Just Another Day in the Life of "Shells": CREATING THE TIME THAT YOU NEED

Happy Friday! Man this week has flown. I seriously thought it was Wednesday all day yesterday. Guess what? Thinking you have another day to do things when you really don't can be a bit of a hiccup! So... my spoon full of sugar in this case was making my Thursday to do list a bit longer. Despite that extra long list I got it all done allowing me to make up for that extra day I didn't really have. Behold... a PERFECT blog topic! I always hear people moaning "I don't have the time..." and I have been told by friends that they have NO CLUE where I find the time to do all that I do... and since time does not grow on the palm trees in my back yard, I figured I may be able to shed some light on "creating time that you need."

As this year comes to a close, I am forcing myself to make some decisions and part of that decision making process has to do with my blog schedule. I have to free up some time in order to reach my goals for the upcoming year. They are big ones... I am turning 40 in less than a month and figured since I have only lived a third of my life (I plan to live to 120) I need to start the second half with a BOOYAH! Therefore, I will continue to start your week off on Mondays and kick your buttocks into a great weekend on Friday. If that's not enough, you will simply have to follow me on Facebook and Twitter to get my daily quotes and boosts to get you over the hump. (If you already are then you just got an "A" for the semester) I have TONS in store for 2014, I could not be more excited, and look forward to sharing it with you soon!

Here are my top 6 ways to create time!

WAKE UP 30 MINUTES EARLIER THAN YOU HAVE TO

BLAH- BLAH, I know... but in the morning, when everyone in the house is still in bed you are likely to find the most peace and quiet you'll find all day. It's a great time to check email, scroll Wastebook.. I mean Facebook. (Ha! don't let me fool ya... I LOVE that social media time killer, which is why I pencil it into my schedule every day.) You could also use that time to read an inspirational blog post, (hint hint) a daily devotional, or find something funny to start your day off in a positive way. One of my favorite things used to be waking up, making a cup of hot tea or coffee to sip while writing in my journal. It was that quiet, all about me, downtime that I needed as a single career mother of two. I would dump out the thoughts in my head so that if I forgot to empty out the "yuck" from the day before, I was doing it first thing to keep it from weighing me down. (This was way before blogging and two more children came into my life.) The point is that if you wake up a little earlier giving yourself a good 30 minutes to wind up and not be rushed, your day will be better, not to mention that taking time for yourself is never a bad thing... even if you spend it getting the laundry you have tossed three times folded and put away without interruption.

DON'T ANSWER UNEXPECTED CALLS WHEN IT

INTERRUPTS THE TASK AT HAND

This is hard... you hear the phone ring and although you are RIGHT in the middle of doing something that is important, you stop and answer. 30 minutes later you are still stuck on the phone in a heart wrenching therapy session with your friend whose world is falling apart, or maybe it's that insurance guy who tries to convince you that you really need the policy he has to offer. Either way, it messes up your mojo; your work flow is derailed because whatever it was you were doing has now been hacked by that phone call and you will find that it's really hard to get back on track, especially thinking about your friend's life falling apart. (hahaha my phone is ringing RIGHT now!) Ummm yeah, so now I am distracted! Okay... this is the PERFECT time to say what I was going to say already. Silence your phone when you are needing to finish a task! This does NOT mean put it on vibrate because quite frankly a phone inching it's way toward your hand is just as distracting. It also means leaving it alone until you finish!!! Let's face it, tasks take longer to complete, we drive more carelessly, and have a hard time having a normal physical conversation because we are too busy looking at our stupid cell phones. (me included) They are in my opinion, the ULTIMATE distraction when trying to get something done because they have become an appendage that we feel useless without. NOT TRUE so put it down, let them leave a voice mail and call them back! ( I promise to take my own advice.)

CLOSE YOUR WINDOWS

I am not talking drapes and blinds here, I am talking about computer and app windows that ding every time something new happens! I have the perfect example of this. I was at a client's house a few month's ago; I was hired as a ghost writer for her book and she was supposed to be working on material for me on her computer.When I came out of my "writing room" (which was an isolated quiet place where I donned headphones playing classical piano) to ask her if she had what I needed, she expressed that she was having a really hard time focusing. As I looked down at her computer, her word processing screen was indeed open but as I heard a "ding" I quickly noticed that she literally had 5 windows open in the background: Pinterest, Craigslist, Ebay,Twitter and Facebook. She also had her phone sitting right beside her on vibrate with notifications set to "on" for social media apps. Needless to say, being the "get real" and honest type of friend and business person that I am, I laughed as I told her that having 5 windows open in the background was probably why she couldn't focus. She chuckled and said "You are probably right" as she opened her Facebook to see what that notification was for. Unless you want something that would take 20 minutes to suck up half of your day, CLOSE THE WINDOWS PEOPLE! If I had my phone beside me, and even ONE window open in the background as I typed this blog post you wouldn't get it until Sunday. Trust me, I have to take my own advice on this one or else I fall victim too. Shiny objects have to be GONE! Instead of keeping them as distractions, make them rewards for getting s*@# done!

FIND A QUIET PLACE & MAKE LISTS

I think many of us have issues finding time to do things when we are not zoned in and focused. Yes, I have

A.D.D. with a side of O.C.P.D and a smidge of A.D.H.D. so I may be worse than you, but everyone works faster with a little peace and quiet. (maybe that means a quiet room with the TV on for you) Find a spot that will allow you to have focus time even if it means sitting in your closet or garage to answer emails. (been there done that) I have to have quiet time to make a grocery list, kind of crazy, but true. It will take me three times as long if I have my kids tugging at my leg, phones ringing and a television on. Pop some classical piano in? "OHM" I make that list with no effort at all! Make lists of things you need to do, find what it is that helps you focus on getting them done and also what KEEPS you from getting them done. Do this and checking them off will be a breeze! Who knows, it may even give you EXTRA time to indulge in something you love like a relaxing bath or an intense work out to get rid of those extra pounds that planted themselves onto your body.

THERE IS A REASON IT IS CALLED THE "BOOB" TUBE

Did you know that the FIRST meaning in the Webster's Dictionary for "boob" is NOT a woman's breast? Yep... in fact the first definition for the word "boob" is... "a stupid or foolish person; a dolt". I don't judge, but I must say that when you complain about not having "time" to do the things you NEED to do, but rattle off your weekly television show schedule in two minutes flat, then welcome to definition #1! ( love ya, mean it!) Don't be the boob that watches every episode of Breaking Bad or Vampire Diaries if you have stuff to do. Don't tell me you don't have "time" to do what it takes to get your website up if you are sucked into a Walking Dead marathon. Let TEVO do it's thing and reward yourself for a job well done, AFTER it's done!

IF THERE IS NOT ROOM IN THE INN, THEN FLIP THE NO VACANCY SIGN

Wake-up call!!! You are not a superhero! You cannot overcommit yourself and expect good results. I did this for YEARS! I STILL have a hard time saying no sometimes. This is why now, I think of EVERY SINGLE THING I need to do as if it were an appointment in my schedule. Even taking a shower, eating lunch, stopping for gas, story time with my kids and date night. This may sound silly, but until you are able to visually look at all that you have to do in a day you will never know what you can commit to doing. Doing this will help you manage your time efficiently and prioritize which are BOTH essential for success. At the end of the day... the whole reason that we run out of time is because we managed our time wrong or simply gave ourselves too many things to do. This creates stress, anxiety and feelings of failure, all of which demotivate you and keep you derailed and overwhelmed. Nobody wants to be there! And if you do? Get a therapist I cannot help you with that.

I hope that you try some of these things if you are finding yourself "running out of time". Now you know my secrets; although I still get derailed too, I KNOW WHY and FIX IT! That's when the FUN begins!

Have an amazing weekend and start making those lists!
(Including the Christmas one... make sure I am on it!)
Hopefully you will have SO much free time you will get bored and do things like this!