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In
This Issue --
~Welcome and Encouragement
~Self-Care Tips for October
~Relationship Tips for October
~Feature Article: Overload?
~What's New? News,
Programs, Web Site Updates
~Resources
~Contact Beth Dargis
Did you take your three
actions from last newsletter to move yourself from victim to player?
Feature
Article:Overload?
 Are
you getting overwhelmed, overtired and overloaded? Many times people
know they are doing too much, but feel too busy to figure out what
they can do about it. Hopping from one stress to another: circumstances,
other’s expectations, not enough time, piles of work they feel as
if they can’t make any changes.
We need to take
an hour or two very soon to halt everything. Maybe this Sunday you
can carve out a couple hours. If you don’t take time to get off
the ferris wheel, things will not change. You will be overloaded
until you take a look at your life. Here are some questions to ask
yourself, plus some creative answers to help you restructure your
time.
Your Health
- Are you taking time to eat? The
French take can take 2-3 hours to enjoy a meal. We eat at our
desks and in front of the TV. No wonder we eat so much, we don’t
enjoy or even notice our food when we are eat and running. Do
you need to be part of all those groups and attend all those meetings?
Do your kids have to be in so many activities? Can you let something
go so you can eat a good meal for your health?
- Do you make sure you get the kids
to bed on time, but you live on less than 6 hours of sleep a night?
What can you cut out to go to bed on time? Do you really need
to watch that much TV or play on the computer that long? Can you
start slowing down 1/2 hour before bed so you are more relaxed
and can fall asleep faster?
- Do you exercise? Do you walk on
errands or do you have not enough time? Can you do a little yoga
before bed? You have to clean the house anyway why not do some
aerobic cleaning, cleaning as fast as you can and getting the
blood moving. Save time and get a cleaner house.You will feel
less overwhelmed if you get the stress out of your system through
exercise. You will also have more energy.
- Do you unwind every evening? Do
you have something to look forward to? Anything you really want
to do? Make a list of things you would love to do if you had more
time. Read, baths, visiting with friends, playing the piano, scrapbooking,
playing games with the kids. Now tonight before you even turn
on the TV do something fun.
- Do you make time for music, museums,
flowers, journaling, quiet time, a spiritual life? Create a no
interruption time once a day to re-center yourself.
Being
a Good Steward
- Is your house decluttered and
cared for? Do you shop for recreation wasting time and money?
If you don’t have time to care for what you have, stop getting
more stuff. Less stuff also means you can work less hours. Next
time you get the urge to shop for fun, invite a friend over to
declutter a closet instead. You might even have fun!
- Do you have a simple wardrobe
or do you waste time everyday sorting through your closet? Take
an hour to get rid of things. Have your kids do the dishes tonight
while you purge your closet.
- Do you take courses, read books,
or practice your talents? Are you strengthening your strengths
or doing more work on your weaknesses?
- Are you doing what is important
to you and the kinds of things you are good at or do you spend
much of your time doing what is important to others or things
you have no talent for?
- Are you content with what you
have, which is probably more than most of the world or do you
constantly yearn for more things? What in your life is missing
that you think buying things will fix the problem? Will you feel
better after buying another purse or would the time be better
spent curling up under the covers and reading?
- Are you volunteering at places
you are passionate about or are you volunteering because someone
called you on the phone and you couldn’t say no? Is there any
way you can get out of it? Where is your heart? Where would you
like to be volunteering or serving?
Family and Friends
- Do you get enough time with friends?
Maybe you can invite them over once a month for a spa party. Pamper
each other and yourself.
- Are you caught up on letters and
e-mails to friends? Spend less time reading mail from people you
don’t want a relationship with. This site: http://www.newdream.org/junkmail/
shows you how to get off mailing lists and on the do not call
list. Get rid of some of your e-mail lists. Limit your phone conversations
with people that drain your energy. By limiting your unimportant
mail you make time for important correspondence.
- Are the people you hang out with
people you like, admire, support, get encouragement from, and
give you energy?
- You have to eat lunch anyway,
why not make every Wednesday a day to eat lunch with one of your
friends?
- Do you have a regular time to
chat on the phone with your parents or sister? Having a set time
will get rid of the phone tag scenario.
- How many things are the kids in?
Do you have to drive them to everything? Can they take a bus,
go with a friend, walk or bike?
- Do you make time for your marriage
or other important relationships? One of my friends talks about
couch time. When the two of you are home from work sit for 10
minutes talking without disturbances. Or you can cook dinner together.
Another friend does a 2-minute kiss instead of a quick peck before
leaving. Teach the kids that you two love each other and need
time alone. A strong marriage helps create a strong family.
Work
- Do you have time to dream, learn,
try new things, plan? Get rid of those projects which don’t uphold
your vision of what you want your life to be.
- Do you work on projects that are
important to the big picture or do you spend most of your time
on busy work? Every day work on the one project that will pull
your career forward the most.
- Do you have a work routine so
things don’t fall through the cracks? Do you have a set time to
fill in those forms, do the accounting, write the monthly report,
etc. Things won’t become an emergency if you do them regularly.
Do you do your hardest projects when your mind is the most energetic?
Do you save busy work for the time of day you start to drag?
- Do you have energizing breaks
like stretching, short walk, deep breathing, a crossward puzzle
fit into your day? Breaks will give you more time, not take it
away. If you look at the screen for 10 minutes without comprehending,
it’s time for a break.
Take Action
1. Take time out to ask
yourself questions that will help you create the kind of life you
want. Which things do you need to work on this month to improve
your life balance and take better care of yourself?
2. Look at your
calendar for the coming month. Get a sheet of paper with three
columns: want to do, don’t want to do, and neutral.
3. Let’s look at the 7th. I have a book fair that I haven’t
decided whether to volunteer for-I can put that in don’t want to
do. My son’s band concert and morning Bible study can both go in
the want to do column, and cleaning the porch is neutral-I don’t
mind doing it, but it doesn’t thrill me.
4. Now you try it. How many things on your calendar are things you
want to do and actions that support your vision?
5. For the things that you are neutral about, can you delegate them
to someone else or maybe trade jobs?
6. For the things you don’t want to do, put those creative juices
to work and come up with a plan to get out of some of them. If you
can’t get out of them, is there any way you can make them more enjoyable?
Or at the least pair the things you don’t want to do with something
you like to do. Go to the bookstore on the way home from the dentist.
Or before so you have something to read while you are there.
7. Remember you make your life by the choices you make today. Choose
wisely.
Contact
Beth Dargis
I coach stressed-out people
looking for peace, balance and purpose. For more information on
Encouraging Coach programs, private coaching with Beth, media opportunities,
or inviting Beth Dargis to speak to your company or organization,
please contact Beth at bethd@encouragingcoach.com
Or, visit me at EncouragingCoach.com
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SELF-CARE
Tips for October:
Start using a richer moisturizer as the weather cools
Spend every
evening doing at least one thing you love, even if it’s just 15
minutes
Take a weekend
and really work on organizing your space
Say, “I’m
afraid that I won’t be able to.” to someone this month
"We must not, in trying to think about
how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences
we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we
often cannot foresee." -
Marian Wright Edelman
RELATIONSHIP
Ideas for October:
Serve dinner in courses and wait until everyone is done with one
course before moving on to the next
Drink hot
cider and make caramel apples with your family
Drive to
see the fall colors or spring flowers depending on your hemisphere
Shop at a
local store instead of a chain store and chat with the clerks
"Begin
somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do."
-Liz Smith
WHAT'S
NEW
GET
IT DONE DAY
Join the Get
It Done Day the 3rd Tuesday of each month. We will encourage
each other in the chat room to get all those tasks we have been
procrastinating on--DONE
Next date:
Oct 21, 03
FALL
CLIENTS
I have spots for two more clients. Is there something you wanted
to get done before the end of the year and it never happened? Do
you want to create a saner holiday? Has the fall season pumped you
up for going after your goals? If you would like a free exploratory
session to see if coaching is right for you, e-mail me at dargis@chartermi.net
In your request let me know if you prefer e-mail or phone call sessions.
ON
THE WEB SITE
The last two 52 tips:
Tiny
Change #17: Write out a morning routine that includes personal
time, household duties and family
Tiny
Change #18: Surprise your significant other with a fun date
Time for the
Simplicity E-Course This
one month course will help you get out of overload syndrome.
RESOURCES
Ready for Anything is David Allen's newest book. He has found the
best ways to be productive with your time. I love this book and
read a chapter before each Weekly Review. If you don't know what
a weekly review is you need to read his book Getting
Things Done, first.
It’s time to
get organized! Organization includes far more than having a spotless
desktop, paying your bills on time and never being late for a meeting.
Organization reaches beyond cleaning up the physical clutter and
into the realm of teamwork. Click here
to organize your home business today!
Want to Become
a Life Coach? Visit
FirstFiftyClients.com
for free tips on how to get your first fifty clients.
Free
articles for your web site or e-zine: Feel
free to use these articles on your website and newsletters as long
as the footer is included. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy
or distribute this e-letter so long as this copyright notice and
full information attributing Beth Dargis is attached.
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