Love Learn Lead September 6, 2018

How do we step back to take a good look at our lives, when life doesn’t seem to stop? When there’s always so much to do? And when it feels as if there’s never enough time?

On Monday, I compared our lives to the peaches Tony and I picked last month. If I didn’t watch them closely—didn’t refrigerate or freeze them in time—they’d spoil. All of us have relationships, commitments, or aspects of our job that if we don’t inspect every now and then, could go sour. Or worse, go away completely. For example, how many of us put off going after our dreams, or spending time with the people we love, because we think they’ll always be there?

The only way to make sure things don’t go south on us, is to step back every now and then. To look at our lives a little more closely and make sure we’re on the right track. And, in my opinion, September is an excellent time to do this.

So, before the chaos of the Holiday’s hit (did I see candy corn and pumpkins at the grocery store?), let’s take a step back. And let’s do it together.

Love

In January, Tony and I spent a day at a Barnes & Nobles, filling out Jennie Allen’s Dream Guide. We wrote down goals for different areas of our lives (marriage, career, community, etc.), both longterm and short term. And to an extent, this year we’ve been trying to move forward with these goals.

Only some of them have taken more time and energy than we anticipated. Others, it feels as if they’re still on the back burner. And rather than just hope we’re on the right course, we’re taking some time to review what we wrote down nine months ago, to give us a few months to finish 2018 strong. Right now, we are on vacation, but once we get back, we will set aside a Saturday morning to see how far we’ve come. And we’ll focus in on what’s most important for this season.

When and how can you set aside time this month to step back?

What is most import for you this season?

Learn

One of my life coaching modules is called Real Routines, and it is all about creating sustainable habits in our every day life. For homework one week, I ask people to write out their entire weekly schedule. So far, every time I have a client do this part of the homework, do you know what they discover?

They have more time than they realized.

By looking at their schedules together, we are able to isolate whole chunks of their week where they don’t have any previous commitments. Then, I help them see how they can use this time to create more balance in their everyday lives, and gain traction in reaching their goals.

All of us have the same 168 hours each week. Though that time is finite, it doesn’t mean it is impossible for us to reach our goals or find balance. It is just a matter of how we spend our time. If you would like some help this month in your stepping back process, I invite you to check out my Real Routine’s module. Also, consider signing up for a free “get to know you” session, to see if I might be able to help you finish 2018 strong, and begin 2019 even stronger.

Do you ever feel there’s never enough time to do what you want to do?

Could you use some help in figuring out your current schedule?

Lead

Your first ritual that you do during the day is the highest leveraged ritual, by far, because it has the effect of setting your mind, and setting the context, for the rest of your day.