Make Time to OWN Your Time

"If you're not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life."

~ Penny Marshall

American Actress.

(1942 - 2018)

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So many people say things like "I don't have time for...", and/or "I didn't have time to get that done", and/or "If I only had time...". These are common, and yet, not sensible, as time is set, finite, and cannot be made into more or taken away.

Still, time is something some people chase, and that some people dread. What to do, right?

Time "Management" is a part of the process of addressing time ownership, and yet that "Management" is less important than our perspective and our relationship with the clock, and, specifically with the seconds, minutes and hours in our days!  Here is a list of the Savvy 7 for Not Succumbing to the Battle with the Clock, and for Saying Goodbye to Wasted Moments while Maximizing Every Minute:

1. Eliminate lists, schedule all & have buffers built-in. Yes, it reads "NO LISTS", and yet you can make a list, simply take the list and convert it to calendar items in order to really give them their "place". This will ease your subconscious wondering when you'll get to the "to-do" items.

 2. Prioritize & ask priority when people request you do something. Instead of thinking you "have to" get something done, ask when it is anticipated. Using expressions such as "Since I am working on X, when do you anticipate you want Y done?"


3. Start early & complete the worst thing first. If you tackle what you dread or dislike initially, it will be accomplished. If you do not, you may inadvertently take longer to do things in between, and eventually postpone what you have on your "dread-to-do" mind.


4. Learn to say "no" & resist "Busy-ness". When asked how you are, skip "I'm busy" and skip asking people if they are busy. If you get asked "Are you busy?", then say "Thanks for asking, it's been productive." Similarly, say "No" or "No, thank you" to requests that are not of interest. Get out of your way of feeling obliged or apologetic.


5. Time chunk & allow time to be real and it's use a tangible part of your process (not a hope you can get it done). Think in terms of 20 minutes. Time yourself. Get used to what you can accomplish in 20 minutes and then reserve 20 minute chunks for people and for accomplishing things. Hope is not a strategy, so stop hoping you'll get it all done, and know what you can get done!



6. Focus solely on something (no multi-tasking). Multitasking is really "Switch Tasking", meaning our minds have to switch back and forth, so stop forcing that extra effort and make time for doing something, or a portion of something before altering focus to something else. Resist the temptation that multitasking is useful or even possible, and you'll see and feel how much you get accomplished, really!


7. Create organizing systems (mental & physical) that work for you. People can have varied systems, and yet having a system is key. Make your piles, populate your folders, set reminder. Stick with it rather than being scattered and/or being tempted to use sticky notes as a method!


Having ownership of your time is about being in control, and therefore ready for most anything, so tackle it, embrace it, and let go of time having a hold on you as you enjoy your opportunities and challenges in the time they deserve!

The Power of a List

A list is only as strong as its weakest link. - Donald Knuth, American Scientist (b. 1938)

Some of you are really good at making lists...especially "to-do" lists! There is some satisfaction in crossing things off the list for many people. Believe it or not, there are those among us who add things to the "to do" list after having done them...just to get to cross them off the list! Imagine that...

Lists can be good, they serve a purpose in some ways...and only for a certain amount of time. The power of a list is to take each "to-do", and give it a place. Once you make a list, get out your calendar and schedule each item. Even if the schedule takes you into next year or beyond, put those things in their place.

A list without a time and place to do each thing on it, is just your subconscious wondering when, when, when!!!

If we continue to make lists, and more lists, and different lists, we attempt to get organized, and what we really do is potentially fry our minds. Go ahead, make that "to-do" list, and then, right after it, schedule when and where you are going to accomplish those things, and then destroy the sheet on which you wrote your list...and then watch your "to-do"s become the catalyst(s) for action, and the first step in results rather than a piece of paper with lines and lines of things you haven't done!

LESS Stuff Means So Much MORE!

“Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of." - Josh Billings, 19th century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (21 April 1818 – 14 October 1885)

More often than not, the old adage of "less is more" rings true. When there is a drive for the opposite (that is the "more is more" mindset), remember that in those instances, "more" is likely just "stuff"...and who really needs more "stuff"? While the holidays season is upon us (and it has been for weeks in the stores, hasn’t it?), this is the perfect time for de-cluttering, and assessing whether or not you really want more “stuff” this year. By going through your office, closets, garage and more, you are likely going to be far more organized than you have been in the past at this upcoming seemingly sure segment of more-things-less-time! An added benefit to your knowing what you have is that it will also reveal what you want for your home life or business in order to be most prepared, effective and efficient as you round out the year. Perhaps the biggest benefit will go to others in that you can donate now (not December 31st) for/to people who can utilize it during the upcoming winter months (and even give you a deduction for your taxes and an increase in your connection to the community). So, go ahead, get rid of the “stuff” that is cluttering your space, and make room for what you want…organization and giving!