wings4youcoaching

Weekly Wings Challenge 12 - How Do You To-Do?

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Weekly Wings... a weekly coaching challenge to motivate and inspire you to realize your dreams and achieve success! Join in the journey, and if you wish to share your work, post it on your blog, and then leave a static link to the exact page in the comments section.

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Some of us like making lists, and there's almost no end to the kinds of lists we make.  Grocery lists, wish-lists, guest lists, likes, dislikes, goals, mailing lists, to-do lists... you get the idea.  Lists are wonderful organizational tools that help us define, categorize, prioritize, and focus on the many things that fill our lives, but sometimes they take on a life of their own and morph from a positive tool into a source of stress. 

What to Do?

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. That makes it hard to plan the day. - E.B White

I like to make To-Do lists for each week, assigning myself different tasks to accomplish each day.  I look at my list and think about how great it will be to finish all the wonderful projects and necessary tasks  I've committed to paper, with the idea that by the time the week is over I will have successfully completed each one.  More often than not, however, there are several items that don't get checked off and I'm left feeling a bit.... well, unaccomplished.

Of course, what's really happened is that I've been overly-optimistic and have overly to-do-ed myself.  As a creative person, I am energized by possibility, so when I make my lists my reality meter is usually operating on a very low frequency. Lately, I've decided that I need to use this recurring situation as a tool to learn about priorities, choices, and guiltlessly accepting the need to sometimes jettison a few things on my list. 

From To-Do to Ta-Da!

This week's challenge is take a look at whatever system you've set up to write your To-Do list and share it with us. 

• Do you create a series of lists for long and short terms goals and tasks?

• What kinds of things do you schedule?

• How do you prioritize?

• Do you schedule fun things that are just for you?

• How do you keep your list - on a calendar, on your computer, in folders?

• What do you do with the items you don't get done?

Wrapping it Up

Your To-Do list can be either a powerful tool that guides you through your days  and weeks, or it can be a nagging reminder of your shortcomings.  Writing an effective To-Do list is both an art and a science.  The science is coming up with a system that works, allowing you to set goals you can realistically accomplish.  The art is learning how to work gracefully and guiltlessly with your system when you need to be flexible.

Namaste,

 

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Time for You

Lady Lilith - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

In today's world, multi-tasking has become the norm as so many of us are expected to take on more and more on both the work and home fronts. The result?  With demanding schedules that involve juggling work, family, and chores, that all-important “me time” gets pushed aside and put on the bottom of your to-do list.

So what's your reason for not making time for yourself? You don't have any to spare? You feel guilty taking time away from your obligations?  It's a luxury you don't deserve?

Well, it’s time to reassess your priorities and take a good look at how you write your to-do list.  Somewhere near the top, you need to include regular down time in which to recharge yourself. Whatever the reason is that you've been putting yourself last, personal time should not be considered an optional luxury.  If you spend most of your time and energy giving of yourself and meeting the expectations of others, you will soon become depleted – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Trade Up

Consider personal time as a power nap for your spirit.  Research has shown that a 20 -minute nap during a busy day will refresh you and give you renewed energy to return to your tasks with vigor and clarity.  If you simply can't carve out a big chunk of time to do something delightful for yourself, consider finding 20 - 30 minutes a day to call your own.  Impossible? The best way to find those bits of time is to re-think how you spend it.

Think of the time you spend doing something out of habit that isn't really important, and make a trade. Once you see how easy it is to trade up with your time, you will probably be able to uncover even larger chunks of time to trade.

Re-program Your Voices

When you start to look at a situation from a different perspective and through a different lens, you immediately initiate a change in that direction.  The trick to reordering your priorities to include personal time starts with reprogramming the voices that say you can't or you shouldn't.  This will make it easier for you to "find" time and enjoy your right to be completely in that space.

Your Bill of Rights

• You deserve self-care.  This is a difficult concept for those of you who are dedicated to caring for others, but consider this:  if you burn out, you won't be much good to anyone.  Keep yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy, and you will be able to share so much more with others.

• You have the right to say no to constantly doing favors or taking on work that you  really can't comfortably fit into your schedule. Remember that favors are extra special things you do for people, and should not be expected as a matter of course.  Do yourself a favor and learn when it's okay to say no!

• You have the right to spend your "me time" in any way that makes you feel happy, refreshed, and energized.  It's your time, so you don't have to justify what you're doing.

What to Do?

The possibilities are as endless as your needs, desires, and interests. Start by making a list of things that bring you joy and peace, things that allow you to be in the moment and create a calm center for yourself.  Perhaps...

• get some exercise
• read a wonderful book
• create something
• listen to music
• journal
• take a bubble bath
• browse through a bookstore
• dig in your garden
• get a facial or massage
• listen to wind in the trees
• reconnect with a friend
• write a letter by hand

Share!

What would your perfect "me time" day look like?