The Blog

How Well Do You Accelerate Through Transitions?

11/09/2016 By Nancy Borg With 4 comments

roadAmericans woke up today to a new world. Some of us are elated with the presidential outcome, while others are dismayed, paralyzed with disappointment, and perhaps even afraid. We are in transition indeed, and must each find a commonplace for ourselves despite our contrasting values. We must find ways to unify our nation, not divide it.

While I don’t ever talk personal politics, I am deeply struck with its impact and metaphors. Unfortunately, this election was arguably the most malicious in history but it is finally over. Rather than hyperfocusing on the analytics ad nauseum,  we can only hope the hatred exits with its jaw dropping results.  For the defeated, this is a hard day. Easier said than done, to suggest to just pick up the broken pieces and embrace the change. This clearly cannot happen in a day.

Just like Daylight saving time (DST) punctuated the end of one season and yet it marked the beginning of another, we are at the pinnacle of a more significant change in America.

Transition suggests movement.  It is not a stagnant block of time. We must propel forward and navigate our “next.”

The brilliant ruby reds and blood orange leaves are beginning to fade and shed, yet another reminder that time and seasonal change transforms all things.  With the shorter days and early darkness, these noticeable changes affect our mindset.  But on this post election day, the fallout changes are far more dramatic than nature could possibly draw, both literally and figuratively.

This pivotal moment requires tweaking and shifting. The need to  calibrate our body clock is far easier to adapt to than embracing the new political landscape.  This will take time. The country is broken and needs to heal. Acceptance is critical.

As individuals now, we may feel powerless to fix a country.  But perhaps we can use this transition to wake-up our own personal productivity.  Make it an opportunity to not only re-stock, but take stock of ourselves, and our own goals.

Last week we turned back our clocks, but let us not fall back on our personal locomotion. It’s time to get our heads straight and move forward. Shed the hatred and turn over a new leaf.  Embrace the season with opportunities for positive change in your physical, mental, and emotional state.

Think about how you navigate the changes in the air.  What next steps are you taking for a smoother transition?

Read this post on single page to comment →

Weather is a True Influencer: Has it Changed Your Perspective?

02/26/2015 By Nancy Borg With 6 comments

seasons_opt-3I think we’ve all had enough of this deep freeze, but the harsh reality is that this brutal winter is far from over. The good news is that time does not stand still.  It marches on and so shall we. Nothing lasts forever; neither the good nor the bad.

Life’s guaranteed forecast is abundantly clear.  Time fleets and change is inevitable. 

So whether or not we can even imagine the possibility of warmer days,  let us remind ourselves that this is not a hopeless situation.  One thing is certain, this too shall pass and Spring will eventually get here.

For those of us that live in parts of the country that have four seasons, we understand that seasonal changes in weather impact both our physical landscape and our psychological mindset.

The diverse seasons punctuate the cycle of a full year through the changes in our activities, the clothing we wear, the places we go, etc.  But those are not the only things that change. Our perspective is altered because each season feels different to us.  It’s a noteworthy change.  When we sense the physical change, it is likely to elicit an emotional response in our day-to-day lives.  These changes can easily affect our moods, behaviors and productivity.

This long frigid winter has been particularly challenging and isolating. The record-breaking big chill has kept more people indoors than ever before, as evident in fewer shoppers and less pedestrians on the street. As Northeasterners, one could even argue that we now have an even greater appreciation of nature’s changes. For us, warm sunny days and azure blue skies are not our typical year-round climate. Hence, our delight in spring’s bloom and the breathtaking autumnal changes of the fall are notable, and rarely taken for granted.

The extreme seasons, however,  tell a different story.  Our tolerance for severe cold winters and unbearably hot summers are increasingly low. Moreover, our memory is short.  Ironically, we not only have forgotten about whining over the steamy and humid days of summer, we actually yearn for them now.  And yet, as soon as summer’s heat wave escalates, we find ourselves itching for that first autumn day or the promise of an early snowfall.  We are indeed a fickle bunch.  Morphing from season to season very differently, our perspective is continually influenced by these changes.

The natural fleet of time urges us to propel forward.  We all move on, but not necessarily change.  But weather, undeniably, can be the powerful instigator.  In fact, it is the seasonal change that is the likely trigger that wakes us up, and perhaps evokes a personal change.

I wonder for those of you that live in a fixed climate where weather is not a strong influencer, what invites you to change?  I welcome you to share your perspective.  Come join in the conversation.

Read this post on single page to comment →

Check Your Home Settings: Are You Running Out of Space ?

02/18/2015 By Nancy Borg With 6 comments

outside clutter_optWhether it be in our homes or on our smart phones, it seems that we are constantly vying for MORE space.  Our virtual space is easier to manage by merely increasing our megabyte storage to gigabyte, or even storing data to the Cloud. Ah, thank G-d for the cloud. There’s infinite space up there.  More importantly, there’s no pain and no heart wrenching decisions to make.

But the reality is that we do have finite spaces in our homes.  We live in an over-acquired society and without a practical exit strategy for our undesirables, we are in danger of running out of space.  We fill our attics, basements, and garages with overflow, and when those spaces are maxed out, many even resort to storage units to accommodate their overabundant spillover.

While purchasing storage units are certainly a vial option for specific situations, it’s not the ultimate fix.  If their sole purpose is the result of decisions not made on unused items, then there will be no end to the amount of units to manage. Entering dangerous territory, for sure.  More often than not, I’ve met many paying clients that have no idea what items are living in their storage facility, or have never needed to access their contents. Ever.

When we consider maintaining our things within the confines of our home, there is work to be done for sure. Busy households are crowded with multiple people and activities, and must accommodate many diverse possessions.  All the more reason that managing the incoming and outgoing be paramount. Failure to discard old, broken, or unused items will only result in untamable cluttered spaces.

You may not realize this right away, it accumulates very slowly. Suddenly, one day you look around and are overwhelmed and not quite sure how you lost control, right?

When lack of time marries procrastination, it’s a perilous combination.  All the while,  the unattended stuff  (that rarely returns to their home) accumulates.  The mounds of paper piles grow taller, and the new and preferred incoming items barricade the old.

But there is a bigger picture here.  The challenge is more about managing your spaces, not at all to do with the size of your home. When “busy” encounters “not today,”  you can run out of room very quickly even in the largest of homes.

Ultimately it’s rarely about the space at all, it’s more about the “relationship” with your things and the ability to let them go.

If you’re yearning for a more serene setting in your home, consider applying these very basic principles to your thought process.  It may evoke change.  Without this call to action, your personal spaces will potentially remain cluttered and be at risk for overwhelming your life.

No doubt, negotiating things and space will require some challenging decisions.  The hard-hearted may have an easier time; others may need to enlist help with these methods.  To reclaim your spaces, you’ll first need to clear space.  Here’s how:

  • One in, one out. (limit multiples)
  • Use it or lose it. (toss or donate what no longer provides you with value)
  • Keep only the items you use and love.
  • Identify the most active spaces in your home. Designate and discriminate what appropriate items and activities align with those spaces.
  • Consider the zones. Create specific homes for like categories.  Tame the clutter routinely.

 

We all aspire for a Home Sweet Home setting.  Making our home a place of sanctuary is very achievable.  We must remember that it’s an ongoing process and requires maintenance and family cooperation.

Look around.  What do your spaces look like?  No need for push notifications, reminders,  or alerts.  You will know.  If it feels crowded, then it probably is. This could be the wake-up call you needed to smack you in the face.

Now you’re ready to ask yourself,  is it time to change your settings?

 

 

Read this post on single page to comment →

Assessing the Now: Have You Outgrown Your Clutter?

05/28/2014 By Nancy Borg With 1 comment

clutterLook around.  Room check.  Some of your spaces may be seemingly crowded. But imagine that there’s a chance that some of the clutter that’s hanging around just might be irrelevant to you now. Wouldn’t that make it easier to part with?

So let’s start there. It’s hard enough to manage and organize all the things that we are currently using, so let’s go the easy peasy route first.  Here’s the long and the short of it;

Assess the now. Time changes us and we continually evolve.  And so it would make sense that even the clutter should align with our current lifestyle and priorites.  Let go of those things that no longer provide value, any longer. Above all, don’t feel bad about it.  You can make space for new things to enjoy.

Recently inspired from a colleague’s interview with Erin Rooney Doland, author of Unclutter Your Life in One Week, I’ve realized that so many of us hold onto things we’ve outgrown. It’s simply there because, it just is.  Ignored, neglected, perhaps even invisible, but probably for good reason.  It’s just not that important to us anymore.

Here’s a great way to think about letting go of the insignificant. Erin refers to clutter like a bad book you don’t want to read anymore, it’s OK to let it go. Just because you bought it, that doesn’t mean you have to torture yourself to finish it. If it no longer interests you, no need to keep it. It’s just taking up unnecessary space and certainly not deserving of prime real-estate in your home.  Apply this simple thinking to all of your possessions.  Are they a good “match”?  Do they still “fit”?

My favorite depiction of how personal change impacts our values is in Erin’s claim that “one day, a pair of earrings can be your go-to piece of jewelry. You’re a little heartbroken if one earring goes missing from the pair. Two years later, the same pair of earrings is taking up space in your jewelry box and you wouldn’t even remember it was in there. The object hasn’t changed, but how you value it has.” How true. We are indeed capricious.

Time is the operative word for just about everything. Time can ‘manage’ us, time can ‘heal’ us, and time can also ‘change’ us. With the passage of time, we all evolve, and so our priorities shift along with us too. Hence, our clutter changes and so does its significance in our lives.

Have you checked your clutter lately? Ask yourself if it reflects who you are today.  We’ll talk about organizing it all another day, another blog 🙂

Read this post on single page to comment →

Has “Spare” Time become “Rare” Time?

05/14/2014 By Nancy Borg With 2 comments

tea timeHow many times have we all said “I’ll get to this or that in my spare time?” Too often, I fear.  We cram our schedules with jam-packed to-do’s, we never seem to get there.

Unfortunately,  it’s the by-product of being popularly “busy” in today’s culture.  On a good day, we take on too much and don’t carve out sufficient time to get it all done, so it spills into the next day.  And on and on it goes.  We all struggle with time on a daily basis, it’s seems highly unlikely that we’ll end up with any extra batches of it.  Gone are the days of spare time.  But is it a lost commodity? It doesn’t have to be. What if I told you that you can reclaim it?

Here’s some ideas to chew on;

Schedule it. If you don’t schedule the spare time, it’s never going to happen. So just like booking the haircut, picking up the dry cleaning or getting the car washed, add the spare time onto your to-do list too.  Maybe a time to catch up on reading, enjoy a DVD you’ve been wanting to watch, call an old friend, or just plant yourself on a chaise lounge and just chill.  Don’t you deserve that?

Evaluate the have to’s and the want-to’s.  Think about those things that have to get done… but not necessarily by YOU. Opt to delegate and make room for the want-to’s.  Beyond the nonnegotiables, create space for your sanity. It’s essential for life-balance.

Consider the obstacles.  Can you define what is in your way?

    • Time-management skills. I  frequently write about managing the “busy” because poor time-management habits usually heighten anxiety and exacerbate disorganization. Sharpening those skills can free up valuable time.
    • Working long hours? Does your workday come home with you? Working from home can easily impede on spare time.
    • Technology could be one of the greatest time robbers that could be eating up your spare time. As if the days aren’t busy enough, our affinity to stay connected on or off the computer is a huge distraction.

     

Tweak the busy. If you’re overwhelmed and feeling out of control, perhaps this is a red flag that you may be a little too busy.  Align your schedule with your prioritizes.  Adjust.  Change what’s no longer working for you.  Life changes readily, so tweaking is an ongoing and necessary process.

Capture the opportunities.  It’s easier in this cycle of season to be encouraged to take more breaks, steal some time, and take advantage of the beautiful weather.  The days are longer and may even inspire you to carve out some extra time you may be craving.  Remember, spare time is “your” time.  When or how you choose to use it, is your prerogative. What’s important is that you find some.

I revel in my spare time and know when I require it.  This is a time that I catch the wind in my sails, and I capitalize on these opportunities.  For me, I’m a summer gal and so my stolen spare moments will probably be outside somewhere. With blue skies above and the sun shining brightly overhead, I am more apt to get up and be ready to work hard… but play hard too.

Reclaiming spare time is doable, what will YOU choose to do with yours?

 

Read this post on single page to comment →

Lark or Owl? How your Habitude Affects Your Productivity

04/09/2014 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

owl jpgWe all have such different predispositions, don’t we? Some of us rise early as the lark, or stay up into the wee hours of the night just like the owl. If we pay attention to these proclivities, perhaps we can use our time more optimally.

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

To know me well, is to know that I am definitely not an early bird. Truthfully, I’m not my ‘natural’ best self early in the morning.  I know this.  It takes my brain a little while to get into a groove and catch up with my body. So in the event when I do need to rise early, I must give myself extra time to adjust and wake up my body and sync it to my brain. I always marvel at those people who start their day really early and have already been to the gym and back, ran some errands, showered, and completed several tasks, way before I’ve even opened my eyes!

I suspect that those early risers are also ‘early to bed’ people too.  Knowing how much sleep you require is important, but actually getting it, is even more essential. We try to calibrate our sleep patterns in accordance with our body rhythm.

There is probably a valid reason as to why I’m not such a an early riser.  I’m really more of a ‘late night’ person, always have been. Although I don’t always get it, I require a minimum of 8 hours sleep every night.  For me, after a busy day, I need several hours in the evening to unwind. After dinner spills into a myriad of to do’s, to calls, and ultimately leads me upstairs to relax and watch some entertaining (sometimes mindless) late night TV.

For most, this is the moment to drift off into a delicious deep slumber. Well that’s not exactly how it works for me, lol.  Firstly, I need quiet to sleep. I cannot fall asleep with ambient voices emanating from the TV, so after my husband finally falls asleep and I’ve had my fill of late night talk shows, it’s light’s out for me.

The interesting phenomenon about my body rhythm is that although I’m asleep, I’m often woken up by my brain in the middle of the night. Thoughts invade, ideas percolate and poke at me. Truly, I am a ‘natural’ night owl, but I’ve learned how to manage this. I always leave a pad and pen by bedside to ‘catch’ my thoughts because I’m afraid I will forget them in the morning. Sometimes I wake up multiple times to remind myself to add to my to do’s for the following day.

When it’s still and quiet, my brain does not shut down.  Actually, the silence activates and provides clear space for me to think.  I must confess, it’s not like I choose to stay up all night, it’s more like an unconscious tug that urges me to empty my brain so I can have a more restful night’s sleep.

I’ve learned to stop fighting the nudge,  and turn on the lamp for a quick jot of genius.  In fact, most of my blogs are crafted from these late night epiphanies.  I jot down key words and phrases, sometimes even full sentences! When I wake up the following morning, I’m frequently shocked that I wrote such legible and focused content in the wee hours of the night. It sometimes feels like I’m ‘working’ in my sleep!

But clearly, every day is not perfect and I cannot manage my required hours of sleep all the time. Without a doubt, after a great night’s sleep, my days are physically active and very productive.  I am operating on full throttle with my best self.  On those other days when I might be more sleep deprived, it’s not so pretty, lol.  My productivity suffers and so does my sleep cycle. I must adjust to catch up.

The key is to know thyself.  Are you aware of when you are your best self? If you are indeed an early bird, are you taking advantage of the gifted hours? Do you use late nights to get more things accomplished?

We all structure our day and use time differently because we all have unique lifestyle and habits. When are you most productive? Lark or owl?

Read this post on single page to comment →

Syncing or Sinking with your Busy Life? Is Technology Your Friend or Foe?

03/12/2014 By Nancy Borg With 11 comments

914512389_optManaging our “busy” is a daily challenge for most of us, and how we approach it changes from day-to-day.  Some days it feels like all the stars are aligned and we navigate through our day with seamless effort, right?  Our calendars are synced to our phones, we get to our appointments on time, and our schedules are running according to plan. We are in sync. Our phones are “smart” and life is good.

Living in a high-tech world is the new normal. We’re able to access social media while on the go with no worries. We can receive all of our e-mails, glance at Facebook, and connect with anyone (anywhere) with a simple click, tweet, or “like.”  But if things go awry and in the event that we lose Internet service, battery life, or even the actual phone, we stand to lose more than just a connection.  We are likely to feel off kilter and out of control.

Sometimes the techy world becomes all too consuming and can overwhelm our lives.  The foe rears its ugly head.  Because we are virtually “available ” 24/7, it can invade our personal spaces. We can easily drown in the social media pool, sinking ever so slowly, without realizing that it is robbing us of our leisure time. In a recent blog, I shared my experience of “disconnecting” while on vacation, “The Rules of Disengagement: My Quest for the Ultimate Get-away Vacation.” Imposing a social media break was extremely elevating and eye-opening.

Technology makes our world both simple and complicated. Indeed, it is a double-edged sword. Some of us depend on the cell phone for just about everything, and highly regard it as an alternate brain. Hence, in the event that it’s lost or misplaced, it can be catastrophic.  I can remember a time that a phone was just a phone, not our life GPS, computer, radio, TV, camera or bank.

Managing our busy with the help from our technology works perfectly…until it doesn’t.  We are at its mercy.  When our devices have glitches, we freak out.

I often think about how scary it is to be so dependent on technology that I have implemented certain practices to foster a little more self-sufficiency.  I  love having a smart phone, but I still want to feel smart and in control. Here’s what works for me.

    • Back-up– I’m NOT talking about the obvious virtual back-up onto your pc or the cloud. (Besides, the computer can potentially have a meltdown when you need to access info in that moment) I’m referring to backing up my appointments on paper. I’m old school, and I love paper calendars.  Although I might also sync my schedule with my phone,  I refer to a wall calendar for my personal social life.  I rely on my purse-size calendar to reflect my day-to-day and work schedule.  I take comfort in having a physical hard copy and can edit, without worry of powering up or accidentally deleting (yes, I still use an old-fashioned pencil and erase). I feel in control.

     

    • Memorize important phone #’s–  The phone #’s of the most important people in my life have always been embedded in my memory. Granted, using  the “speed dial” feature for key contacts is so easy, fast, and efficient, but how many of us can recall their numbers by memory? Ask yourself if you lost your phone, how would you recover the contacts?

     

    • Write it down- I’m a huge advocate of writing everything down so having a physical hard copy of important phone #’s, vital documents, passwords, and personal info, is a comfortable habit for me. I store them in a secure location but it is always retrievable.

     

    • Discriminate the data – Personally, I discriminate and limit what personal/private data I send to the cloud. I choose not to relinquish all control to multiple devices.

     

    • Print and preserve photos- It’s super convenient to save photos to your phone and share them when you’re out socializing, but I still prefer having a physical space to capture my memories.  I have always kept organized photo albums and still love turning a page and thumbing through the good times in a photo book, and sharing it together at a family gathering.  I’m so grateful to have them. We can trace our lives through these photos.  It is our timeline.  They rekindle the memories and compel us to retell the stories. For me,  scrolling through hundreds of images on a camera roll is not the same experience.  But that’s just me.

     

So how about you? Have you completely succumbed to technology? Are you 100% in?  Do tell.

Read this post on single page to comment →

Did You Show Up Today? When Punctuality is Irrelevant

01/22/2014 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

tigerWe all have days like this, don’t we? It doesn’t even seem to matter if we are precisely on time.  In fact, it really has nothing to do with time at all. Punctuality is irrelevant. It’s more about whether we have mentally shown up to be present in that moment. The real question is, did you wake up with the eye of the tiger?

We feel this very deeply inside.  At the start of our day, we instantly know whether or not we’ve brought our “A” game.  No matter what we’ve got planned on the day’s agenda, if our head is cluttered with a myriad of thoughts, it will most likely impede on our focus, clarity, and concentration for the rest of the day.

We get to where we’re going, right?  But sometimes we just get our bodies there, and our minds are elsewhere.  

On those days, you might be doing one of these;  Sound familiar?

  • You find yourself looking down at your watch multiple times, and still not know what time it is. (true story, I confess I’ve done this many times).

 

  • Someone introduces themselves to you and you forget their name almost instantly.  You are in a conversation with someone, nodding and smiling, but you aren’t really hearing or understanding a word they are  saying. You try to pay attention but the information is just not computing.  You have difficulty connecting because you are distracted and therefore struggle to pay close attention.

 

  • You fumble for familiar words and tussle with routine thinking, while just yesterday, you were sharp as a tack. For me, it’s a day that I just don’t seem to click. I’m simply “off.” I refer to it as my “dumb” day, lol. Every now and then, my brain escapes. I accept the “me” that showed up that day and figure out a way to work with I’ve got.

 

Clearly, there is something to be said for “getting up on the wrong side of the bed.” Not every day is the same, nor is every day perfect. From one day to the next, and for a host of reasons (stress, sleep deprivation, illness, etc.), our moods shift and can easily throw us off our game.  It is unrealistic to think that we can be our best selves every single day, but we can do our best to workaround the day’s shortcomings.

It’s hard enough to sustain focus on a good day, but if we begin our day without it from the get go, we are going to really struggle. When we are mentally absent, we are emotionally and socially unavailable to ourselves and to others around us.  In a sense, we are in our own way.  Losing our mind/body connection will tend to “show up” in all spheres of our lives. It is impossible to be productive or even engaging when we feel “off.”

When we lose our mind/body connection, I often wonder if we are better off just staying home, rather than showing up without purpose or clarity. Ideally, if we could learn to compartmentalize our invading thoughts and place them on a shelf somewhere, maybe we could combat this “off-ness.”  Wouldn’t it be great if all we had to do was press a “reset” button to recover?

Or, perhaps we need to be a bit more realistic. Simply accept that we are merely human, not tigers. It’s hard to sustain ferocity every day of the week. We all aspire to be champions, but few can “roar” on a daily basis without a fight.

What are your secrets to “showing up?”  How do you maintain that mind/body connection? What steps do you take to recover your focus, should you lose it? Please join in this conversation. I would love to hear you roar.

Read this post on single page to comment →

Restoring Balance: It’s About Time

01/08/2014 By Nancy Borg With no comments yet

balance and clockIt always come down to time, doesn’t it? Everything we do has a time component.  From the minute our alarm wakes us in the morning until we lay our weary heads down at night, we are governed by time.

In fact, we depend on our watches to “watch” the time for us.  It is fundamentally our universal tool to measure a given day; our personal alert system to remind us when we have to do just about anything. Time doesn’t only punctuate our mealtimes, appointments, or travel;  it organizes all of our life activities.  Essentially, it is our ultimate “life tracker.” Unfortunately, it is not a flawless system.

The simple truth is that we all regard time differently.  Some of us adhere to it fastidiously, while others not so much.  Regardless, whether or not you have the more nonchalant attitude or actually struggle with time-management, you are still at risk of losing your daily balance.

We must remember that time is measurable.  And when we lose track of it, it can disturb our balance.  Think about how many costly consequences there are as a result of time not being on our side.  There are appointments to make, schedules to meet, planes to catch, time zones to calculate, and if there is one small glitch in the system, it can all go very wrong.

Things happen.  There are unforeseen circumstances that are clearly out of our hands.  It can be as minimal as oversleeping, unpredictable as traffic, or as serious as an unfortunate accident, personal health, or family crisis.  Any one of these scenarios can spill into late appointments, missed plane connections, or even worse.

In a perfect world, when we can control time, it is precisely what connects us to one another, isn’t it? “I’ll meet you @ 1:00 for lunch” or “Conference call at 3:00,” or “Dinner’s at 8:00pm.”  It’s our frame of reference, both casually and professionally.  It’s what makes the world go ’round.  It’s a universal language that keeps us on schedule, at least most of the time.

But all too often, we take time for granted or are too busy to realize its rapid passing.  Hence, we lose control of the day and beyond.  Managing one’s time is a common challenge but for many, this is a daily struggle.  “If we cannot feel the sweep of time, we cannot manage it,”  is one of my sustaining take-aways from a recent NAPO Conference I attended.

The good news is that there are solutions.  I don’t typically promote products on my blog but it’s an opportune time to give this one a shout out, simply because it works.  It’s one of my favorite time-manager tools, called the Time Timer.  It’s a super effective product I recommend to clients that battle with time-management issues.

For me, it’s about old school thinking.  I can still remember the big analog classroom clocks ticking away one second-hand at a time, being able to watch time pass and waiting for the bell to ring.  In today’s digital world, it is far more difficult to conceptualize the passage of time.  Think about it, can you really “feel” the time sweep from 1:27 pm to 1:42 pm?  With this timer, you can visually watch time elapse, without the dreaded ticking. You will actually “see” time pass. Every time I use it, it still surprises me that the set time had expired so rapidly. In fact, this tool is actually a great time “teacher.”  I learned these three lessons;

1) When you’re immersed in a task, you can easily lose track of time and control.

2) Everything takes longer than you think.

3) Being more mindful of time, significantly heightens focus and increases productivity. (helps to manage those obsessive time robbers too)

Exploring effective methods to track time will likely raise awareness of how you use time and can instigate a shift in mindset.  Essentially, it plugs you into “self” and connects your actions to an accountable timeline.

Being more mindful can arguably change the relationship we have with time. If we can regard time more efficiently, perhaps we can make it work for us, not against us. Relying on time as our life-manager can restore the balance we might be lacking.

What’s your relationship with time? Are you in control? If you pay attention with a more critical eye, I bet time will tell.

Read this post on single page to comment →

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

12/10/2013 By Nancy Borg With 5 comments

IMG_2012_optThe falling snow changed my plans today. My schedule went out the window with the very first snowflake. So it looks like I’m in for the day. But as I sit in front of the fireplace, I’m realizing that mother nature has just bestowed me the “gift of time.” How great is that?  I’m in pajamas, watching the snow gently fall, and although not leaving the house, there is an endless list of productive things I can do.  Where to begin?

Time is a luxury for sure, and how we use it, only clarifies our priorities.  For me, my passion is writing and so my first inclination is to craft this blog.  I’ll catch up on reading, e-mails, tele classes, and maybe if I’m lucky, I can even take a nap (but probably not, lol)

Weather is impactful.  When it interrupts our day, we are forced to stop, or at least pause.  For all of us who incurred the snow today, there was one thing we all had in common.  We were forced to slow down.

In the peak of a work week and holiday bustle, this is not an easy task. But apart from being a nuisance, perhaps this shift in focus was a good thing.  It might have caused you to slow down your busy pace.  Maybe you needed to.

In some form or another, we all paid attention to time.   If you anticipated the inclement weather, you were more apt to adjust your schedule accordingly with an earlier exit strategy this morning.  Leaving yourself adequate wiggle room was an option to consider, or time spent cancelling and re-scheduling appointments.

We always plan with good intentions but so many times, things happen out of our control to disrupt them.  We adjust and move on, and sometimes take away a lesson learned.  My favorite expression, “Man plans and G-d laughs,”  is so apropos.  It always wakes me up.

So today, I’m enjoying this unexpected gift of time.  Every very now and then, it’s nice to indulge in “self” time. How about you? What kind of adjustments did you make today?  Did you stop, pause, or slow down?

Read this post on single page to comment →

Pages