Welcome to the season where time seems to pass too quickly some days and way too slowly on others.

By this time, all those decisions we made earlier this year are catching up with us, for better or not. Some people are holding their breath to see what the rest of the year brings. Others gear up and get excited, or in business, make the grand push to the finish line. And then we start over again.

How about we let that go and focus on choosing carefully what we say "yes" to, whether it's to someone else's request or how we spend our own time?

So many of our memories are due to paying attention. When I was  growing up and my mother would ask me to do something, I was often reading a book, so I'd nod, acknowledge ... and then completely forget what she'd asked me to do. Didn't register. A small example, but for a long time, that "not registering" was a habit for me, even during memory-making times.

So what can you do, to help time register for you more clearly? That's what this issue is about.  
 
If you missed last issue, the main article was "Perspectives from My Summer Retreat & Why Perspectives Are Useful," available here.

As always,  if you appreciate the work we've done together, or any of my writing in newsletters, blogs or social media posts, I'd greatly appreciate your sharing with colleagues and friends.

And that's how we roll, November 2014 (my birthday month!). I'll be presenting with my colleague, Andrea Sharb at CHADD (Children and Adults with ADD/ADHD) on my actual birthday!

Warmly,


P.S. If you need support to figure out how to approach your challenges, please contact me at sue@organizenh.com or 603 765-9267.  

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Time Passes Too Fast. Or Does It?

Isn’t it true that we usually talk about time’s passing as something to avoid?

“Where did the day go?”  “Oh, that deadline snuck right up on me!”

Now think about that fantastic fun time you had with friends, that amazing vacation, or that book you just couldn’t pry yourself away from. What happened? You got absorbed in the experience and time flew by.

“I love what I do; the time just flies by.”  “A great book. I got so absorbed I lost all track of time!”

Sad to have the time end and thrilled to have had the memorable experience, because these are the ones we remember, aren’t they?

Time passes at the same pace, and it’s how we perceive its passing that matters. How we react and how we take care of our time.

This isn’t new. It is however worth a reminder as we roll into holidays and the New Year, when we tend to add more to our plates and not take off too much, and when ideally, we are making new memories.
 
And at other times of the year, it’s worth remembering to be aware of how we use our time and to find ways to sense its passing more clearly …

Without which, we miss a project deadline or a business opportunity. We say that a child has grown up “so fast,” or a family member is aging “quickly.”

Or you’re moving onto a next chapter. You don’t quite know what happened to the last chapter as it just flew by.

Or you finally discover that you have an ADHD diagnosis. After the relief, you feel the need to revisit your entire life. That all changes your perspective on time passing.
 

Strategies to Stay Aware of Time Passing
 

Starting with the “big picture” and working down from there…

Be clear about what’s important so you have a way to make the important choices for you. Create a vision board or a Pinterest board of what you want in your life.

Values: Know what you stand for and how this plays out in your daily life. Try my values exercise. (Email me for a copy.)

Play to your strengths. Figure out how to compensate for the rest. Try the StrengthsFinder. 

Build a strong sense of yourself, so you spend less time deciding if what others say about you is true or not. (A favorite resource: Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection.)

Have goals. Not just for business. For your life. Business will always pull you in, so create goals, purposes, whatever you want to call them, to make your personal life just as important as the work you do, even if you love your work.

Gratitude and appreciation need to be part of each day. This practice will anchor you in time.

Look for progress you have made on your goals, habits, organization, relationship, money management – whatever you’re working on, keep track of the small successes. Focusing on what’s still to be done only serves to speed up time.

Learn from each person you encounter. Look for the good or the learning from each person. This forces you to be more in the moment.

Be clear and authentic in your written and verbal communications.  Listen more. Be curious.

Pause. Slow down occasionally and see how it feels. Shut off technology for one night as an experiment.

Play for a day. Get giddy. Find a child like thing to do, from laughing out of control to walking barefoot in the grass, to walking the aisles in a toy store and reminiscing. This reminds us of simpler times before we had so much stuff to think about and do.

Triage; don’t prioritize your list. Make choices. Don’t accept that everything has to be added to “your list.”

Take a step. Gain momentum. Get started. (Email me for my Top 20 Ways to Get Started.)

Take care of your body, your sleep, and your eating habits as well as you know how. And then a little bit better than that, because as we age our earlier choices catch up with us. This gives you a physical sense of being anchored in space and time. 

Take care of your mental health. Ask for what you need. Educate yourself so you can advocate for yourself. Don’t waste your time apologizing; rather explain what’s different for you, so that you’re creating new ways of being yourself.

Create and use routines or rituals to take care of the basics at life and work. These are important, but the next level things are more important to your life and work.

And a question a client recently asked me to repeat because for her, this one resonated deeply: Is what you are doing right now what you told yourself you wanted to focus on?

 

Practical strategies can include these:

• Use a timer to see how long things actually take;
• Keep track for a day or two of how you use your time.
• Set a timer to stop yourself when you need to be done with an activity;
• Be sure that your calendar and your focus for the day are front and center - visual focus.
• Create anchors in your day. Anchor your mind’s sense of how much of the day has passed.

Take one idea above. Make it your own. Try it just for a week and see what happens. I’d be glad to hear from you and how it went.      

Organize for a Fresh Start:
Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life

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