Methods to manage morning madness

In my post ‘When your plans are derailed,’ I share my MO when the best laid intentions don’t quite reach fruition. Yesterday was one of those mornings. After a fitful night’s sleep, I started out five minutes late and it went downhill from there. I attempted to cram too much into too little time, couldn’t settle on an outfit until I’d tried on a half dozen combinations, managed only to skim through my devotions and shirked on my quick-clean routine. An obvious glitch in my ‘simple morning’ plans. Sunday night would’ve been the perfect time to jump start my Monday morning, but I putzed around with a puzzle and a movie instead. After a full weekend, it was okay to indulge in down time; however, I could have made better choices that would’ve added to, rather than taken away from, my workday morning practice. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait until Sunday night to try, try again.

What is one tactic you employ to keep workday mornings simple(r)?

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Bringing about a breakthrough

In “Setting goals isn’t brain surgery,” I whittle down the process into manageable, bite-size pieces. Three weeks ago I committed to writing daily and I’ve stuck to it. There have been days when I’m “stuck,” or I don’t feel particularly writerly. But it’s a priority of mine to carve time into each day to type into my keyboard or jot in my pretty ‘cest la vie’ (that’s life) notebook a thought or phrase I want to remember. Whether you seek a breakthrough in the writing process, in your career aspirations, your relationships or education, remember to 1) take yourself seriously if you want others to do the same; 2) don’t take yourself too seriously—it’s a practice (not perfect) and 3) keep the dialogue open—talk less, listen more, journal, pray or meditate and learn something new every day. No matter the breakthrough you desire in your life, it requires two things: commitment and follow through. After that, it’s about celebrating your successes.

What breakthrough do you desire?

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Almost halfway there

[Image credit: jscreationzs]

The calendar doesn’t lie.  We’re nearing the halfway point of 2012 already, which means it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate the goals we put together for the New Year nearly six months ago.  Are some of them outdated, unmotivated, unpopular or simply no longer feasible?  For instance, once I realized my ankle may never support my goal of training for a short race, and eventually a triathlon, I eliminated these two aspirations from my list.  This left two spots wide open for filling.  Unfortunately, I have yet to come up with replacement goals.  But I can keep the spaces open for now, because who knows, maybe while I work on one of my other dreams, a new one (or two) may materialize.  In the meantime, continuing to bite off small pieces keeps the goals manageable.  Out of 22 (less the two I removed), I’ve already started and/or completed 10 of them.  That leaves at least 12 to go.  Piece of cake.

How are your 2012 goals coming along?

Residing in the in-betweens

[Image credit: Evgeni Dinev]

In between goals is a thing called life,
that has to be lived and enjoyed. ~ Sid Caesar

It’s helpful to have those stepping-stones to advance us from Point A to Z without getting our feet wet.  Or at least provide us the impetus to continue moving forward when the journey seems endless, or even thankless.  We break down the big goals into smaller, more manageable tasks.  We include times of refreshment and rejuvenation for our souls or muses or whatever it is that makes us tick.  We dream about a future Someday while muddling through each of our Todays.  But in between doing all of that or when we’re in the middle of the tough stuff — the stuff we want to skim over or ignore completely because it doesn’t feel good, it’s boring or sometimes lonely — we need to take Caesar’s advice to live and enjoy this life during the in-betweens.  Because one day we’ll look back and realize those were quite possibly the times that held potential for the utmost victories, the deepest opportunities for bettering ourselves or the greatest heartbreak countered by the greatest joy.  And we can never get them back.

Do you make the most of the in-between times, or gloss over them, dreaming of better?