What are major life transitions?  This may vary from person to person, depending on your values, cultural norms, etc.  So, for starters, it’s helpful to think about how YOU define a life transition. Starting or ending primary relationships, having a child, moving to new surroundings, and changing jobs are likely to be major life transitions for anyone who undergoes them. Other life events may also affect you profoundly. What is unique to you is how you experience such events and how you find the time to meet your personal needs.

To get yourself familiar with your own relationship to your transitions, take any example of an event that is a life transition. Set aside 15 minutes once or twice a week to think about it. During your 15 minutes of reflection, write down the support you will need and the changes you will need to make to find the time to successfully navigate this transition.

This is a process of developing and deepening your intimacy with yourself; and you may discover things that surprise you.  That’s because transitions are times of great opportunity and also great vulnerability.  Think of yourself as a new seedling, germinating and pushing its way up through the ground.  A fundamental change is taking place – and your task is to befriend yourself, help yourself, nurture yourself, as you come through!

So, welcome the information that you glean from your inner dialogue, and follow-through on giving yourself what you need.  In this way you build self-trust.  You come to know, right down to your toes, that you will be there for yourself, no matter what!

Your life transitions often involve other people, too.  So stay tuned.  We’ll continue and expand on this next week, as we explore more of the in’s and out’s of finding time to nourish yourself through your transitions!

So, want to learn more about how you can expand and deepen your time and efforts … in whatever areas you choose? Here’s a great way to explore avenues to increasing your time skills and heart-based power – whether it’s in your business, or your personal life.  I am so pleased to be able to offer my expertise and support as The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to “Time Management”.

You can visit by clicking the link, and when you do you’ll find lots of time management articles by experts in the field, along with a vibrant and welcoming on-line community. Stop by my Expert Page and leave a comment or question … or just say hello.  There are lots of ways to connect … let’s get started!

Finding time to play your way out of stress and paralyzing procrastination is an enjoyable and empowering way to break through logjams and get back into the flow of things. Read on to learn one unbeatable breakthrough tip that you probably haven’t thought of – and that I think you’ll enjoy!

Quite often things like brainstorming and mind mapping can open up options when you’re stuck in overwhelm. But high stress sometimes invites self-criticism and self-consciousness onto the scene when you least need them. Then you give yourself undermining messages like:

• “Nobody’s going to like that!”
• “This just has to be perfect!”
• “You’re running out of time!”
• “Everyone’s going to see how ____ you are!”

As the tension mounts, you try things that have worked before, like taking a quick walk to step away and clear your head. But when you sit back down and start working again, you find that those critical voices are still there and still have lots to say.

When faced with a situation like this, try this one tip – it is a real life-saver, believe me! You can try it at other times, too, because aside from breaking up logjams and relieving stress, it’s a wonderful tool for stimulating your creativity.

Oh, and it’s an entirely counter-intuitive tip – and that’s its beauty.

Ready for the game? It’s called “Turn Your Inner Critic on Its Head!”

The next time you are stuck, make it your goal to generate the very worst version of whatever you are working on that you are capable of creating.

If you are writing a sales page, or a blog post, or copy for a press release, your goal is to shock and disappoint. Throw yourself into your task with the mindset that you are going to stretch the limits of boring, blasphemous, and bizarre. Use everything that you might have censored, and exaggerate it to the hilt. In other words, have fun with it.

What this does, as you may have guessed, is not only silence but absolutely flummox your inner critic. Actually, you put yourself in control of this voice by choosing to use it as a contributor to your project (rather than being a negative nay-sayer calling from the sidelines).

Harnessing the voice of your inner critic to overcome stress and stasis, ask yourself:

• What does your inner critic think is a really terrible headline for your next E-zine article?
• What would guarantee that your report would create shrieks of outrage?
• What opening paragraph is least likely to capture your readers’ interest?

Go ahead and begin writing from this vantage point. Better than trying to drown out or silence your critical voice, you have neutralized its negativity and stripped it of its power. It provides comic relief and nothing more.

As you relax, you will find that your ideas begin to flow – possibly in new and unanticipated directions – and you can move ahead on your project with empowered energy. And I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the new inspirations that come about as a result of this counter-intuitive time management tip!

Now, how can you expand your life and make even more of your time using time management tips?

And are you interested in learning more about the Heart-Based Time Management™ Path?  Here’s one way that you can transform and deepen your relationship to time in the Heart-Based Way … I invite you to explore Secrets of Heart-Based Time Management™ - my chapter in the book I co-authored - Stepping Stones to Success!  In it I share my proven system for exploring and harnessing the power of your mind, your body and your spirit to help you deepen your experience of time and of your life.

As you work with the ideas I offer, you’ll explore your patterns, clarify your values, identify and prioritize your goals … and create your path for achieving them.  You can give yourself the gift of this wonderful resource today, and get started on your journey toward success, Stepping Stone by Stepping Stone …just click this link to get the details!

That’s why I like to check sources like Mashable, Lifehacker, CNET, Wired, and PCMag.com occasionally – and most especially when they offer Top 10 Lists and other aggregations of information.  There are people for whom monitoring the digital world is a full-time job (as well as a passion).

So I take advantage of their good work periodically.  It’s a quick way to scan the digital landscape, and I nearly always notice something that interests me.

Today I want to share a weekend post from Mashable’s Matt Protonzio titled 47 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed.  The entire post is worth a look, and here are just a few of the items that caught my eye:

•  10 Things You Didn’t Know About Klout:  Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Klout and the man who created it.
• The Best and Worst Times to Share on Facebook, Twitter:  Link shortening and tracking service bit.ly has released new data on the best and worst times to share links on popular social networks.
• 8 Ways to Get the Biggest Marketing Bang Out of SlideShare:  SlideShare is a vibrant, mobile-friendly, Google-indexed community. Here are eight ways savvy social marketers should use it.
• How to Optimize Your Headlines for Google and Humans:  Google and SEO may make you cringe, but the combo matters in search. Here are SEO examples from news outlets that range from bad to best.

With time at a premium, and digital media tools and opportunities changing every day, it’s worth taking a look at developments and trends at least weekly.  I suggest that you check out one of the venues noted above, and stay familiar with the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Not only that, but as you discover helpful tools, please let us know … we’d all love to hear!

And, here’s something more to consider.  Are you an entrepreneur, consultant, or small business owner who’s ready to take the next big step?  If you want to learn how to create and to keep a successful business running on your own, then this is for you! “How to Create Credibility as a Freelancer” is a booklet with 70 expert-proven tips that will help you recharge your energy and motivation, increase your visibility, and sharpen those vital organizational and time management skills.

Success is within your reach, so don’t wait, http://optimize.thetimefinder.com/tips-booklet/ and get started today!

Let’s explore time together …

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have no material connection with any of the resources mentioned here, and have not received any compensation for writing this content.

So, to combine forces as effectively as possible, try thinking in terms of dependencies.  When you do, your Priority Power™ will rise appreciably.

Is “dependency” in project management a term that you’re familiar with?

Basically, when an enterprise you’re engaged in calls for collaboration, the “dependency” is someone outside of your immediate work group who plays an essential role in your achieving your goals. When you prioritize tasks, dependencies must be factored in and accounted for.

Let’s say, for example, that you work closely with a number of different departments at your job. You establish a working budget for each quarter, and the finance department supplies you with the figures. Since they usually take four weeks to gather and compile the necessary data, you prioritize your request and make it well in advance of your due date. This way, you get the data you need with time to spare.

And of course, others depend on YOU, too.

Maybe it’s your daughter, who counts on you to create her costume for the school play. To be ready to play her part, she depends on you to do yours.  And, without a second thought, you give this task top priority. Your openhearted commitment to support your child, and her reliance upon you, establish this project’s high priority as you plan your week.

So try consciously welcoming dependencies as you frame your collaborative work.  See how your productivity increases with every incremental step forward.

Notice, too, how your greater sensitivity to others’ schedules and needs creates more flow and good will. That is a time-enhancer that not only makes you more efficient and effective, but also adds quality and inner quietude to your busy day.

So, want to learn more about how you can expand and deepen your time and efforts … in whatever areas you choose? Here’s a great way to explore avenues to increasing your time skills and heart-based power – whether it’s in your business, or your personal life.  I am so pleased to be able to offer my expertise and support as The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to “Time Management”.

You can visit by clicking the link, and when you do you’ll find lots of time management articles by experts in the field, along with a vibrant and welcoming on-line community. Stop by my Expert Page and leave a comment or question … or just say hello.  There are lots of ways to connect … let’s get started!

“Soft deadlines?  That sounds like an oxymoron!  What are they?” you ask.

Soft deadlines are due dates that you set for yourself, ahead of whatever your final deadlines may be.  You can think of them as brightly colored buoys bobbing over rocks and shoals, marking the entrance to your harbor.

These are friendly deadlines that serve a twofold purpose:

• They help you spot potential snags and
• They tell you when you are nearing home!

Your soft deadlines give you the chance to plan that much earlier for what’s coming up.  And that planning makes your progress that much safer and more pleasurable.

Completing a task prior to the last minute not only supports your success – it also enhances your flexibility. Sudden changes and unexpected glitches won’t throw you when you routinely provide yourself with earlier, soft deadlines. You’ll find it easier to tie up loose ends and handle the unanticipated when you give yourself that cushion.

Ready to start?

Try creating some soft deadlines for your most significant tasks. Mark them in your calendar, and consider writing all soft deadlines in one color, and adding the hard deadlines in another to easily distinguish between the two. Then practice focusing on the soft deadline, so that you create some spaciousness in your schedule.

More spaciousness equals less stress, and a deeper capacity to enjoy the moment you are in.  Now, that’s Priority Power™!

And are you interested in learning more about the Heart-Based Time Management™ Path?  Here’s one way that you can transform and deepen your relationship to time in the Heart-Based Way … I invite you to explore Secrets of Heart-Based Time Management™ - my chapter in the book I co-authored - Stepping Stones to Success!  In it I share my proven system for exploring and harnessing the power of your mind, your body and your spirit to help you deepen your experience of time and of your life.

As you work with the ideas I offer, you’ll explore your patterns, clarify your values, identify and prioritize your goals … and create your path for achieving them.  You can give yourself the gift of this wonderful resource today, and get started on your journey toward success, Stepping Stone by Stepping Stone …just click this link to get the details!

So, that’s where LongURL can help.  Basically, it’s a service that gives you the capacity to enter your shortened URL

Here’s a brief video from ComputerGeek396 showing how it works:

At last check, they supported a list of 340 URL shortening services – and are adding more as people suggest them.  Just click this link, enter your short URL in the space provided, and see where the link is taking you.

You can also access a Firefox Extension called Long URL Please (from a different provider) that, when installed, will change shortened URL’s on pages you indicate into Long URLs.  I use this extension for Twitter and Facebook, for example.

The time that you spend checking URL’s up front can save you untold headaches (and lost hours) that could result from stumbling upon a malicious site.  That’s why I encourage you to take a look at LongURL and the Firefox extension (if you use Firefox).

I hope you will find this tool helpful.  And let us know what you think … we’d all love to hear!

And, here’s something more to consider.  Are you an entrepreneur, consultant, or small business owner who’s ready to take the next big step?  If you want to learn how to create and to keep a successful business running on your own, then this is for you! “How to Create Credibility as a Freelancer” is a booklet with 70 expert-proven tips that will help you recharge your energy and motivation, increase your visibility, and sharpen those vital organizational and time management skills.

Success is within your reach, so don’t wait, http://optimize.thetimefinder.com/tips-booklet/ and get started today!

Let’s explore time together …

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have no material connection with Long URL, and have not received any compensation for writing this content.