The Time Finder with Paula Eder

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

Archive for 'Time Transformation'

Find Time to Travel Back to Your “Time Roots” for Clarity and Freedom!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by , under Time and Values, Time Transformation.

Finding time to explore your “time roots” is a surefire way to get yourself untangled from old messages about time that may be holding you back.

Ready to step toward greater time success?  Then try this brief Time Travel Exercise.  It will help you uncover what I like to think of as your Family Legacy of Time – what you learned about time from an early age.

The following fill-in-the-blank exercise can generate surprising insights. Don’t be judgmental or self-critical as you approach these questions.  The more you can explore your history with a relaxed and open mind, the more information you’ll make available to yourself.

You can also broaden the exercise to include other family members  who influenced your early development around time.  Adapt this exercise to suit your needs and experiences – don’t limit yourself!

  1. My mother/father always wanted to __________ but never took the time.
  2. I felt valued when my mother/father spent time __________.
  3. When I was younger, I promised myself I’d never spend time __________ the way my mother/father did.
  4. My mother/father spent lots of time _________ no matter what.
  5. I liked the way my mother/father always took time to _______.
  6. My mother/father spent more time __________ when stressed.
  7. When I look at where my life feels out of balance and think of my mother/father’s time choices, I see that ____________.

Now step back and think about your responses.  What does completing this exercise reveal to you?  What surprises you?  Which of your family’s time choices have you adopted as your own?  How do you use them in your life today?  Are there things that you’d like to change?

Some of your discoveries might feel bittersweet. But remember, even as you see the losses, they ultimately lead to greater freedom!  Remember that the more compassion you feel as you view your family’s time choices (and yours), the more possibilities open up to you.

Consider revisiting this exercise over time. See what percolates today, tomorrow … and why not ask your dreams for their input, too!  As you allow your feelings to guide you, new paths will reveal themselves.  Who knows what uplifting ways you’ll find to use time!

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 … I’d love to get started!

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Find Time to Explore Your “Time Roots”

Posted on January 31, 2012 by , under Time and Values, Time Transformation.

Finding time to know and understand yourself is one of the best investments you can make.  Exploring your “Time Roots” is about coming to understand the kinds of messages and lessons you learned about time from the earliest age.

This is so important, because we live and breathe and do everything that we do in the context of time.  So your feelings and ideas about time affect every moment and every task that you undertake in your life.

But those feelings and beliefs are so embedded – so much a part of us – that they can be very difficult to see.

“It would hardly be fish who discovered the existence of water.” Clyde Kluckhorn.

Stepping back and finding more time by expanding your sense of possibilities is a gift you can give yourself  TODAY – and it is very liberating.  Here’s a great start: take a close look at what is most familiar – your family of origin. You can gather profound insights by traveling back and exploring your roots – and specifically, your Time Roots.

How often have you felt trapped in a rut?  Do the ruts, or the feelings you get (and the messages you give yourself) have a familiar ring?

And then reflect on how often you have later learned a far more rewarding way to accomplish a task?  Well, such potentials to set yourself free are just waiting for you …

Your family’s time choices shape you from your first breath. Like fish swimming through water, oblivious to its presence, we often remain unaware of just how needlessly we hem ourselves in. The time legacy you learn as a child still moves through you like an invisible force – until you turn the spotlight on it!

So, I encourage you to explore your time roots … and watch the possibilities blossom!  Tomorrow I’ll be back with some specific questions you can ask yourself as you continue this Heart-Based Journey.

And as you continue your journey, transforming yourself and your relationship with time, consider this:  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, click this link and get started today!  http://bit.ly/FreelanceTips

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Find Time to Free Yourself from the Perfectionism Trap-Your Heart Holds the Keys!

Posted on December 14, 2011 by , under Time and Energy, Time Choices, Time Transformation.

Finding time to get everything accomplished is difficult, and when you add perfectionism to the mix, the difficulty is compounded (and then some).

I struggle with perfectionism myself, and can attest to its challenges. However, I have been able to dramatically reduce the  precious moments that I lose to perfectionism.  It’s been a heart-based journey getting there, and I’d like to share with you 3 of the keys that I have found most helpful for getting unstuck.

  1. Open up to YOU:  Perfectionism is, at its core, highly self critical.  Know that the root of your perfectionism lies, not in the fear that what you produce isn’t good enough; it’s the fear that YOU are not good enough.  As you soften your heart to yourself and warmly accept who you are … ALL of you … you will feel your perfectionism starting to melt.

  2. Let Validations In:  While I generally think that self-reference is the way to go, if you struggle with perfectionism, others’ assessments may be much more accurate than your own.  Maintain a file of validations, compliments and thank you’s that you have received for things that you have created or accomplished.  When you feel yourself doubting your product, pull out this file, read it and really take it in.  These positive messages can counteract the fear-based voice that fuels your perfectionism.  Work to take this information to heart and over time you will learn to give yourself the positive validations that can help fuel your productivity.

  3. Let go Joyfully:  Think of what you make or produce as a gift being given to a loved one.  Let it go with love and joy – and see how different that feels from the fear and trepidation that permeates perfectionism.

BONUS KEY:  I recently read a very helpful piece on Freelance Folder by Michael Law titled 5 Tips to Kick the Perfectionist Habit. I was especially taken with his 5th tip – a truly helpful insight to keep in mind:

Tip #5: Embrace the Value of Mistakes

Face it: as much as you’d like to be, you’re not perfect. Mistakes will be made in both your freelance career and life. Instead of fearing mistakes, remind yourself that there’s plenty to learn from them. If nothing else, you’ll learn that a mistake doesn’t mean the end of the world. In fact, it might be the beginning of a new one. Penicillin, pacemakers, microwave ovens, fireworks, and even chocolate chip cookies were created from projects that went awry. You just never know what amazing benefits an imperfect undertaking might yield.

I’d like to suggest that Michael Law’s tips, coupled with my 3 heart-based keys, can get you moving productively and joyfully toward your goals!  Beating perfectionism means knowing in your heart of hearts that you are plenty good enough and that what you create and offer to the world from your heart is a gift to be cherished!

And while I’m on the subject of finding time for less perfectionism and more productivity, 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, click this link and get started today!  http://bit.ly/FreelanceTips

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Finding Time To Know That Nothing is Lost

Posted on November 2, 2011 by , under Time and Energy, Time Transformation.

Walt Whitman's use of free verse became apprec...

Finding time to know, right down to your bones, that mistakes are okay and that when your heart is open nothing is lost, is a life lesson that gives you access to energy and insight that you didn’t know was possible.

I’ll never forget, many years ago, first reading the following brief poem by Walt Whitman.   In it, the Good Grey Poet offered powerful wisdom cloaked in the simplest of forms …

Sometimes with One I Love

by Walt Whitman

Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I
effuse unreturn’d love,

But now I think there is no unreturn’d love, the pay is
certain one way or another,

(I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not
return’d,

Yet out of that I have written these songs.)

You see, it’s not what happens (or has happened) that matters, in the end.  No, what defines us and shapes our path is how we respond along the way.

I like to think of it as a 3-step process:

  1. First, open your heart to the lesson in the moment.  This doesn’t take away the pain or loss that you may experience, but it fundamentally changes your relationship to it.
  2. Second, explore the new insights that the situation presents.  Ask yourself what you need to let go of and what you are learning that you will carry along on your journey.
  3. Third, validate your efforts!  This is so important.  The work you are doing is difficult and often solitary.  You need to be your own best friend and cheerleader.  Really celebrate what you are doing – let yourself feel warmly toward yourself!

When you open your heart to life’s lessons and whatever feelings accompany them, you are recalibrating the “size” of things.  You are, in effect, saying, “I am bigger than this and I can deal with it and learn from it.”  This is a fundamental tool in owning your life and not letting change, loss, disappointment, frustration, or overwhelm get the better of you.

You place yourself in a position of great power when you know, right down to your bones, that nothing is lost!

… and are you interested in learning more about the Heart-Based Path as you explore your own changes and evolution?  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!

Let’s explore time together …

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Finding Time for Feelings: It’s The Heart-Based Way

Posted on October 12, 2011 by , under Time and Energy, Time Management Skills, Time Transformation.

Finding time for feelings is as key a time management skill as you can ever develop.  And yet, this is a subject that is rarely discussed in time management circles.  I think that is because feelings are seen as “soft”  and subjective – not measurable or scientific.

When you approach time management in a heart-based way, you include all the parts of you – mind, body, emotions, and spirit – in the equation.  And that adds up to a lot!

Ironically, we often empower our feelings, as when we experience an emotion ‘taking over.’  But at the same time, we shrug off feelings, thinking of them in much the way they are described in the ’70′s song, “Feelings“, sung by Morris Albert. The memorable refrain there is … “Feelings, nothing more than feelings.”

That song is a great example of our ambivalence about feelings.  While the explicit theme is how peripheral and unimportant feelings are, the entire song is about how they dominate the singer’s life.

This is such an important point.  So what I’d like to focus on, over the next several posts, is just how powerfully, and often invisibly, our feelings affect us and our relationship to time.  With that as a base, then I will share some practical tools for harnessing the power of your feelings so that you are in sync with yourself and your full energy is available to you.

As Brian Tracy has noted:

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.

So stay tuned, there’s more to come …

And in the meantime, as you explore ways to increase your power and effectiveness – 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 … I’d love to get started!

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