If you’re a blogger, an internet entrepreneur, or someone who likes to keep in touch with family and friends using platforms like Facebook and Twitter, social networking is now something that is built into your daily schedule.

It takes time to build relationships and maintain a presence in those media.  And finding time, as we all know, is not always easy.

For that reason, I’m excited to share with you two time-saving Twitter and Facebook tools that our more technological friends have developed!  They are easy to use and, yes, they really do save time. I’ve found that they enable me to stay connected, while also freeing me up to do other things. (more…)

ShareThis

Procrastination is an issue that gets to the heart of how we use the time that we have.  As the river of time flows on, how do we choose to use our moments?

Most of us procrastinate about some things at some times.  But for some of us, our delaying tactics and unhelpful time choices can become very disruptive and stressful in our live.  How can you tell if this is the case for you?

Here is a brief checklist of activities that people frequently make time choices about.  Are there particular areas where you see yourself procrastinating?

Personal
__Cooking/Eating properly __Sleeping __Exercising __Health care (doctor, dentist) __Paying bills __ Relaxing __Other: ____________________________

Work
__Getting there on time __Completing tasks __Looking for a job __Preparing your resume __Calling a prospective employer__Other: __________________

School
__Getting there on time __Doing homework __Studying for tests/exams__Writing papers/doing projects __ Other: _______________________________

Home
__Calling for repairs __Cleaning __Doing laundry__Grocery shopping __ Doing seasonal chores __Doing dishes__Other: ____________________________

Relationships
__Talking with/calling friends/relatives __ Correspondence (letters, cards, e-mail) __ Clearing the air with someone __Other: ________________________

What area in your life tends to be most affected by procrastination?  Does it create undue stress for you?  It helps to remember that procrastination is not a character flaw, it is a time choice that we make.  Since it is a choice, it is something that is most certainly within our power to change.

How does procrastination affect your life?  What do you delay about and why?  Drop me a line - I’d love to hear from you!

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 …

ShareThis

November brought many new readers to The Time Finder, and here’s what you were reading last month. I hope that you enjoy rereading - or taking a first-time look at - the top five most read posts for the month of November on The Time Finder:

In first place was  Find Time with The New Finding Time Boundary Template.  This was the post in which I introduced The (FREE) Finding Time Boundary Template to readers of The Time Finder - and you responded very enthusiastically.  (It’s still available for you to download, FREE, right here!)

Second place belonged to Find Time With an On-Line To Do List - a post that offered lots of information along with links to practical on-line tools.

Finding Time With a Grateful Pause spoke to the hearts of  many readers this past month, and is a good reminder as we enter December and head toward a new year!

The fourth most-read post was Finding Time to Start Fresh by De-Cluttering, and last, but by no means least, came Finding Time by Giving Yourself That Friday Feeling Every Day.

I’d like to close with a passage from that last post, as a fundamental self-care tenet for us all to keep in mind as we enter this new month:

Finding time to breathe and relax may feel like the ultimate luxury, but it is entirely within your control. When you develop these skills, you can put yourself back into your life.

I hope you liked our Time Finder November favorites - and wish you a new month filled with productive days, wonder-filled moments, warmth, joy, and deepening.

I’d love to hear from you as we move ahead - so drop me a line!

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis

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 …

ShareThis