"Un"? What is an "un"?

Have you ever had an "un" day?  A day when you felt unappreciated, unwanted, unknown, unloved?  It could be that you are too busy and have gotten too tired.  It's easy to do.  Our lives can easily become overwhelming if we let the outside world take over.  We have constant demands to "do this", "go here", "buy this", "watch this",.  It can make us crazy. 

When our lives are too busy it is easy to neglect the one person who should be upheld and supported - ourselves.  We become unable to cope. If we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of anyone else properly.  We've seen the ads about how to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before trying to help anyone else and in the Bible Jesus said "love your neighbour as yourself".  If you don't love and care for yourself, how can you truly love and take care of your neighbour?

If we spend too much time in an "un" stage, we may end up with a feeling of depression that is difficult to get out of.  We may need to consult a professional to help us.  If you are feeling a little "un" today, take a look at what you have been doing lately.  Have you been "doing" instead of "being"?  We are "human beings" not "human doings".  It is important to take some time to relax and "unwind", to move from "unconscious" to conscious as we understand what it is we are doing to ourselves when we allow ourselves to become too busy.

When this happens, when you feel unappreciated, it's time to appreciate yourself for who you are and what you do, but you can't do this if you are constantly rushing around.  You need to give yourself a break.  Take some time to yourself.  Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and think about all the things you have done.  Think about the times that people have said thank you for things you have done or said.  Think about the things you have done for others and be grateful that you were able to do what you have done. 

If you can, give yourself some time to find out what you like to do.  Spend a morning thinking about the things that you "don't have time for" and figure out ways to make that time.  Be unavailable for a little while. 

We speak about "carving out" time for ourselves, and sometimes that is what it feels like, that we have to see our busyness as a block of marble that needs to be reshaped to reveal its true nature.  We need to carve away the unneccessary and keep only what brings us joy and peace and love.

 

BANABU

 

Fran Watson

Time Management

I sit here this morning feeling good about some of the things I have done recently, like learning how to set up posts on Facebook so that each hour there is a post, and being more dedicated to posting on my blog. 

However when I got up this morning and realized that today is the 4th and that in order to get paid at the end of the month my invoices need to be in by Monday, my heart sank.  It is unlikely that Canada Post will get my package there in time. 

But I can't really blame them.  It was my lack of time management, of setting a note in my Day Timer earlier in the week that said "Do Closures". 

I am self-employed, working from home, on contract with an EAP.  Each month I have to have my closures in by the 7th and the 23rd in order to get paid on time.  If I had perfected my Time Management skills, I would never have to work.  Alas, despite the fact that I teach Time Management skills, I sometimes fail.

That's the way it is in the world.  Often despite our best intentions, we fail.  So what we need to do is fail forward.  Take a look at what happened and take steps to ensure that it won't happen again.  So today I am entering a note into my Day Timer on the 18th of this month that says "Closures".  That will ensure that I will get them done on time.

Right now I will get back to working on my closures and send them away today with hope and prayers that they will arrive in time.

BANABU

Fran Watson

P.S.  If you would like some information on Time Management, or get a copy of a Time Management log, email me or comment below

Time Management and Goals

I have been having conversations with people lately about Goal Setting and Time Management.  Everyone says they don't have enough time to set goals or to accomplish tasks, but the truth is unless you set the goals you will NEVER find the time to complete them.  You see you can't really manage time, you can only manage you.

Do you really know what you spend your time on each day?  Have you ever taken the time to really look at what you do?  How long does it take you to make and eat your breakfast each day?  Do you read the paper while you eat?  How long does that take?  Do you sit and wait for the coffee to perc or do you do other things while it is percolating?  What about lunch?  Do you eat on the go?  Eat at your desk?  Go out for lunch?  Again, how long does it take? 

Have you ever sat down to watch ONE program and found yourself still sitting on the couch 3 hours later?  That's because you didn't have a goal, something else you wanted to accomplish that night.  If you had, you would have made a decision about whether or not you would even watch the one program, or would you work on a task towards completing your goal.

Do you have a goal you want to achieve?  Other than, "I want to be rich and retire."  Do you know the exact amount you want to make, the exact amount you would need to retire comfortably, taking into account inflation and what activities you want to do when you retire.  Have you written your goal down?  Have you begun your yearly, monthly, weekly, daily plan on how you are going to accomplish it?  Studies have shown that if you WRITE down your goal and put it somewhere where you will see it every day, you have a better chance of achieving it.  If you write it down and set out a plan on how you will achieve it, you are well on your way.

Think about it....A multi-millionaire has the same number of hours in the day as you do, they just do different things with it.  You will probably not find them sitting on the couch in their living room watching hour after hour of TV.  You will probably find them getting together with people who can help them with their goals.

What do you want to accomplish?  Start today by taking a look at how you spend your time and see where you can make some time to work on YOUR GOALS.  If you would like a time log to record your time for the next week,  send me an email (franlwatson (at) gmail.com) with the subject line "TIME LOG" and I will send you a copy. 

It takes time and effort to achieve a goal, but it is always worth it.  Start small, reward yourself for accomplishing tasks, but START.

Have a great day!!!

Fran Watson
BANABU

Life has a way of getting in the way

Have you ever noticed that?

You have good intentions, you have a goal in mind, but something gets in the way.  You lose focus, your goal seems to have drifted off into the clouds.  Why? 

Because you didn't have a plan.

Your goal is in the clouds because you didn't determine the steps needed to reach it and so it began to slip away.

Has this happened to you recently?  It happened to me. 

I started this year full of expectations and ideas of things I wanted to accomplish, and here it is 3 months later and this is the first blog post I have made in 3 months.  It doesn't mean that I haven't been busy pursuing some of my goals, because I have.  I have been doing workshops on Time Management and Communication and Conflict Resolution.  I have been giving presentations at my Toastmasters Clubs, but, my goal to post weekly updates on my blog.... well, I didn't set an action plan in place and here I am.

Today I am determining to do better.  I am going to write down in my Day Timer a schedule for my blogs - for this blog - BANABU, for my Job Search Tips, my Marketing Tips and Diet Tips.  I am also going to weekly ensure that my webpage is updated.

This time next week there should, make that will, be another post, so help keep me on track.  Check in with me...comment on my blog. 

Till next time

Fran
http://www.franwatson.ca/bio.html

Valuing Minutes

Yesterday I attended an online conference with Janet Legere and she talked about segmented intention. Paying attention to what you are doing and intending it to be successful.

This morning I pulled my daily quote from my tin and it said, "With this dawn, this new day, I value each minute."

I was taken back to my recent Time Management Workshop where I shared with the participants the value of time - 1440 minutes in a day.

Wasting 15 minutes a day works out to 91 hours per year. What could you do with those 91 hours?

If we read an average of 12 pages a day (about 15 minutes) we could read 17-18 books per year. We can learn a new task, become an expert in our field of study, or upgrade our education.

We could exercise and stay in shape while tuning up our heart. 15 minutes 3 times a week will maintain a healthy body.

We could spend the time in personal meditation or spiritual contemplation to bring balance to our lives.

We could devote 15 minutes of quality time to someone we care about. We could choose a different person each day. We could write a letter, send a card, make a phone call or a personal visit. We could sit down with someone and ask them a question and really listen to their answer.

Take a few minutes to think about how you spend your time and how you could spend it better.

Do some tasks that take only 5-15 minutes and feel good about having accomplished something.

Plan your day to include small tasks as well as large tasks, write down what you intend to accomplish - you will have a much better chance of succeeding.

To your successful day!!

Fran

BANABU!

Taking Care of Yourself

Just like the airlines say - "Put yourself first" You will be no good to anybody else unless you are feeling your personal best.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish - it is self-care. A person who feels complete, confident, healthy, and fulfilled is a better person. No matter how long your list of things you need to do for others, remember to put yourself at the top of that list and do something nice for yourself first.

Schedule at least 3 "down time" periods a day for yourself - each and every day. Downtime should consist of a minimum of a 5 minute block of time spent completely alone in a quiet space.

Use the time to write in your journal close your eyes, centre yourelf, add some entries to your gratitude list, or jus take a few deep belly breaths to slow yourself down.

Every day is a new opportunity for growth. Expand your mind. Take an evening course, read a book on a new subject, try something new like youga or pilates, or join a book club. (Did you know that if you read for 15 minutes a day you can read 17-18 books in a year? Or that if you waste 15 minutes a day, you will waste 91 hours a year?)

TIP: Each and every day do only those things that will enable yoiu to feel good about yourself later.

Fran

BANABU

Have You Ever Had One of Those Days?

Have you ever had one of those days? You know, the kind where you know you should be doing something specific, like writing your blog post, but you just can't wrap your brain around it at the moment and so you search endlessly through various files on your computer, reading this, watching that and thinking about what you should be writing but nothing materializes? Well that's where I am today.

I looked at some articles on removing clutter from my life and I removed a few papers from a few file folders, and deleted some emails. I watched a video on leadership and posted it to my Toastmasters Facebook page. I made a couple of phone calls and that was about it. Oh yes, and I did attend a one hour Webinar on creating Teleseminars (which was very good). But I didn't really feel like I accomplished anything and I finally realized why. I didn't write out a list of what I wanted to accomplish today. I simply let the day take me by the hand instead of me managing it. (Oh, perhaps I should mention I am self-employed and work at home.)

Now, it is ok to let that happen every now and then, but if this becomes a pattern for your life, then it can create some major problems. If you have some projects you need to accomplish and you just let the day take you, you will find yourself rushing to complete them at the last minute, or just letting them slide.

So, I am now going to sit down and plan my day for tomorrow so that by the end of the day I will have a feeling of accomplishment. I will book the appointment for my oil change and a hair cut to start and then plan the rest of the day around those appointments.

I hope you are not having "one of those days" and that your day has been much more fulfilling than mine was.

To Building A New and Better Universe (BANABU)

Fran Watson