The Time Finder with Paula Eder

The way you use your time is the way you live your life.

Archive for 'Time Choices'

Find Time to Get One Step Beyond Stuck

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time Management Skills.

Finding time to listen to yourself, as I mentioned last week, gives that extra spark and sparkle to your day. You are just the person to lift yourself out of the doldrums, day or night.

It can be especially important to listen to that calm, wise voice inside when you just can’t seem to budge on an important task. Call it flummoxed, frustrated or bamboozled … when you are engaged in a prized project, or even fulfilling an ornery obligation, getting stuck can sour your whole day!

So what can you do?

Here’s an excellent strategy to help you step beyond stuck:  Try asking yourself questions and listening carefully to your answers.   Engaging with yourself in this way will get you going again, as it helps your brain transition from old ruts to new routes.

Your goal here is to exercise your mind’s innate flexibility rather than to stay mired in a funk. Many states of mind contribute to feeling stymied, of course. Fear, self-criticism, perfectionism, and resentment can be just a few of the culprits … but fortunately, they tend to share distortions that the right questions can illuminate … and then evaporate.

Here are 2 of my favorite questions:

1) What’s the next TINY step I can take?

Being clear with yourself that this is to be a SMALL step relieves any pressure you might be feeling.  When you’re stuck, any step of any size is just fine; what matters is that you mobilize yourself.  You may discover that insights eluding you now will pop up once you’re fully engaged.

Chunking projects down to their smallest increments also helps you to assign a realistic time frame. This is an excellent antidote to overwhelm!

2) How would I encourage SOMEONE ELSE to proceed?

You know you give good advice! Why not benefit from some of it yourself? The inner wisdom that you tap for a friend in need is just as likely to help you!

Sometimes, all you need to do is to remove yourself from the equation. Then, the next step seems quite straightforward. Why? You are calling on a neutral, benevolent part of yourself to offer advice.

This is a wonderful conversation to cultivate throughout the rest of your project, particularly if you have been feeling helpless or self-critical!  Before you know it, you will be back in the saddle, and moving in the right direction!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

Would you like to explore your Wise Inner Voice more fully? The next interview in my Finding Time HeartBased and EducationRich Teleseries is at 7PM (ET) on Tuesday, September 14 with Soulful Coach Joanna Lindenbaum. Our topic? Activating Your Inner Wisdom: How to Bring Joy and Success into Your Life. Sign up and join us for this free, info-packed teleclass! When you listen to that wise voice inside, the sky’s the limit!

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Find Time to be Brave and Create!

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices.

Finding time for creativity is our focus this week, as we get ready for tonight’s free teleclass with Ellene Breedlove Davis, “Finding Time to Be Creative:  Portrait of the Artist.”

In previous posts this month we’ve explored how to “Find Time to Let Your Creativity Blossom,” as well as 3 tips for capturing your inspiration, and when to let go of ideas, opening the way for focus and creation!

One of the things I’d like to briefly explore today (more to come tonight) is the role that courage plays in the creative endeavor.  As the following quote from van Gogh attests, being creative can often involve overcoming obstacles and breaking through boundaries, both internal and external.

If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. — Vincent van Gogh

If you’ve seen some of our tweets about this tonight’s teleclass, you may have noticed one about how being an artist means being a “boundary artist.”  There are many fronts on which boundaries are important for creativity.  Being able to set and maintain time boundaries is key to finding the time that you need to create.

Also key is the ability to recognize when a boundary is holding you back or constraining your vision.  Do you carry critical or discouraging voices that deflate and distract you?  Is the big No of negativity something that you run up against in your life, either from yourself or those around you?  Have habitual ways of being and seeing put you into a rut?

Recognizing when it’s important to break down boundaries is the kind of courageous insight that creativity thrives on.

And breaking boundaries is a risk, as many of you well know.  Creativity involves the new and untried.  By definition, it involves the unknown.  Having courage is a fundamental and necessary ingredient in your creative pursuits, because …

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. — Joseph Chilton Pierce

So, are you ready to take the opportunity to learn more about exploring and celebrating your brave and inspired self?   Join me and Artist and Creativity Coach Ellene Breedlove Davis TONIGHT from 7-8PM ET as we talk about Finding Time to Be Creative: Portrait of the Artist.  (And if you can’t be there, sign up and we’ll send you the MP3 as soon as it’s ready!)

When you use your creativity to enhance your life, you will develop even more incentive for developing your best ideas and making them a reality.  Talk about abundance!

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. — Maya Angelou

Can’t wait to “see” you on the call!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Time to Let Your Creativity Blossom

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time Priorities, Time and Energy.

Finding time to let your creative spirit develop and come to fruition can be a lot like tending a garden.  At least that’s a useful metaphor for me!  As much as art is a matter of inspiration, it’s also a matter of being steady and doing the preparation work that allows our inspirations to take hold and grow, whenever they actually come.

I am very excited to be putting the finishing touches on my upcoming teleclass with Ellene Breedlove Davis.  Our topic?  Finding Time to Be Creative:  Portrait of the Artist.  This is a free call, and you can join us at 7 PM next Tuesday, August 10th!

Ellene is an Artist and Creativity Coach, and she’ll be sharing her own experiences with making room (in both time and space) to nurture and sustain her art.  As you’ll see and hear from Ellene, art and creativity are not matters of magic.  They are better thought of as a melding of passion and skill … and readiness!

In a recent blog post, Ellene wrote:  “In my studio, I have a small blue chair that just calls me to create. Most of the time, I get my sketch book or journal, a favorite pen and just put the pen to paper. The ideas start to flow as soon as I relax, as my creative imagination starts to write or sketch.”

So, if we want to see our creativity take root, blossom, and produce fruit (moving back to that garden metaphor) … we need to give ourselves the time (and space) to tend it through its various stages!  We need to develop and practice the skills of our chosen craft, AND we need to give ourselves some version of Ellene’s blue chair, where we let ourselves open to our muse.

I would add that it is helpful and important to think of creativity in very broad terms.  Art takes many forms, and if you are limiting how you think about it, you are limiting the possibilities of your creative self!

I look forward to exploring creativity more fully with you in the coming days … and hope you will join Ellene and me on our call on August 10th!

In the meantime, do you have thoughts or questions about the creative process that you’d like to share?  Please drop me a line … I’d love to hear!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Finding Time to Create Abundance with Gratitude

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time and Energy.

Finding time can begin with finding your heart. That might seem counter-intuitive, but think about it.  So often, when we are busy, the connection to our heart feels fainter. That, in turn, can start a constriction that leads straight to urgency, frustration and feeling that there’s simply not enough to go around.

When you feel yourself tighten like that, don’t panic.  Instead, know that you have found the perfect time to transform your world from the inside out!

Here’s how:  BE gratitude.

This dramatic shift in consciousness generates instant fulfillment. It may sound unbelievable, but give it a try.  ONLY when you experience how gratitude transforms your approach to life will you truly come to understand. You already possess EVERYTHING that you need in order to live with joy. And that is abundance!

In my last blog entry, I discussed courageous prioritizing. As you simplify your schedule and set aside time to look within, you can tune in to how you feel. Notice how you can make healthy decisions for yourself more easily. When you do this, positive builds on positive, and your circle of appreciation just naturally grows!

You may be familiar with the “3 Gratitudes” Exercise. Try writing down 3 things you are grateful for every night. Pay particular attention to how the time choices you make contribute to these blessings in your life. That’s YOUR power at work!

Moving from “scarcity time” to “abundant time” is a journey. Some rewards are immediate. Others come slowly, with patient, surefooted steps. Nightly rituals like writing down 3 blessings carry a triple benefit (I call them the “3 E’s!”):

  1. Writing your blessings enhances your awareness in the moment.
  2. Validating your time choices encourages you to identify what activities TRULY bring joy to your life. The answers might surprise you!
  3. Reviewing your blessings enables you to trace your progress.

By transitioning from the illusion of scarcity to the reality of inner abundance, you enter a flow.

Multiple rewards from wise time choices will become more common. Your creativity has fertile ground to flower, and you feel freer to experiment. “Mistakes” reveal themselves to be the lessons they always were.

It’s like waking from a spell!

Drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing with seeing and experiencing the abundance in your finite time … I’d love to hear!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Time to Take that First Step to Free You from the Scarcity Trap

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time and Energy.

Finding time to live fully engaged puts you in the flow. You’ll see new possibilities materialize as if by magic. It’s delightful! And it’s good for you, too.

Working from an abundance mentality promotes your well-being, sparks creativity and enriches your relationships. You feel spacious. And life feels like a welcoming adventure

But have you noticed how easy it is to fall into a scarcity mentality? Scarcity thinking ties you up in knots, and it sours your perspective. Worst of all, it’s so common that you may not even realize you’re ensnared in its vicious cycle.

Are YOU caught in a scarcity trap without even knowing it? Here’s a quick quiz to find out:

Quiz: Abundance or Scarcity Mentality?

  1. T    F    I feel under pressure as soon as I wake up.
  2. T    F    At bedtime, I’m frustrated by what I didn’t accomplish.
  3. T    F     I dread looking at my To Do list.

How often would you answer “True” to these statements? Would it be sometimes, or even often? Well, the good news is that you can dramatically improve your outlook, and boost your energy and productivity. The key is to focus directly on your scarcity mentality and learn how to overcome it.

Today I’d like to share what I’ve found to be the best way to START breaking free from this mind-numbing trap.

And it may sound like a paradox … The very first thing you must do to generate abundance is to ACCEPT … deep inside your core … that TIME IS LIMITED.

How can this be? Why would your making abundant time choices start with FULLY ACCEPTING that time is finite?

Well, think of it … It is SO tempting to try to squeeze just a little more into your day than you can comfortably fit. And that keeps you stuck on the treadmill, chasing after opportunities that always beckon just out of reach.

To use another analogy, if you try to stick your feet in shoes that are a size too small, they will feel cramped and chafed as soon as you start walking!

What a deceptive illusion it is to act as if there are more than 24 hours in a day! When you subscribe to this, you’re disappointed daily, and overextended, too.

So make plans that are a good fit to your day by EMBRACING the reality of finite time! The more fully you accept that you can’t stretch time, the less you will try to squeeze more in and create “time blisters.”

Notice how much easier it becomes to move through your day.

Once you’ve accepted that time is finite, what do you do with those OTHER plans that you no longer try to squeeze in? I’ll be talking about that very soon … and in the meantime, drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing with managing your finite time … I’d love to hear!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Flexibility, Focus and Fun with Segmented Planning-Part 3

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Paula, under Self-Care Time, Time Choices, Time Management Skills.

Finding time to get it all done isn’t easy, as we all know!  Using Segmented Planning allows you to be responsive to the events and emotions that invariably crop up in your day.

When you plan in smaller chunks, you are more nimble and can incorporate the unexpected into your segmented schedule.  You don’t feel that you need to rigidly keep to your 8, 12 or 14-hour predetermined course. Oh, and you don’t have to struggle with frustration and self-criticism when you have trouble getting back on track after being yanked off of it by interruptions, changes … the inevitable happenstances of daily living!

But one of the things about segmented planning that I find especially compelling is the way that it allows space for fun.  Yes, fun!

You work hard, don’t you?  I bet your schedule is filled with tasks, many of which you almost never get to.  Looking at those looming lists can be overwhelming. It’s important to reward yourself for hard work, and to sometimes even surprise yourself with something nice.

Segmented planning can help here. It’s the nimbleness that’s important.  Let’s say you’ve been working hard at your desk for hours, churning out accomplishments left and right.  You come to the end of a planned segment and look at your rough schedule for the next segment.  It’s a beautiful afternoon and, though it’s not on your list, your garden beckons … or maybe a friend calls to invite you to a movie.  What can you do here?

Well, one option would be to continue with whatever your original picture of your day had been.  Or, you could make a shift and edit your next segment, incorporating time for fun or relaxation or self-care.  It is entirely in your hands – that’s the beauty of it!

The more you engage in segmented planning the more familiar you become with yourself and your patterns – and the better you’ll be able to plan.

  • If you’re someone who tends to work too hard and too long, then incorporating flexibility and fun into your plan will be an important challenge to take on.
  • If, on the other hand, you have a tendency to procrastinate, you may want to be a little less flexible, and use your planning to help you stay at your desk a little longer.  (Be sure to reward yourself for your discipline, however.)

As you develop increasing levels of self-trust, you will find that Segmented Planning is a wonderful addition to your Time Management Toolbox!

Remember how refreshing it was the last time you took time for YOU?  How did you feel when you returned to your tasks afterwards?  How did you feel about yourself?  Have you thought about including time for fun in your day? Drop me a line … I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Flexibility, Focus and Fun with Segmented Planning-Part 2

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time Management Skills.

Finding time to get it all done is our subject this week, as we take a look at using Segmented Planning as a time management tool.

Yesterday we explored some of the ways that you can allow yourself much more flexibility in your day by building in brief stopping points where you can adjust your plans to address any changes that have affected your time.

Today I’d like to take a look at some ways that Segmented Planning can help you sharpen and maintain your focus.  I’m sure that you have noticed that, throughout your day, you have ebbs and flows of energy.  Proponents of the Pomodoro Technique advise us to chunk our time and build in short breaks as a way of enhancing focus and flow.  If you’ve tried it, you know what a powerful tool this can be!

With Segmented Planning we tweak this technique slightly.

We might still have our built-in break times, but the regular planning times allow for fuller reflection and for making conscious choices about how your time will be used in the next segment.

Here’s an example of how this might unfold in a typical day:

Suppose you have just had an upsetting call with a client with whom you have worked for many years.  It’s really derailed you.  You find that your thoughts keep returning to the call.  Clearly, your ability to focus is compromised, but you try to plow through, because there’s a pile of work for you to finish up before afternoon.

You come to one of your Planning Points and review your To Do List, feeling overwhelmed and stymied.  What can you do?

  • You realize that you’re full of feelings and struggling to concentrate.
  • You shift your plans around to allow for 10 minutes of writing about how you are feeling.
  • You settle down with pen and paper, set your timer, and let the feelings flow.
  • As you write, you can feel clarity and calm emerging … and you may make discoveries that you jot down for future reference.
  • You return to your work when the timer goes off, feeling refreshed and focused … and you’re off and running!

So often we think that we don’t have time for feelings and try to “soldier on” in spite of their pull.  The reality is that when we find time to give feelings their due, we are able to return to our work much more quickly and productively than if we ignore them.  Not only that, but when we give our feelings their due, we invariably emerge from the experience with new self-knowledge.

Segmented Planning is one way to help yourself do that.  What a wonderful gift to yourself!

How do you find time for what matters most to you? What gets in your way? Drop me a line … I’d love to help!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Flexibility, Focus and Fun with Segmented Planning-Part 1

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time Management Skills.

Finding time to get it all done is your daily challenge.  If you’re like me, you probably like to plan your day ahead.  Planning is a wonderful time management tool.

But what happens when things change?  Take yesterday, for example.  We had some internet connectivity issues and by the time we were up and running again, it felt too late to be posting to the blog.  So, due to some “cyber” issues, we are holding onto our Cyber Monday post ’til next week.

It certainly hadn’t been in my plan for the day to have things held up by a lost internet connection.  Still, those things happen.  As we’ve shared recently in our Finding Time E-zine and at EzineAricles.com, flexibility is key to making optimal use of your time.

One way to enhance your flexibility is to engage in what I call “Segmented Planning.” We’ll be exploring this powerful time management tool over the next several days.

The way it works is really quite simple … and it allows you to significantly enhance your nimbleness (your ability to respond to change) as your day progresses.  Here’s what I suggest:

  • Plan the first part of your day the night before, in some detail, and plan the rest of your day in broader strokes.
  • Give yourself 5 minutes of planning as one of the first things in your morning “segment.  This is your first opportunity to adjust your plan if something has changed during the night.  Also give yourself @ 10 minutes to plan at the end of your first segment.
  • Use the planning time at the end of your first segment to notice how things went and to add, remove, or tweak the timing on things for the rest of our day.  Also, set another planning time that will mark the end of your second segment.
  • Use as many segments as you like, and let it vary from day-to-day, as needed.

I find that using segmented planning allows me to really take in the fact that planning isn’t some harsh, critical task master meant to keep me “in line.”  No, planning is for me! My plan is mine, and the more I make it mine the less resistant I am to following through on it.

Giving myself several places during the day where I can adjust to changes before moving ahead is a friendly and flexible way to chart my course and hold to it.  I encourage you to give it a try!

How do you find time for what matters most to you? What gets in your way? Drop me a line … I’d love to help!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Time Today – Let Go of Self-Limiting Scarcity and Claim Your True Inner Abundance!

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Paula, under Time Choices, Time and Energy.

Finding time when you are so busy that you feel like you can’t squeeze in one more thing is a big, daily challenge for many of us.  I am guessing that you probably know THAT feeling very well!

The reality is that time is concrete and unchanging.  We have exactly 24 hours each day.  But sometimes a day feels luxuriously long … and other times it just flies by.  Sometimes it feels productive and satisfying … and other times it feels like you just can’t get out of your own way to get ANYTHING done.

Know what I mean?

That’s because how we FEEL about time has a fundamental impact on how time FEELS to us.

Let’s step back and look at a single moment.  Picture yourself working on a project.  Your deadline is a week away and you are behind schedule and beginning to feel overwhelmed.  You’ve got half an hour until you need to leave for an appointment.  You’re frazzled and tired.  What do you do?

The first thing is to remember that you have choices.  Every single moment of every single day, you make choices about how you feel and what you do.  You may not have control over what happens, but these choices are always in your hands.

Second, you need to MAKE your choice.

  • You can choose to continue to work from a place of scarcity and overwhelm.
  • OR you can choose to take a deep breath and choose to approach the next half hour with an open and grateful heart.

If you make the first choice, that will lead to increased worry, lack of focus, frustration, and ongoing feelings of overwhelm.

Choosing the second path, you will find that you are able to focus on your task, your ideas flow more freely, and you are much more productive than you had imagined you could be in half an hour.  In this second scenario, you come to see and experience your time as expansive, rather than something that is limiting and constricting your possibilities.

Which choice do you usually make? Would you like to move toward greater abundance?

If so, you’ll love the article we’ll be sharing in today’s Finding Time E-zine.  It’s titled “3 Time Choices to Free You from the Scarcity Trap” and if you sign up for our FREE Finding Time Success Kit before 11:30 AM today, you’ll receive a copy of the E-zine hot off the press!

How do you find time for what matters most to you?  What gets in your way?  Drop me a line … I’d love to help!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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Find Time for What’s Most Important to You Every Day-Day #2

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Paula, under Time Boundaries, Time Choices, Time Priorities.

Finding time for planning helps you see where your time goes.  That, in turn, helps you find time for the things that are most important to you.

How did you do with yesterday’s planning task?  Remember?  I suggested that you think of three things that you really wanted to do, write them down, and then revisit your list in the evening.

Planning can be very revealing. When we make a plan we are making a commitment – a promise to ourselves.  It makes our time choices more visible to us and introduces an element of accountability into our days.

The list you made yesterday was a very basic plan for your day, and going back to review it at night will always give you the opportunity to learn and adjust your planning as you move ahead.  The better you get at planning your time, the more productive, energetic, and satisfied you’ll feel each day!

Here are 3 more keys to making planning a useful and productive tool for you:

  • Look with love! When you are reviewing your list at night, don’t use the eyes of a harsh, critical taskmaster.  That will discourage you and most likely make you want to hide you time choices from yourself.  Look with love, curiosity, and compassion.  The more you open to yourself the more likely you are to learn and grow!
  • Flexibility is your friend! Your plan needn’t be rigid and unchanging.  Always remember, this is YOUR plan and YOU are in charge!  If you forgot to include laundry in your list for Tuesday, it’s okay to add it when you remember on Tuesday morning and bump something else to Wednesday.  Use your plan as a guide or a frame for your day … and don’t be afraid to flex it.
  • Thank yourself! Always, when you check in with yourself about your plan, validate your efforts AND validate your honesty.  Remember that learning lies as much in your mistakes as in your successes.  Give yourself a big pat on the back when you review your plans, and when you create new ones.  You might even come to look forward to your planning time!

My last suggestion to you is to do your check in and your planning before bed each night. This is important because it allows you to get a running start on your morning.  Also, bedtime is something that can be moved back a bit, when necessary.  Often mornings don’t allow you that kind of flexibility.  I find that if I plan to plan at night, I am sure to do it.

Is planning already a part of your life?  Do you want to start … and move toward making the invisible visible?  I’d love to hear how it goes for you … it’s a wonderful exploration of yourself!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

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