The 100 Day Challenge, Day 66:
One of the things I often think about when I get overwhelmed doing what feels like a million things at once is- am I living my life on purpose, or is my life running away with no one leading the way? (me) This is always a call for me to go back to basics. For me basics are my values and priorities.
What are the most important values in your life? I have a list of 100’s to choose from, if you need help let me know and I’ll share it with you! Sometimes when we have moved so far away from our values, we can’t remember what they are!
What have you been treating as priority in your life? How does this fit in with your highest values? Are you on the right track or could you do some adjusting? Looking at, and keeping track of, where you are spending your time is a crucial part of this process. Keep track for a couple of weeks to get a clear picture and to see patterns.
Many of my clients come to me off track with their values, and are feeling the pain of that somewhere in their lives. We work together to define and clarify what they are and then make a plan to put them back into place. This takes time and patience, as it usually involves making some new habits, and letting some unsupportive habits go.
For instance, a few weeks ago I realized I had worked up to spending hours at a time answering emails- I had evolved to leaving my computer on all day and as emails came in, I was interrupting what I was working on (never when working with my clients, though!!) and losing productivity. When I stopped to analyze my time- I was shocked! This was against everything I believe in and teach. I have since adjusted my course- by planning certain email times and shutting off my computer in between, I am able to deal with emails all at once and get my other projects done. It seems so simple, yet by being unconcious about my values and priotities in this area, it had simply gotten away from me. Being productive is one of my highest values, and my habit was encroaching on it. No wonder I felt off balance!
Now I bring myself back to my old habits of planning my week out in blocks every Sunday. I spend time every night writing my schedule and plan out for the following day.
How about taking stock of where you are at? You may discover something simple ways to get back in line with what is most important and purposeful to you in your life!