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Time is Precious

3/12/2018

Time is a precious commodity that becomes wasted when we lack organization and are consumed with distractions. Increased time not only allows us opportunities for fun and adventure but also opportunities for greater financial gain as well.

Being organized and having systems for projects or activities has always been a part of me. It comes to me naturally and I feel much more at ease when I have that organization.

Over time I have found myself to be more scattered with my time management and lack of focus. I would jump from one project to another and never really get any one project completed. I spent the entire day at the computer bouncing from one website to another without actually finishing anything of substance. Spending a great deal of time each day fooling around on social media and being distracted by anything interesting (vacation ideas, recipes, craft ideas) kept me from being successful. Of course I wasn't successful, I wasn't accomplishing the things I had in mind to do and I had very little free time to do the fun things I wanted to do. I was tired of spending day after day floating through life with very little productivity. I was bored, unhappy and ready to make a change.

In my constant search for new ideas I found some simple ideas for decreasing distractions and stress which I began implementing into my life. Before I knew it I was more organized with my time, less distracted and as a result I am accomplishing much more each day. Not only am I getting more done on a daily basis but I also have more time to do things that are important to me. I have time to visit friends, go shopping, exercise, travel and generally have more fun in my life.

These are my 5 most favorite strategies for having less stress and more time each day.

If it will take 2 minutes or less to complete then do it NOW. The more we put things off the bigger the job will become. Whether you are talking about your email, your snail mail, writing a check or washing dishes if you put it off it will take up more time in the long run.
Avoid crowds - do your shopping or errands at a time when shops are not crowded. Get up early on Saturday to do your errands or do them mid week in the middle of the day when there is less traffic and shops are less crowded. You will spend much less time driving, waiting in lines and maneuvering through the stores.
Put a time limit on social media so you do not eat up that precious time. There is so much information at our fingertips and it is often hard to choose which to give our attention to. Social media whether you are reading political editorials or watching cute cat videos is still a distraction and they are massive time suckers.
Where are my keys? Misplacing items is a huge drain on your time. Have a place that you ALWAYS put your keys, your phone or even your Bluetooth (my Bluetooth is my downfall and I spend too much time looking for it!). All that time searching for those important items can be eliminated when we have a specific place to put things. Imagine always putting cooking utensils away in a different place in your kitchen and the nightmare of trying to cook a meal while searching for the items!
A healthy lifestyle will naturally increase your productivity. Do your food choices put you in a food coma, especially after a heavy lunch? Do you feel sluggish from not exercising? Even not drinking enough water can make you fatigued and low energy. Drinking too much alcohol of course has obvious challenges to our productivity. You are naturally more productive when you have more energy and you have more energy when you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A Drop in the Bucket

3/29/2017

Did you know that an American's life span has decreased over the last few years? According to studies the life span of women has decreased from 80.3 to 80.2 years and that means a decrease of approximately one month. For men the decrease has gone from 76.5 to 76.3 or approximately 2 months of life lost. Whether we can change our life to increase our life span or not my question is are you living each day of your life to the fullest?

I began asking myself am I doing things that really matter to me or am I spending a lot of time in the busyness of life. I'm sure you know the answer - I've been so caught up in day to day stuff and dealing with a foot that won't heal that I have forgotten to make every day matter.

Part of making every day matter is writing this blog and being of service to help others make every day matter. So I'm here to ask, are you living life to the fullest? Are you caught up in the busyness of life and forgotten about what's really important to you?

Besides dealing with all that busyness (we will work on that another day) I like to write and add to my Bucket List on a regular basis. I use my Bucket List as a place to put all those dreams and desires. It reminds me of all those amazing things I want to do in this life time. It's so easy to forget those things in the busyness of life and I don't want to forget those things. I want to put them in a place where I can review them and pick things I will do now (or very soon). It's so easy to say oh yeah I want to do that and then forget about it or make other trivial things more important.

How about you? Have you written a Bucket List? Are you doing those things you have dreamed of doing or are you bogged down with the busyness of life? Well, it's time to create your own Bucket List and time to put all those dreams and desires in one place regardless of how busy you are.

Spend a few minutes writing your Bucket List for the first time and then as you think of new things you can easily add to them. This process will begin to set things in motion for you and it will help to remind you of what is important for you to accomplish in this lifetime.

Do you need help creating your Bucket List?

My Bucket List is broken down in to 5 categories:

Travel – this is the obvious one with places across the country and around the world that I would like to visit.
Activities – these are those things I would like to do, such as running a marathon, swimming with dolphins, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro or knitting a sweater.
Be of service – do you have a desire to be of service? These can be anything from volunteering in a Third World country to helping the elderly or even helping someone fulfill one of their Bucket List items.
Things I want to have – these may include having a farm, having an awesome closet for all my clothes and shoes, having a home that overlooks that gorgeous turquoise ocean water, or having the car of my dreams.
Things for me – these may include falling in love, having children, being debt-free, loving my body, or having a new hairstyle.

I made a template for you to fill out your own Bucket List. It's a great way to keep all those dreams in one place!

Click here to download your own Bucket List and get started writing those things down!

Get More Done in Less Time

5/31/2016

Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.~ Parkinson's Law

Are you familiar with Parkinson's Law? It makes great sense and when we understand it we can become much more productive. I like to use this law in conjunction with time blocking where we give ourselves a certain amount of time to complete a project.

Let me give you an example. When we decide a project will take 15 minutes and set a timer for 15 minutes we can accomplish this task in the allotted time. On the other hand if we allow ourselves 2 hours for the same task it will take us 2 hours to complete.

I've used the example of an acquaintance working to complete a contract. He knew he had an hour to complete it so he allowed himself that full hour to get it done. At the same time he was doing other things, checking email, reading the paper, visiting social media and eating breakfast. Since he had the full hour and he knew he could get it done in 20 minutes he allowed himself time to do many different things. I suggested he use a time block and get the contract done in that specific amount of time and then use the extra 40 minutes in the hour for other important tasks.

Do you wonder why it takes all day to write a paper but the majority of the paper is written in the last hour? Again this is an example of Parkinson's Law. When we give ourselves the full day for the paper we use all that time but really do the bulk of the work in the last hour.

Being mindful of Parkinson's Law allows us to decide how long a particular task will take and then set ourselves up complete the task. Actually if we tighten that amount of time for the task we will probably get it done even more efficiently. This doesn't mean we are working at break neck speed with tons of added stress instead it means we are working most efficiently without a lot of distrcations. (click here for 5 Simple Ways to Cut Down Distractions)

Now that's an easy way to be more productive and find greater success each day.

Our Most Valuable Asset

4/25/2016

"A wealth of information leads to a poverty of attention."

Our attention is our most valuable asset and when it is left to drift and wander we lose that opportunity for creativity and growth.

How many times have your read something - a newsletter, a quote, an article or anything of mild interest - yet 30 minutes, an hour or a day later we don't remember any of it? Without asking for recall and just mindlessly reading something we only remember 10% of it and that's if we are not trying to multi task at the same time.

Do you go through your email and have lots to read, because you are interested in it, yet you remember very little of it. That was an unproductive chunk of time. You may have thought huh as you were reading but unless you recalled it later that information is gone. Why not pick one thing to read and review in your mind so you have it later for recall?

I am a big fan of less is more and having less to take our attention and more time to focus our attention allows us to be more productive. Imagine having one email a day, we can focus on it and remember it through out the day, act on it and learn from it. Instead having 20, 30, 100, 300 or more emails a day it is hard to focus our attention on what is important within all of our emails. We may read over a bunch of them yet at the end of the day we have very little memory of what we read.

Where can you focus your attention best? Is it time to cut back on senseless emails that are not adding to your life? Or unsubscribe from those email lists that are not really helpful?

Cut back where you focus your attention and watch your creativity grow.

Procrastinating Made Simple

4/5/2016

As Isaac Newton's Law of Physics states: An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by some outside force.

The hardest part of doing any project or task is getting started. As Isaac Newton says and object at rest stays at rest so we know that it takes energy to get that object in motion.

When we are procrastinating we are allowing the challenge of creating motion to take over. It's like a force field we have to move beyond to get some motion going. The good news is that we only need a little bit of motion to gain momentum and get moving.

Have you ever taken a train ride? You know then that it takes the train a lot of energy to get going. The effort that is required to get it moving and out of 'rest' is large. However once that energy is exerted the train gets going and soon it moves right along.

When we are beginning a project, doing a task or starting a new program we don't have to go from 0 to 60 we just need to begin with some movement. Like the train that jerks a bit as it uses the energy to get going we also need to make that effort to begin. We only need to begin slowly to get going. If we are starting a new large project, say an architectural drawing or creating a painting it is the first pen or paintbrush to paper that starts the momentum. Beginning an exercise routine does not require 3 reps of 15, you can start with 1 rep of one. Beginning a meditation practice does not require beginning with 30 minutes of sitting, begin with one minute.

Small things done over a period of time can lead to great results we just have to begin those small things.

The point is we just need to move from rest or inaction to action or motion. Once the action begins it gains momentum which leads to success!

So the next time you are avoiding taking action remind yourself that you only have to begin with a little bit of motion and the law of physics will take over with the momentum. Let Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion work for you once you take that first step.

Whittle down that project, task or exercise down to the smallest piece and start with that, the rest will come along with much less effort.

Multitasking Made Simple

3/25/2016

“Studies show that the human mind can only truly multitask when it comes to highly automatic behaviors like walking. For activities that require conscious attention, there is really no such thing as multitasking, only task switching—the process of flicking the mind back and forth between different demands. It can feel as though we’re super-effeciently doing two or more things at once. But in fact we’re just doing one thing, then another, then back again, with significantly less skill and accuracy than if we had simply focused on one job at a time.” ~ Christian Jarret

How many times have you caught yourself doing a project that takes a lot of concentration and then you have a conversation with someone. All of a sudden there is that pause of silence and you look up. Your conversationalist is waiting for an answer but in fact you never really heard the question or what they were talking about. (yup I do that :0)

We are so used to doing so many things at one time from checking our email and talking to our kids to grocery shopping and talking on the phone. Have you surfaced from these things only to realize you were not very present with the conversation and you also did a less than stellar job at the second task.

You see that whole notion of being super productive and multi tasking, that is doing two or more things at once is a fallacy. There is no such thing as being able to think of two things at a time. It occurred to me this morning while I was meditating using a mantra that the mantra keeps me focused on one thing and when I turn my focus away from the mantra then I think about other things. Again no such thing as multitasking especially when I am meditating!

Even the mundane things take some thought - I often listen to a podcast while I am folding laundry only to realize I am not able to totally listen with accuracy what they are saying.

So do yourself a favor - do one thing at a time. That's the simple way of mutitasking!

Preparation and Planning is Key to Boosting Productivity

3/18/2016

Preparation and planning is key to boosting your productivity and increasing free time.

It is said that for every minute you spend planning you gain an extra ten minutes doing the task.

Preparing for your day with the tasks and activities at hand will keep you focused and increase your productivity.

Start with these simple activities for an immediate boost to your productivity and an increase in free time.

Prep your food for the week - when you spend a couple of hours on a given day prepping your weeks food you will gain gobs of time each day. Imagine having all your food prepared for dinner and all you have to do is heat it up!
Plan your clothes the night before - it's so much easier to have your clothes laid out when you get up in the morning. Not only is that one less decision you have to make in the morning but you also can get dressed much faster as well. Imagine having a few extra minutes each morning to relax and enjoy that time for yourself!
Make a to do list - preparing for your day with the tasks and activities at hand will keep you focused and boost your productivity. Complete the tasks on your list before you move on to other activities.
Plan your vacations - a planned vacation will lead to more fun and relaxation. Compare a weekend of hanging around the house to a weekend away with planned activities. The planned weekend/vacation will leave you more refreshed and recharged.

When you are using these 4 simple tools not only will you feel more prepared and productive but you will also notice more free time each day.

How do you plan your time?

Your Future Self

3/14/2016

I have card on my desk which says "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." I read it over and over again throughout the day and I appreciate the constant reminder, during the day, of making the best decisions for my future self.

What I have come to realize is that my future self does not have to be way, way out in years to come but can be tomorrow or this afternoon. For instance if I make a good food choice this morning I will feel better later today and tomorrow and conversely if I make a poor food choice this morning then I will likely feel poorly this afternoon. Of course the cumulative effect of many poor choices will affect my future self negatively but the good news is the many healthy choices will affect my future self in a positive way.

Another aspect of my future self includes the thoughts I think today. If I am filled with negativity and fear I will create a much different future than I will create if I am filled with joy, hope and happiness. Of course the obvious is to keep a positive outlook through gratitude, appreciate and an upbeat attitude.

What are you doing for your future self? Is it time to start looking at what is getting in the way of your positive and productive future self?

Let's work together and build your path to a happy, healthy and prosperous future self. We will begin with a free 30 minute call to see if this feels like a good fit. I look forward to speaking with you about the adventure of your future self! email me at [email protected]

Make Your Weekends More Fun

2/14/2016

It's so easy to get caught up puttering around the house with no real plans for the weekend and before you know it the weekend is over. You don't feel rejuvenated or recharged from that time off because you didn't make a conscious effort to do fun and relaxing things. You were caught up with errands, laundry, yard work and kids activities and you forgot to make time for yourself.

How can I write about this? Because I know it, I was in that rat race of working all the time without any time off. Then when I did have time off I never made plans to do things so I never felt that sense of relaxation or fun. However when I did make plans for a true weekend I found myself so much more productive and happier during the week and during the weekend. I wish someone had reminded me to take real time off to enjoy myself so I am here to remind you to take time for yourself.

Now imagine going back to work on Monday after a fabulous weekend of fun times and relaxation. All of your chores were done ahead of time and you are ready to great the week with enthusiasm and vigor. When your colleagues ask you how your weekend was you are glowing and recounting the laughs and the relaxation. Each time you are talking about your fabulous weekend they are feeling envious and sad that their weekend was blah and you are reliving the joy over and over.

We are so much more productive and happier when our free time is filled with laughter and joy. Our stress level decreases, we feel invigorated, and our lives are better over all. When was the last time you spent your time off doing what you wanted to do without being a slave to house work, technology or kids activities? Enjoying a full weekend of fun does not mean chores are neglected and you have a pile of work to do on Monday. When we make that conscious effort to have time off that is truly free time then we also make our work time more productive.

Think back to the time when you had a vacation planned and your excitement and enthusiasm about it as it got closer each day. Imagine feeling that sense of joy each week as you get closer to your free time each week. Freeing yourself from that weekly stress will make you healthier and happier.

When you manage your household chores during the week they can be done in less time than giving those chores to the entire weekend. For instance doing a load of laundry each day only takes a few minutes of dedicated time for folding without the piles getting overwhelming. Keeping the house picked up with just a few minutes each day, keeps away the overwhelming clutter. Plan ahead with a menu each week of your meals and shop accordingly instead of spinning your wheels with what to make each day. Knowing in advance the menu will make meal preparing much easier and more efficient.

The good news is that with all kinds of newfound free time you can do things you never thought you would have time for. It might include going to new places or it might include spending quality time with friends and family. You might decide to take a weekend class, go on a weekend retreat or you could learn a new sport or improve on one. Maybe you will use this time to challenge yourself to try something or do things to move you closer to a goal.

Begin today to make that intention for free time you can fill with fun. Whatever your plans taking time for yourself will improve your life exponentially. Give yourself that extra time and have fun!

Jumping in With Both Feet

1/19/2016

In AA one of the common phrases we will hear in regard to staying sober and how the program works is "half measures availed us nothing". For me AA is an all or nothing choice because being half sober did NOT lead me to a sober life. If I had merely changed my drink of choice, tried to limit my alcohol consumption or tried to keep from blacking out I would have been right back to square one with no change at all. So when I made the decision to go to AA and stop drinking I did so completely I put both feet in and went head first into sobriety. That was many years ago (28 years) and because I have remained true to being sober and giving sobriety my all I have been able to enjoy my life.

Now I have come to realize there have been other areas in my life where I needed to jump in with both feet. Having two lovely daughters and raising them (mostly as a single parent) required my all, there was no chance for me to only give them 'half measures' nor could I be their parent part of the time. Even when they spent time with their father I was still always there for them and thinking about what was best for them.

I recently wrote about a new food plan and my intention to lose weight this year. What I now understand is that I am and will be successful only if I jump into the diet plan with both feet. All the other times I have failed to lose weight was because I never really gave it my all, I was still in the 'half measures' and spending more time eating the wrong foods which led to all kinds of frustration. I would change my mind on a daily basis and most days I would just say I will start my new food plan tomorrow. Now that I am committed to my new way of eating 100% I am finding success and feeling so much better. I was thinking this morning that it has been a couple of weeks since I felt that bloated feeling from over eating. Woohoo!

So here I am now growing into a new coaching business and I am realizing that I also have to jump in with both feet. I have been dabbling with counseling but because I was really only dabbling with "half measures" I was not pleased with the outcome. I just finished an intensive Fast Track program with ICCA (International Coach Certification Alliance) that resulted with my Professional Coach certification and a Hypnosis Coach certificate. My new program is called Personal Productivity Made Simple and I am so excited to make a difference especially for those that are feeling overwhelmed and out of balance with their busy lives. Now that I have jumped in with both feet and made the commitment to being of service I'm excited to really make a difference instead of just sort of trying to making a difference. Stay tuned for more about Personal Productivity Made Simple as I revamp my website, develop new workshops and programs and enjoy my new calling. My goal is to help clients go from overwhelm, stress and procrastination to more quality time, relief and fun in their lives.

Here's to both feet in!

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Helen Thorgalsen

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