Archive for December, 2008
Find Time and Energy with 3 Tips to Quiet Your Inner Critical Voices in 2009!
Posted on December 31, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Energy.
In yesterday’s Time Finder post we explored the ways that critical messages sap your energy, confidence, and creativity. If you could turn up the volume and hear what your friends and acquaintances are thinking to themselves as they go about their daily business, you would be amazed at the undermining and negative thoughts that are droning in the background for hundreds upon hundreds of people. Debilitating doesn’t begin to describe the impact of this negativity!
So, what can be done about it? Here are 3 Time Finder Tips to get you started on quieting those critical messages and finding your inner power and positivity as you move into a brand new year!
1. Slow down and recognize the voice: This is the first step, and in many ways the most important. You won’t be able to quiet that nagging, undermining voice unless you recognize it. Some of us get so used to these messages that they are taken-for-granted as the backdrop of our lives. It is crucial to slow down and develop the capacity to recognize this voice when it appears. Practice writing down the critical messages that you give yourself. You’ll slowly come to recognize the tone and the themes of this voice. The critical voice is not very creative, nor is it very interesting. You’ll probably quickly come to recognize its patterns and cadences. Then the trick is to recognize it in the moment! (more…)
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Finding Time When Self Criticism Gets in Your Way
Posted on December 30, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Energy.
Finding time to make realistic resolutions and follow through on them is something that many of us think about at this time of year. Is that part of your New Year’s tradition? If so, how do you usually do on your follow through?
It’s been my experience that when resolutions come from a place of compassion and self-nurturing, you stand a better chance of bringing them to fruition than if they rise from a judgmental or self-critical mind set.
Indeed, there are few things in life that can sap your energy quite as efficiently as nagging self-criticism can. It undermines confidence and creativity, and often leaves people feeling utterly discouraged or angry and rebellious. Either way, the energy fostered by self-criticism is not conducive to nurturing healthy change.
What kinds of things does your critical voice say to you?
If you pause in the midst of your busy life and meditate, or sit quietly, you stand a good chance of hearing the chatter of your critical voice – at least initially. This can be a very eye-opening exercise, letting you glimpse the sorts of energy-draining messages that are droning in the background as you manage your daily activities.
Try this, and jot down a few of the critical messages that you hear. Where do they come from? Do they sound familiar to you?
In tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve blog post, we’ll explore some ways to counter that negativity and free up your energy for following through on your resolutions, hopes and dreams!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 …
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Find Time and Money with the Best Free Software of 2008
Posted on December 29, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Technology.
This is the last of The Time Finder’s Cyber Monday’s for 2008. You can’t beat finding time AND saving money with time-saving, FREE software, so I thought it would be a perfect time to feature some of the best free software of 2008, according to PC Magazine.
Their offerings are divided into very helpful categories, and many items listed were also previously reviewed in the magazine. I’ll highlight just a few of the items that I have either used or find to be interesting – and I’d love to hear your experiences and recommendations!
Audacity is listed in the Hall of Fame and, based on my experience, is an excellent pick for that honor! As a tool for recording and editing sounds, I have found it to be very flexible and use-friendly, as well as doing a wonderful job.
iTunes continues to be a powerful tool for downloading and organizing your music and other audio material. I use it for keeping my voice files and teleseminars – anything I can download in MP3 format – organized and easily accessible.
Skype is a free phone and video phone application that just keeps improving! For those who are signed up, Skype provides very easy, FREE, calls and video-conferencing (even internationally).
For those who work with graphics, there are lots of possibilities for organizing and editing your digital images – all good and all FREE! I have found Picasa to be an excellent tool – and it looks like there are quite a few others worth exploring here, too.
You can’t start a new year without a new calendar – and you’ll find some of the best (FREE) on-line calendars here!
The time-saving and money-saving possibilities are nearly endless. The great thing about this freeware is that you can experiment and learn what works best for you, without spending an arm and a leg to find out!
I encourage you to explore the options. What works for you? I’d love to hear!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 to Reflect After the Holiday
Posted on December 26, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
I hope your holiday was a nice one and you were able to find some moments of strong time as the day unfolded!
How do you feel after a much-anticipated event has passed by? Do you have a feeling of satisfaction? Fulfillment? Gratitude?
Are you exhausted and left wondering what just happened? Do you feel let down? Depressed?
People often feel a whole range of feelings around the holidays. They can be very heavily weighted, as memories, hopes, and expectations frequently converge powerfully in that span of hours.
Today you have a wonderful opportunity to find some time to reflect on your holiday and learn from your experiences! Where did things go well? Where might you want to tweak your plans for next year? Are there activities or aspects of the holiday time that you especially enjoy? Conversely, are there things that you find especially difficult? Did you give yourself some alone time? How did that work for you?
It’s very important to do this with an open and compassionate heart. The more open and non-judgmental your dialogue with yourself can be, the more information you’ll share with yourself! This isn’t about assessing or judging … it is about learning more about yourself so that your experience of your moments can be richer and deeper.
You may find it helpful to create a file for storing your thoughts and insights, so that come next year (or the next holiday), you’ll be able to access them. Build on what you learn, so that your holiday preparations and celebrations go more smoothly, and feel more meaningful, for you.
Here’s to your post-holiday reflections! I hope you find the time to give yourself that gift – and I’d love to hear how it goes for you!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 to Experience Strong Time
Posted on December 25, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
Finding time to fully experience life’s precious moments is a goal that many of us hold, and many of us find very challenging to attain.
The holidays offer a good example of the challenge. Whether or not you subscribe to a spiritual or religious tradition, this is often a time of year that can be exceedingly busy. In the flurry of activity surrounding holiday celebrations, the real gifts can often get lost in the wrapping paper!
Mircea Eliade wrote a seminal book in 1959 about the interface between what he termed the The Sacred and the Profane. This book speaks, among other things, to the different qualities of time that we experience in our lives. Eliade proposes two categories of time. As you might guess, he terms them sacred and profane.
Sacred time is also called “strong time” and it is described as more “real” than profane time. Profane time is linear and is not connected to the experience of depth that is associated with sacred time. While I might not choose to associate words like sacred and profane with these concepts, as ways of describing the range of experiences of time, they work pretty well.
Anything that causes us to pause and contemplate, I think, offers an opportunity to connect with strong time – with the deepest experience of a moment. Strong time is not about duration but about depth. Getting to strong time often involves some form of tradition or ritual – and these can be family rituals, rituals involving religious traditions, or simple, personal practices, like meditation, that connect you with your heart and the deepest parts of your life.
As we all experience the holidays in our various corners of the world, my wish for you is that your moments are full and warm, and that you give yourself the gift of some strong time along the way.
Happy Holidays!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 …
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Find Time to Be Safe … The Next Time the Power Goes Out
Posted on December 24, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
I can’t begin to tell you how joyous and thankful I felt when, with a simple click, the power came back on yesterday! We had been coping well, all things considered, but with power restoration came a world of light and warmth and possibility that had been unimaginable just a small moment before. Sudden change, I am reminded, can be a good thing!
After the surprise and the joy, we had the work of the many clean-up tasks that follow on the heels of events like these. Late last night we were still putting away headlamps and flashlights and candles. We gathered up the buckets for hauling water, the blankets and sweaters, and the many extension cords running from our generator to the necessary appliances that we had been connecting and then unplugging, as we needed them, throughout the powerless days.
And of course there was the task of cleaning out and restarting the refrigerator and the freezer. We had done much of the cleaning during the outage, when it became clear that the food would not keep. But it wasn’t until the power came back that we were able to thoroughly wipe them down and get them up and running and ready for use again. And then there’s the outdoor clean-up – much of which will have to wait until our most recent snowfall melts a bit more.
For now, we are just so thankful to be back on the grid … even as more storms are predicted for this, and other areas of the country! We have learned a lot from this recent loss of power – and so we will be in better shape, the next time this happens.
It is best, always, to learn from the past … and add those lessons to your repertoire of preparedness for what the future brings!
As we move more deeply into winter, I wanted to share these resources from the Center for Disease Control: “What You Need to Know When the Power Goes Out Unexpectedly.” As with so many things in life, if you have formulated a plan ahead of time, you can draw on that and fare that much better, when sudden change pays a visit!
Do you plan for change? How has that worked for you? I’d love to hear!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 to Disconnect and De-Stress!
Posted on December 23, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Technology.
Finding time by taking time AWAY from the web may be a challenging step to take, but when it comes to de-stressing, it may just be one of the best things going!
But before I pursue my topic, I want to let you know that last night we got our power back! After twelve days in the dark (except for periods on our generator), we are up and running again. Now we are in the clean-up phase – which is no small task. But I can’t tell you what a luxury it is to flick a switch and have light!
Since we just got back on the grid, my topic today may strike you as odd. But one of the things that I discovered during our outage was that having internet time severely curtailed, while challenging, also had its upside. Others share this view, as you can see in recent posts from Marcia’s Take Charge Blog (where she writes about an “information fast“) and Wendy Battles’ Healthy Endeavors blog (where she explores how to “disconnect and give yourself a break“).
Both of these women (whose blogs I’ve added to my links) are addressing an issue that I became acutely aware of during our power outage. With the constant availability of information in our lives, it can feel harder and harder to allow for down time in our days. If you are a solopreneur, you know this very well. Many of us are prone to work every day, and to strive to be in touch and available around the clock. While this may be good for business, in the long haul, it is not good for our health and well-being!
As challenging as it may be, I heartily recommend building time into your day when you disconnect to de-stress. You’ll come back to your work refreshed and rejuvenated!
Have you ever thought about disconnecting to de-stress? How has it worked for you? I’d love to hear!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 Cyber Time Even When You’re Off-Line
Posted on December 22, 2008 by Paula, under Time and Technology.
As so many of us are needing to find time to dig out after multiple snowstorms this Holiday Season, I am reminded of the opening lines of Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales:
One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.
Lots of our children and grandchildren may find that these lines frame some vivid holiday memories for them, don’t you think? (The poem is a lovely one, too, and well worth a read – whether it’s new to you, or an old friend!)
If you’re a blogger, do you find that it is sometimes challenging to find the time to come up with ideas for posts? If this is true for you, one thing to do is to keep a running list of ideas, either on or near your computer. Ideas often come when it’s not possible to act on them – or even write them down – so capturing them is half the battle! (I also find it helpful to carry a digital voice recorder – for those great thoughts come when paper and pen are nowhere in sight.)
Another helpful blogging practice is having a schedule of subject areas that you blog about. This can help to focus your energies and organize your thinking.
For me this has been an evolving process. Mondays, for example, have been days that I have been drawn to more technological subject matter – so now I think of these as my “Cyber Monday” posts. And at the beginnings of each new month, I have written about the most popular posts of the previous month. The more you blog, the more I suspect you’ll see your own patterns emerging.
As for my “Cyber Monday” material this snowy day, I’d like to highlight a very useful and timely feature of Remember the Milk. (more…)
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Finding Time Gift-Giving Tips!
Posted on December 19, 2008 by Paula, under Time After Time.
Finding time can be a challenge throughout the year For many, time is more valuable than money. So have you considered how much a gift of your time might be valued and appreciated by others?
I was recently talking with a friend who has had a co-worker and her family living with her during the power outage. The arrangement has worked well since last Friday. However, as of yesterday afternoon, the days had stretched to nearly a week and everyone was feeling very tired and stressed. It was looking like a long night ahead. Then the phone rang, and my friend’s face positively glowed as she told me later about the call.
It had been her mother, who was offering to cook dinner and bring it to the house for everyone. Suddenly, an evening that had looked difficult at best, had taken on the aspect of a small celebration!
That gift of time – along with the gift of seeing what was most needed and thinking of a good way to contribute – was just perfect! It will be long remembered and was more appreciated by my friend (and her family and her visitors) than any expensive, material gift might have been.
When it comes to giving, gifts of time are among the best gifts going – especially as so many are struggling with finances! I recently wrote an article about this titled: Time Management Tips – 3 Ways to Transform Free Time Into Valuable Gifts on EzineArticles.com. In it, I offer some tips and ideas about gifting your time in ways that will be very meaningful and memorable for the people on your holiday list – or for year-round gift giving.
For more time ideas, feel free to pay a visit to articlesbypaula.com – where you’ll find all of my EzineArticles.com offerings to date!
Have you given people gifts of your time? How has that worked for you? I’d love to hear!
What if you could find another hour every day? 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 by Using Your Challenges to Recalibrate Your Life!
Posted on December 18, 2008 by Paula, under Time Choices.
Time choices and life challenges have provided lots of grist for this week’s blog posts here at The Time Finder. It looks like we may be closer to getting back on the grid here at the farm – a sudden change that will be most welcome, believe me. They’re making no promises, but I’ve got my fingers (and toes) crossed!
As we’ve navigated our way through these challenging days, I have thought a lot about how to find the gems that are scattered amongst the difficulties. In my corner of New Hampshire, it has been the ice storm that has been the most immediate issue for most of us. How can this be useful in my life, I ask?
On the larger, global stage, the current economic crisis is a hard time that is shared by everyone to some degree. It has wiped out savings, closed down businesses, wreaked havoc with stock portfolios and pension funds. It has left people homeless and forced thousand upon thousand of dreams to be deferred. How can this be something that contributes to the common good, I ask?
I recently came upon a thought-provoking blog post by Andrea J. Lee titled, “Great News in Not-So-Great Times?“ (I’ll also add her blog, “Money, Meaning, and Beyond,” to my links- it’s definitely worth visiting!) Andrea explores the same questions that have been puzzling me, and asks the question, “If we really are the creators of our own reality, which one of us created THIS?”
The question is one that threads its way through all of human history, one way or another. Attempts to answer it have formed the cornerstones for philosophical and religious traditions through the ages. And we are no different.
I would simply offer that it is less the cause of our difficulties than our response to them that matters.
That’s not to suggest that we ignore problems that we can fix. But if our response is to welcome any and all opportunities to learn and grow and change – as opposed to succumbing to the temptation to feel like a victim – it makes all the difference in the world!
As Andrea Lee writes, for example:
How can I use this time of change to recalibrate for myself? ‘Live’ off less – use fewer resources to live an even richer life. Become more efficient and effective at achieving what I want for our world. A lean mean coaching and change-making machine? How can my life become pared down, more simple?
To approach hard times as opportunities is not to deny or minimize their devastating impact. There is no denying that. But it is vital to recognize the power that we hold – the power to transform reality and make meaning with our choices.
How do your choices affect your experience of reality? 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!
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