Finding that balance in life

Time seems to sift through our hands… and the bigger the deadlines the faster the time flies.  The last month has been a brisk month of planning, production, packaging, and selling, along with working full time, and trying to be a good keeper of my house.  But easily demands in one direction can throw the entire schedule off kilter.  That may explain why i have been silent on this blog.  But i am back, and the goal today is to provide a quick list of things I live by to re balance my life.

1.  Take time at the beginning of your day to plan your day. Update your planner, clarify details for the day, and organize a list of what you want to accomplish.
2. Make a list of things in three columns:  Absolutely must get done, Important, and If i can get to it.  Prioritize your day into these three columns… Knowing what you have to do that is critical helps direct your attention.
3. Make a rule that you will not allow distractions to deter you from your plan.  Its easy to have distractions take you in a whole different direction.
4. Keep a “project deadline” schedule.  This would be a simple spreadsheet that lists all of the projects and i include several more columns – start date, completion date, deadline date.  I like to plan to have projects completed long before the deadlines… The spreadsheet helps to order my time, and to stay ahead of deadlines with a quick visual check.
5. Take time for down time – whether that is sitting and watching your favorite movie, reading a book, taking the dog for a walk…. whatever energizes you works – carve time in your week for this because this will keep you balanced.
6. Make sure to eat right – taking care of life means taking care of yourself.  Eat food that will give you energy and nutrition. Its easy to find junk food around, and in a pinch we have all grabbed junk food… but the effects down the road are not so good.
7. Get enough sleep – regular routine schedule for bed time, and sleeping enough that you feel refreshed is always a great plan.  Sleep replenishes so much, including clarity of thinking, energy for living, and inspiration for further creativity.
8. Acknowledge what is beyond you, and cut it loose.  Its all to easy to take on more than you can handle, or things that you cannot change…. determine what is out of your scope and cut it loose.
9. Breathe!!!

Just a few thoughts… probably nothing revolutionary – but they are thoughts that help keep everything ordered, and protect from spinning out of control.