What can you do?

Life in today's world is super busy for almost everyone. Between work, chores, family commitments, and everything else going on, many people don't even have time for themselves let alone helping others.

For that reason I'm going to share some tips to free up some time to do just that- practice self-care and help others too.

First, figure out your values and establish your priorities. Only you know what that is. Do not let others do that for you! They will if you don't make it clear what they are for you. If, for example, family dinner is important to you, set a regular schedule for it and let the family members know what your expectations are. If there is a time of day you meditate, read, have devotions, exercise, or work on a hobby or something else, be clear that you do not want to be interrupted unless it's truly necessary.

Children and spouses should help around the house. Have a family meeting to decide what each person should do according to their abilities,schedules, and likes. Don't make them do a chore they despise. By letting them help with this process you will teach them about respect and responsibility. Understand that some chores need to be done even if no one wants to do them. Those chores should be decided as fairly as possible. Let those doing them know how much you appreciate it. By letting them help you with some tasks, you will also have more time available to help them with some of their projects when they could really use it.

Set up routines for your daily hygiene as well as schedule a set time for you to do the once in a while things like trimming your nails or taking a long bubble bath. Put your clothes out the night before and have everything ready you need for school or work or any other activity the next day. Routines may seem boring, but they can serve you well if you let them. They will actually free up more time to be spontaneous when you want to be!

Become a list maker. Don't only create them, but use them! I have a dry erase board in my office for my work to -dos and appointments, one in the kitchen that we add what we need from the grocery store and other places to, a specific pad for my shopping lists which I just can easily list the items from the board, a vision board to remind me of my goals,an appointment book, and more. They are tools which when used properly make a huge difference. Let me know if you have any specific ones that work well for you. I'd love to hear about them. :)

There is now a way to take notes in the shower! (See Aquanotes.com) Keep a notebook or electronic device with you at all times so as you think of things you can have a specific place for them. That clears some of the clutter out of your brain so you can focus on what you are doing at the moment. It also means when you have an aha moment or remember something important you don't forget it.

Learn to say no to anything that doesn't fit with your new priorities. Volunteer for only one thing at a time if that is all your schedule allows. That way you can do it well. Let your family and those you see on a regular basis know what you are focusing on at the moment. Allow them to support you in this. Do delegate tasks to others in your household or business. They usually are more capable than you think! Make sure to thank them for helping and recognizing their good work.

Combine several errands in run trip. Take something with you do anytime you have to wait somewhere. Learn which businesses give you the fastest and best service so you can shop there.
Consider shopping online & having things shipped or delivered to you. Alice.com, Schwans.com, Alibris.com, and Amazon.com are just a few possibilities. All of them have offered me free shipping, quick delivery, and quality items.

Look around your home or office and see where clutter is the worst problem for you. Once you know that, take time to think about what you could do to fix the situation. It may be buying storage containers, labeling things, re-purposing something you already have for a new use, getting rid of things you no longer need or want, or something else. Even if you only work on the area a few minutes a day it will make a difference very quickly.

One of the things I've not been good at is keeping an up-to-date contact list for my family,relatives,friends,business associates,etc. I'm trying to remedy this as it wastes a lot of time and energy trying to find out addresses to mail out cards and presents to, or a phone number or email address. Keeping my inbox to a reasonable amount of emails is something else I'm working on.

There are professional organizers available for hire, lots of different organizational aids available to buy, and many good books and magazine articles that can help in all of this. Short on funds?
The public library and using what you already have will work just fine.

This is a subject I've become very interested in as I see and hear from so many people who feel overwhelmed,stressed out, and feel they have no time for anything fun let alone time to help others. I was like that too. Since I've made it a priority to get more organized and set priorities for my personal life and business things have improved immensely. Yes, I still have a long way to go in some areas, but the improvement so far has motivated me to continue this for myself as well as sharing with others things that have worked for me or others.

It would be awesome if some of my readers would add your own tips in the comments below. What I have shared is just a small sampling of ideas to help anyone who would want to get started. I'll be continuing to do this for myself as well. Sharing will help all of us.

My husband and I are planning to buy a freezer soon in order to save $ on groceries by stocking up when the price is better. It will also save us from going to the grocery store so often. That will save us much time and gas. I can buy basic staples here in town, but the main part of my groceries and household goods I buy are 45 minutes to almost an hour and 1/2 one way.

You most likely have your own situation of time drainers. Find out what energizes you, and when you are feeling peppier than usual, begin tackling that challenge. You'll be so glad you did!

Lastly, if you have a period of time where you need to focus on a major project & truly don't have time to volunteer, there are still things you can do to help others. Donate money to a charity,
share a smile, open a door for someone, say a few kind words, or give someone a quick hug. There is always time to do something, but we must make it a priority.

Note: I'm not an affiliate for any of the products or websites mentioned. I was just using examples of what I like or use myself.

Baby steps, big strides, & giant leaps!

Greetings everyone!

Since I'm self-employed, I read a lot of material to help business owners. Recently I've seen the advice to make quantum leaps in your business. That got me to thinking about the whole subject of the speed in which I want to do things. I even have a sign in my office to remind me not to get overwhelmed. It simply says " I control my own pace" and was handmade for me by a close friend who knew I was working on time-management in my life & business to find the perfect balance for me uniquely.

I'm a fan of starting things with baby steps. Why? Because when I decided to work on my personal development & transform my life for the better I wasn't ready or even physically and mentally able at the time to take huge actions. I had been ill for a few years, been involved in a bad accident, my finances sucked, and I felt that I had hit bottom in my life. Yet I had a spark within me, a burning desire, that there could be better things in my future if only I could learn from my past experiences & figure out how to create a better future that would uniquely suit me.

There were a lot of things I had to learn before I could take bigger steps. When it was suggested to me that the most important thing was to actually get started, I decided to take just one thing that I wanted to accomplish and break it down into tiny steps that I could follow. Doing that one thing allowed me to begin.

Since then I've accomplished many things in my life. I would work on one thing at a time until I had achieved what I set out to. In some cases that was simply creating healthy habits. Then I would choose something else to work on. It did take effort, consistency, and belief in myself that I could do it. I had to work on my self-esteem in order to do that. It was actually hard work. It wasn't easy. It took an enormous amount of energy & effort. I had to learn how to focus. Was it worth it? Oh yes. If I was given a chance to do it over again I'd have done it decades sooner than I did. That's how much it transformed my life. Now I help others do this! It is so rewarding to see people getting results just like I did.

Today my life is amazing & fulfilling. I'm getting healthier again after years of illness. Momentum built once I learned how to find tools to help me, mentors who were where I wanted to be, and got into the positive habit of taking action rather than procrastinating or doing nothing about my dreams & desires.

My point is- Get started today! Take one action towards something you truly desire to achieve.
Keep taking steps & eventually you will take bigger strides and then quantum leaps. It will get easier, faster, & more enjoyable the more you follow this practice.

The world needs action-takers. People with great ideas who actually implement them & don't just think about them. If you want to help this world in some way, do it! Just don't think that someday you would like to when the timing is better, you have more money to share, or some other excuse. Decide which charity, organization , person, group,animals, or part of the world's environment you'd like to help, and take your first step right now.

Please post in the comments below if you have made the decision to help our world in some way what your first step was or is going to be. Sharing is helpful to others too! Blessings to all who read this.

About setting an example.

I've been thinking in depth about something this week, and wanted to share it with you. All of us are setting an example daily to everyone we come in contact with. Therefore, the example we set is highly important, and has a big effect on both our personal life and in the work we do.

While at work most people interact with several people every single day. If you are the boss you see both prospective clients as well as existing customers, work with people you outsource work to and your employees, possibly have partners or a board of directors you are accountable to, have meetings with vendors, interviewees, and more. If you are an employee your example is seen and felt by your co-workers, your boss, vendors, and customers. You may also take or teach training courses in which you interact with others.

When at home, it is your family, friends,neighbors, and relatives who are watching your example. This includes how you parent, how you behave as a spouse, how you deal with people on the phone and in person, and much more. It may also be the mail man, delivery man, service person, or friends visiting your spouse or children who is paying attention. They often tell others!

In public, both strangers and acquaintances watch how you act. Those who like what they see will often choose to interact with you in some way. Whether it be at a restaurant, park,event, in church, or somewhere else, how you act and what you say is paid attention to by all of those people in your immediate area.

When you participate in social media, those who follow you on Facebook,Twitter, and all other online social media sites see what you choose to share and form an opinion of you based on that. This is true for your websites and blogs as well. What you write has a great impact on all of those who read what you have typed. It can cost you relationships if you write something offensive-friends, prospective joint venture partners and clients, an employer who was thinking about hiring you, or some other relationship.

Choose what you want to say to the people you interact with daily carefully!

Make a conscious decision on how you want to act around others you come in contact with based on what your values are and how you want them to perceive you. When you mess up, which you will because you are human, apologize,make amends, and learn from the experience so you won't repeat it.

Decide who you want to be in your various roles that you play in life, and then start being that person.

When you volunteer, do you whine and complain about your assignments, or do you cheerfully accept them and say things in a nice way when you need to disagree?

As a parent, do you shout at your children and belittle them and show them behaviours you don't want them emulating? Or do you love them, discipline them in a wise manner, and set the example you want them to follow?

As a spouse, do you respect your mate, encourage them, give them daily I love you's and hugs, pay attention to them, and be a help-mate?

By now you get the gist of what I'm trying to express here. Setting a positive example throughout every day in every situation you find yourself in can really make a difference and change the world. The same holds true if you set a poor example. Choose your example based on the results you want to experience!