The price of sacrifice: a necessary evil to create space, balance

The boss and I were discussing a non-work-related topic and I mentioned “not having time.” He said that depended on the level of importance I placed on accomplishing a particular task. And that it would, of course, require a sacrifice of something else on my agenda. Ah yes, the sacrifice. Herein lies the conundrum: I refuse to surrender a couple big-ticket commitments. Although I’ve unloaded one burden (see “When you run out of margin…”) that will free up space, I still struggle to carve out time to do the things I need to do and those things I want to do. Not to mention the 7-8 hours of sleep I should log in each night. I’ve juggled, rearranged and finagled my morning and evening schedules. I’ve simplified, multitasked, prioritized and modified habits and routines. Yet I continue to wrestle with this challenge. Perhaps the answer is to re-examine my needs and wants to find a balance between the two.

What are you willing to sacrifice for more time?

Avoiding self-imposed ruts

 

According to Oxford Dictionaries, a rut is “a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.” A friend of mine recently said the difference between a rut and a grave is its depth. (We also have a choice about the one in which we get stuck.) At any given time, we might find ourselves trapped in old thought patterns or routines and feel like guinea pigs going round in one of those wheels because sometimes it seems easier to go through the motions. However, each day is an opportunity to transform our reality—to jump off that spinning wheel and reinvent ourselves. A few tips that have worked for me are to: practice 1) letting go of things I can’t control; 2) making choices that advance my goals; 3) not worrying about what others think; 4) prioritizing and learning to say ‘no’ and 5) engaging in activities that make me happy.

How do you avoid or escape the self-imposed ruts?

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Preparing for a fabulous new year

[Image credit: chanpipat]

You may currently have all your resolutions, goals and “to dos” put in place for the New Year.  However, those lists may just as well be words on paper — rather than an action plan toward fulfilling dreams or simply navigating life’s choppy waters — if you don’t prepare yourself mentally.  It’s your mind that will either talk you out of it, or keep you on track.  Here are five tips to help you plan for a happy, successful and (hopefully) life-changing 2013:

1. Begin each day with expectation that something wonderful is going to happen.
2. Plan and prioritize.  If it moves you closer to your highest purpose in life, do it first.
3. Let go of your results.  Remember, control the things you can.
4. Turn off background TV or other distractions that pull your mind off track.  Focus on the job at hand.
5. End each day with gratitude.  Write down at least one wonderful thing that happened.

How are you preparing for a fabulous New Year?

Something’s gotta give

[Image credit: luigi diamanti]

This week I said yes to more things than I should have.  I’ve been trying to take care of a couple different health issues, while at the same time working full-time, serving as secretary to our association homeowners’ board of directors, attending a support group with a close acquaintance and accepting a writing opportunity that is a bit ambitious (with an even more ambitious deadline).  I’ve also been running on minimum sleep and when I came home from work yesterday, I crashed.  My half-hour  nap turned into an hour and a half snooze and I was pretty worthless the rest of the evening.  This morning I planned to hit the gym first thing as my typical MO, but I was invited out to breakfast with girlfriends and realized if I don’t take this time out — this  opportunity to slow down for a couple of hours — something is going to give.  I still feel exhausted after seven solid hours of shut-eye.  And  I could have said no to breakfast out to sleep in a tad longer.  But then I may be looking at picking up the pieces of my sanity.

Are you good at prioritizing the stuff your life is made of, or do you wait until something’s gotta give first?