Well, it happened. The productivity expert, the PLANNER, the organized one forgot her anniversary. And so did her husband! 22 years of marital bliss, and our anniversary became an after-thought. What the heck happened? Well, in my husband’s words, nothing is normal–we’re doing our taxes in JULY. How can we keep a pulse on everything?
I agree. Nothing is normal. We are managing so much right now. We’re focusing on everything, trying to keep a handle on it all. Here’s what I want to say to all of you who might be dropping balls, forgetting important dates, or squeezing in everything because you forgot to enter a meeting or happening on your calendar. SLOW DOWN to speed up. Let me say it again. SLOW DOWN to speed up. I believe if I had taken a moment last month to really look at my calendar rather than going at it day by day, I may have remembered our anniversary. My husband and I are so busy worrying about our teenager and doing the things we always do, that we forgot about honoring each other the one day that is a reminder of our vows, and the day we usually intentionally spend time with each other doing something we wouldn’t normally do (going to a museum, going to the Broadmoor to walk around, etc.).
The truth is, I haven’t been following my own advice very well to slow down to speed up. I have been taking time as I do in the summer to golf, to play tennis, to hike, and to follow my son around the golf course for his tournaments. But my calendar is still packed.
So what do you do? What do we do? What do I do? Here’s how you can slow down.
Map Out Your Month.
Take about 15 minutes at the beginning of the month to take a bird’s-eye view of your calendar. Keep busy weeks freer of appointments outside of what you already have going. Block off time for a little nothingness. When will you do NOTHING. I mean nothing but maybe sit on the back porch and drink a glass of tea or sit and stare out the window and let the creative juices flow or write in your journal.
Take One Minute of Calm Every Day.
A therapist friend of mine talks about the minute of calm all the time. this is where you sit with your eyes closed for ONE MINUTE. Nothing on, no distractions. It’s amazing what a minute can do to refresh you and get you going again. Set a timer because you’ll feel like an eternity has passed after about 30 seconds. I just tell Alexa to set an alarm for 60 seconds. You will come out of your minute ready to tackle whatever is next on your list.
Finish Work at a Prescribed Time Every Day.
Every. Day. Stop working, please! Take the weekend off. Finish work at 5 or 5:30 or 6. But finish your day. Don’t take the work home. Don’t go back into your office. Don’t bring the computer out in front of the tv. Be present with friend, family, or yourself. Plan activities that you ENJOY and take time to actually enjoy them. The work will be there tomorrow.
Choose 3 Things to do Today, and Stick to Them.
Many of you have attended talks or an event of mine where I discuss The Big THREE. The BIG THREE things to do each day can help you focus and slow down. Schedule them in. Don’t hope they get done just because you intended to get them done. This means controlling your calendar with buffer times (which is yet another subject to be visited soon), and to take control of how your day unfolds.
Ready to prioritize your day with your Big THREE? Download my Daily Productivity Planner (https://juliemillerdavis.com/daily-productivity-planner/) today to get organized and take control of your day, instead of your day taking control of you!