It's never about more time

bythinkingurl

132 followers

8 years ago

Hello WA community.

This weekend I was given 2 extra days to pack my apartment and be ready for a move today. I was so excited about the extra time and also about the two free days that newly opened up given that I had anticipated moving and unpacking.

I very barely made a dent in my packing and was feeling pretty sluggish all weekend. Sunday I started to make some progress and had to work to give up "feeling bad" about a wasted Saturday.

Here's the thing I've learned. It's almost never about needing more time. It's about planning the time we have AND being in action when we say we will. What made the difference for me on Sunday was starting with washing my dishes. Once I started on something productive, I found the motivation to keep going.

At one point in my participation in a leadership course, I had 5+ jobs and had my course and the homework etc. I was able to do more during that time than some more recent days with only 1.5 jobs and a less rigorous course.

Try this:

• Make your "To Do" list, sometimes I call it my "Accomplishment list" or "Done and done" list to have it be more empowering than, "To-do".
• Take each item and schedule it into your calendar-- I recommend scheduling the hardest first or the easiest-- one will have you complete the hardest task and get that done (swallowing a frog every morning) and the other has you in action which could carry the day!
• Schedule down time if needed, schedule play time if needed--take control of your life and what you want to have happen versus doing nothing and calling that "down-time" by default.
• Enjoy the extra time you suddenly have while not resisting doing the things you said you would do this week!

Report and share anything that opened up for you if you take this on!