Getting Beyond Being Overbooked & Overcooked

"True luxury can be caviar or a day with no meetings, no appointments and no schedule."
~ Michael Kors

Have you ever felt overbooked and undercooked...meaning you have had so much on your plate, on your schedule that you were carrying a "weighted plate" so to speak, yet you were not prepared to devour the dishes or get engaged fully in anything? 

This could be an overbooked day, week, or a month… 

So, what to do, you wonder?

Respect your plate and your schedule.

That takes discipline, and a direct decision to be mindful of your time, energy, interests, and intention.

If you like being overbooked and overcooked, that is up to you, AND you may be racing to do, rather than to accomplish, and that is your choice. Or, if you like that feeling of being overbooked and overcooked, please refrain from complaining about it, or wearing it as a badge of honor. Let that pace be your pace.

If you are feeling overbooked and overcooked, and you don't like it, or the feeling it creates for you, please, for the experiences you have already committed to do:

-Approach one commitment/engagement at a time by being there for an amount of time that allows you to accomplish the outcomes and feelings you desire.

-Stay in that experience to do and give your best, and get the best out of it.

-Move to the next experience after feeling completely done with what you choose to experience.

-Think of what you were grateful for from the experiences in the day, and stay away from complaining about those yeses you gave for inquiries/events.

For opportunities in the future, change all your yeses to some no replies, without explanation or apology, and WITH your non-overbooked, and non-overcooked self.

Then, when settled into the groove that works for you without attempting to fit into someone else's expectation or what works for them.

By being aware enough to care about what is important to you, you will allow yourself to get into the right rhythm of booking so you can get cooking in a positive way!

#QUOTE #Leadership #PersonalDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment

It's Time to Prioritize Your Time

 "Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once."
~ John Archibald Wheeler

How is it that it seems like some people "get" more hours in their day when others seem to barely have 20 hours each 24 on the clock?

While we all have the same 1,440 minutes until a new day dawns, each of us doesn't utilize them intentionally and productively.

Here are 10 ways to maximize the time you have versus longing to get more minutes in your day:

 1. Have a morning routine (and an evening one, too) for setting up your da for success.

 2. Know life’s timing and know your relationship w/the clock so that you can make it an "I get to go to..." versus "I have to go to...".

 3. Create a list of "to be accomplished, then eliminate those lists nearly immediately by scheduling all tasks as outcomes in the calendar as you ensure you have buffers between meetings and engagements.

 4. Prioritize your actions and outcomes & ask priority of anyone giving you tasks, delegation, or other assignments with clear boundaries on the deliverables.

 5. Start early in your day & complete what you consider the worst task first so you don't dread it later and inadvertently delay getting to it.

 6. Stop the expressions of being “swamped”, “stressed”, “slammed”, “crazy”, and replace them with thoughts of being "fully scheduled" and "Gratefully booked".

 7. Say “no” or “no, thank you” to invitations that are not opportunities & resist “busy-ness” that takes time and makes no progress on what you have prioritized.

 8. Time chunk in 15 or 20-minute increments, and think about an hour being 4 or 3 of those chunks, respectively & own your time (not hope for it) with short meetings (45 minutes for hour sessions and 20 minutes for 1/2 hour sessions)

 9. Focus on 1 thing (no multi-tasking) at a time, as switch-tasking takes more energy than you even imagine, and if someone wants to interrupt you politely say "If you give me 5 minutes, I'll give you 100% of my focus.

 10. Create organizing systems (mental & physical) that work for you so that you are not stressed rather you are systematized for what serves you best.

Time is not something you can buy or produce, rather time is something you want to manage so you can lead your life fully!

#DoYourBest #ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #KIND #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #PerformanceCoaching #Growth

Enjoying a PEACe of You!

 

"Peace comes from within.

Do not seek it without."

~ Buddha

Regardless of how much sleep you get or stress you feel, you have an opportunity each day, many times a day, to get and feel peace.

Being high energy and low stress is something I have worked on consciously for years, and now it is a peaceful place for me.

Peace can be calm and quiet for some, and peace can be energizing and reverberating for others.

Whatever peace is and means for you, please consider it as a reachable goal and feeling you not only can experience, you deserve to have...not simply by chance, rather by change...changing your approach.

Here are four approaches to getting to PEACe:

P - Presence - Only say yes to what you want to do, and when you do those things, be fully "there". The present tense is more than a verb form, it is a state of mind. Peace is part of your mindset first, and experience, second.

E - Engagement - Once you are present, fully, you can engage with the experience and the people around you. This relates to peace in that there is knowledge and growth, reassurance, and joy that comes from engaging.

A - Accept - Be willing to embrace that things will not be perfect. Perfection is the enemy of peace. While perfection can be appealing, peace is about accepting and appreciating what is happening and who you have in your life.

C - Calm - Presence is about the state of mind, and calm in this approach is about calming your fears and doubts through appreciating and acknowledging YOU and who you are as well as what you bring to the table. When you quell those negative thoughts, many other aspects of your life come into focus with a calm anticipation, too.

And, when you have presence, engagement, acceptance, and calm, you can fully experience:

e - enjoyment - Having peace means that you can enjoy mistakes for the learning, wins for the journey, and success for the accomplishment. The PEACe approach is about your perspective, and therefore your own way to enjoy life!

#ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #KIND #Leadership #1KindAct #Growth #EmotionalIntelligence #PerformanceCoaching #OneBeanerPerformanceCoach #LivingKindly #KindnessIsMyOwnSuperpower #Kindness #CoachsCorner #Resilience #Resiliency #Growth #LessonsLearned #Gratitude #Coopertition #PEACe #peaceful

Stressed or Blessed?

 "Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one." ~ Hans Selye

If you were to answer the question "Are you stressed or blessed?", what would you say? Stressed? Blessed? Both?

If you think you are stressed, you will likely feel stressed. When you feel stressed, you typically approach people and situations impatiently and/or with a bit of negativity or doubt.

While if you think you are blessed, you will likely feel blessed. When you feel blessed, you will often approach people and situations with hope and openness, even positively!

Should you think the answer is "Both", you will bounce back and forth between stressed and blessed, and even though that could seem fair, go past fairness into goodness by adjusting your thoughts toward blessed. 

Blessed thoughts are those of abundance and strength, gratitude and appreciation, perspective and purpose. Being in a state of blessed in thoughts and feelings doesn't necessarily imply a religious or even spiritual connotation, yet it can be a huge part of your connectedness - however that concept of 'blessed' sits with you.

Alternatively, stressed thoughts are those of lack and fear-filled vulnerability, and can be an unfortunate part of a lack of connectedness.

By being blessed, not stressed or both stressed and blessed, you will serve yourself, and additionally, those around you will have the chance to feed off your approach and attitude!

#ProfessionalDevelopment #PersonalDevelopment #KIND #Leadership #1KindAct #Growth #EmotionalIntelligence #EmotionalIntelligence #PerformanceCoaching #OneBeanerPerformanceCoach #LivingKindly #KindnessIsMyOwnSuperpower #Kindness #CoachsCorner #Resilience #Resiliency #Growth #LessonsLearned #Gratitude

Debbie@DebbieLundberg.com 813.494.4438 DebbieLundberg.com

A Positive Put-Down

Don't let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries. - Astrid Alauda, writer

When we think of water, and glasses filled to the mid-point, it may conjure recollections similar to the following: -The optimist sees the glass half-full -The pessimist sees the glass half-empty -The realist says "Let's get the proper sized glass" and -The opportunist drinks the water!

In hearing (or reading) that, we may question in which category we fall...the optimist, the pessimist, the realist or the opportunist...

While that may be a thought-provoking way to think of it, there is another mindset around that water glass, too! Imagine if you thought about how heavy that glass was. It's not heavy really, is it? You take drinks from a glass fairly regularly, I bet. You take the drink, you put down the glass...no big weight issue there, right? Still, if you held the glass for an hour straight, the glass might start to feel awkward and uncomfortable in your hand, and to your arm. Now, if you held it overnight, you may need some serious pain relief, and if it were held for a few days or a week...imagine the "weight" of that little glass of water...you may need medical attention for that pain or damage!

Now, think of the glass as stress, anger, disappointment, or anything else that at first can seem manageable. How long have you been holding it, and how heavy is it getting? When are you going to put it down? We are going to "pick up" stressful things, get angry, be disappointed, and even overburdened at times. It's what we do when we realize it that determines the "weight" of it on each of us. When will we handle it, or in effect, put the "glass" down? Remember, the issue or opportunity is not as heavy as we often allow it to be. The burden of carrying something need not be without relief, so when you have anxiety, distraction, stress and other things you are carrying for hours, days, weeks or longer, decide for you that you are going to be the one who is, instead of carrying it, will make it a "positive put-down" by addressing it, releasing it, or simply letting go!

20 Seconds to Stress-less-ness

"Pressure and stress is the common cold of the psyche."
~ Andrew Denton,Australian Producer and Radio Host, b. 1960

Many people are feeling the crunch of work, home and other expectations. That's okay...sometimes that "crunch" becomes a driver, and it pushes us. But, other times, that "crunch" can feel like pressure and evolve into stress. If the latter is ever the case, please consider incorporating the following four quick steps:

1) Taking 3 breaths (in through nose and out through mouth)
2) Picturing something that is calming or sweet to you
3) Holding that thought and continuing that breath for 15 seconds
4) Smiling on the last breath to lock in that feeling of stress-less-ness

Isn't 20 seconds worth making that "crunch" get in line to allow you to stay calm and get the results you want?

Here's to a world that is not stress-free, rather filled with stress-less-ness!