Finding The 25th Hour in a Day

Kim Wolinski, MSW
“Dr. DeClutter” http://www.drdeclutter.com/

Finding The 25th Hour in a Day

How do you get more “time” in your day? I hear it all the time, don’t you? “I just don’t have enough time! I just wish I had some time for myself!!”

Rewriting your “to do” list is supposed to make it shorter, right? So, what happened?!

There never seems to be enough time. Life clutter is everywhere! Calendars, emails, deadlines, requests, work, home, kids, family, pets, chores, travel and other nagging “DO THIS NOW!” sticky notes makes for a life filled with stress, overwhelm, aggravated emotions, guilt and lost energy. Creating even one more hour a day is a skill not lost on anyone who can’t take it any longer.

8 TIPS TO TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE, TIME AND MIND
Life’s short! Add (schedule in) an hour a day, to relax, reflect and complete projects with these starter tips.

1) Start simply, by reviewing your holy “to do” list. Take off anything that is not truly yours to do. Give back and delegate those activities that belong to someone else. (Be prepared…they will not like it!)
2) Review your daily schedule. Make changes where you can to make time for yourself to breathe and slow down. Everything doesn’t have to done yesterday.
3) Manage expectations of others – stop being “user-friendly”. On a airplane, the flight attendant will instruct you to put on your oxygen mask first, before helping your child or neighboring passenger with theirs. Why? Because if you’re dead, you can’t help anyone else! Say “yes” to yourself first, which may sound like “no” to others and stop being, or feeling taken advantage of. You might just be the best person to head up “another” committee, and you can say, “No. But, thank you.”
4) Support yourself: Make sure to put your most important items and personal time on your schedule first, if you don’t there’ll be no room for them after all of the lesser or other’s schedules take up your time and space.
5) Say “yes” to simplicity! The more you have the more you have… to maintain, protect, take care of, look after, store, clean… etc. Declutter, simplify or hire someone to do most of it for you!
6) Delegate. When you can, delegate it, even if it means hiring someone.
7) Stop “shoulding” on yourself! As in, “I should…. “ Make plans, do it or not, but no guilt – big time, energy and spirit waster!
8) Breathe. Just stop and breathe. Running all day and feeling anxious causes multiple physical energy and mental capacity problems. For even ten seconds at a time, once an hour, sit down and just b-r-e-a-t-h-e. D-e-e-p-l-y. It will make a difference.

©2006 Kim Wolinski, MSW “Dr. DeClutter”
Stress, Change and Organizational Skills Expert

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