which are fabulous for social networking – can also easily become huge time traps. How many of you sit down to respond to “a few Tweets,” and find yourselves, an hour later, happily Tweeting while your To Do Lists languish? It’s happened to me quite a few times!
That’s one reason I was so pleased to hear from Dewald Pretorius of TweetLater.com the other day, with a new (and very useful) addition to his collection of Twitter tools! The entire TweetLater collection includes:
- Scheduling Tweets: This is especially useful for those of us who like to share the occasional quotation or interesting tidbit that isn’t necessarily in response to an event or another Tweet. It maintains your lively presence on Twitter, while freeing you to be off doing other things! (You can schedule up to 12 status update tweets for any rolling 60 minute window!)
- Reminders: You can also use TweetLater to help manage your Twitter Time and serve as your personal reminder system.
- Thank New Followers! You can set up TweetLater to send automated, customized thank you Tweets to new followers.
- Follow, too: And, if you like, you can also automatically follow new followers.
- @ Replies: You can also ask TweetLater to periodically email you a digest of the @replies you have received.
I have been amazed at the time that these functionalities have saved me. And speaking of saving time, if you’re like me, and not especially technologically inclined, Cathy Perkins, The Word Press Wizard, has posted a step-by-step video that walks you through the set up process. I highly recommend it!
The latest addition to the TweetLater toolbox may be the most exciting – Keyword Notifications! Yes, you can now use TweetLater to notify you when people write Tweets that include keywords of interest to you! Just enter keywords that you want TweetLater to monitor for you. They will then send you (at intervals you indicate) a digest e-mail with the Tweets that contain those keywords. (Each new e-mail will contain new Tweets that have been posted since the last e-mail, to a maximum of 100 Tweets per e-mail per keyword.
It’s a wonderful way to get a sense of what is happening on Twitter – and of new Tweeters you might like to get to know! Check out these time-saving technological tools for yourself – and let me know how they work for you!
Let’s explore time together …
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Find Time by Going with the Flow!
Posted on November 19, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side. The Talmud
I’ve been pondering this passage off and on, since discovering it yesterday and Tweeting it last night. What do you make of it?
The power dynamic between time and humankind is certainly clarified here, is it not? I am reminded of ideas we explored here some months ago – the universal, concrete, and absolute qualities of time. As the ground freezes here in NH and winter appears to be arriving in earnest, these immutable, timely truths seem to be echoed by nature!
If you think of time as a river, the metaphor from the Talmud is clearer. What a powerful force a river is! I can think of few enterprises so futile as attempting to push back a river. It’s nothing personal; the power of the river simply carries everything along with it.
Living in time, we are always in that flow. There is no denying or escaping that fact. And that flow will carry us if we let it.
But what if we don’t want to be carried?
Well, have you ever tried to stand up and hold your footing in a spring-swollen river? Your feet slip as the deluge pushes your body back with all the power and weight of the river. You might be able to hold your own momentarily – but eventually, inevitably, the effort will exhaust you and you’ll be swept along, seemingly even faster than before!
Time and the river – these are just not things that you can force.
Meanwhile, imagine yourself floating on a tube down a river on a warm, sunny, late spring afternoon. The water is still high, and you’re bobbing along, enjoying the scenery. What a different feeling! You don’t fight the river, but use its power, allowing it to carry you!
Does this metaphor apply to your feelings about time? Your experience of it?
Try not fighting time today. Let it carry you, as you plan your day, prioritize, make time choices, and appreciate each moment!
And don’t forget to give yourself the gift of my FREE Finding Time Boundary Template. It’s a great tool for making sure that you give yourself the space that you need to follow through on your time choices!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Find Time with the New Finding Time Boundary Template
Posted on November 18, 2008 by Paula, under Time Boundaries, Time Management Skills.
One of the most challenging aspects of time management is creating and maintaining time boundaries. Without time boundaries that work for you, all of your efforts at managing your time and being productive will probably fall short of your goals.Do you spend valuable time each day watching TV or endlessly surfing the net? At the end of the day, do you feel discouraged or angry at your choices?
I’d like to introduce a time management tool that I’ve developed, that walks you step-by-step through the process of creating your own personal time boundaries, and then putting them to use!
Think of your time as a basket. You can see that there is a clear limit to what fits inside!
If you do not have working time boundaries, you can also see how your basket could be quickly filled to overflowing. You end up with growing stress and dwindling productivity. As we all know, that is not a good feeling!
The New Finding Time Boundary Template will help you move beyond disappointment and frustration. In 9 simple, sequential steps, you can find more time and recharge your energy. Using a workbook format, with room to record your answers, you will discover that 24 hours really is enough!
I’m offering this template as a free gift to my readers. You can download it by clicking here!
When you sign up for The New Finding Time Boundary Template, you will also receive, free of charge, our twice weekly Finding Time Tips, and our monthly, award-winning, Finding Time E-Zine.
The New Finding Time Boundary Template will help you choose what you add to your basket of time, and what you leave out.
Remember, the way you use your time is the way you live your life. So start using The New Finding Time Boundary Template today!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
Find Time with Templates for the Holidays-Part II
Posted on November 17, 2008 by Paula, under Time Management Skills.
We’ve been talking about using templates to find time – especially during the holidays. Are you ready to create your template for your Thanksgiving celebration?The first step is to make a list of your family’s traditional Thanksgiving rituals. Try brainstorming if you have trouble getting started. Remember – this is a tool for you, and you can always go back and add things. You’ll be refining and revising your template over time.
Once you have your list, arrange it into tasks. What needs to happen to make sure that you and your family have a memorable Thanksgiving?
Prioritize your list. What’s an absolute “must”? What’s negotiable? What might be a fun new addition to the holiday ritual?
Try not to focus on a static ‘snapshot’ of the holiday meal as the end point. Instead, think of the whole. How can each individual who will be at the table contribute as an integral part of the process? Inclusiveness brings life and heart to your tradition.
When it comes to celebrating holidays, every family has its “quirks.” Include these in your template and plan for them in your list of tasks. My mother believed that no Thanksgiving was complete without fresh green beans. In addition, the green beans had to be sliced diagonally. If they reached the Thanksgiving table having been snapped or cut straight across, there was a Thanksgiving crisis!
Use your template to be sure that your task list includes the things that carry meaning for each person. Everyone at the table feels special because your task template took each person into account! You can use this same approach to prepare for the holidays in December.
Try it – and let me know how it works. What do you learn?
What if you could find another hour every week? You can! For more Time Finding resources, you are invited to sign up for my free, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips. Each Tip is paired with a practical action step that you can use IMMEDIATELY … and as a bonus for signing up, you’ll also receive my free, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time E-zine!
Let’s explore time together …
Other Posts You Might Enjoy!
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