Create More Magic!

Create more magic by linking time management to intentions! 

Last month we explored creating more of what you want by defining and setting an intention to simply create more of it in your life. How is it working for you? 

One of the ways to bring positive change into your life and work is to create synergy between your intentions and your actions. They meet up through planning and time management. As you may be aware, spending just fifteen minutes at the end of the day reviewing and planning can save up to 2 hours in wasted time the next day. That is an eightfold return on investment! 

When you add 10 minutes in the morning to check in with yourself to review your intention, goals and finalize your ‘to do’ list; you multiple your impact again. Here is this month’s challenge: 

Give yourself this 25 minutes each day, 10 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night. Use this time to focus on what is most important to you by asking yourself the following questions: 

Evening review - Review Today and Plan for Tomorrow: 

1. What am I celebrating today? 

2. What did I learn? 

3. What do I want to let go of? 

4. What is most important for me to do tomorrow to move toward my big goals? 

These questions provide the framework to lift you out of the minutia and into the bigger perspective, to celebrate your life and successes, however minor, and to address, learn from and let go of any shortcomings, anger or unnecessary life litter that is floating around. It also tees up your internal conversation to be focused on what is truly important. 

Oh, and yes, the final step in this exercise is to update your calendar and to do list for the next day. Remember to be realistic about what you can accomplish while still enjoying your life and catching the curve balls that each day brings. By engaging in this exercise, many of my clients find out that they develop a much better eye for seeing those curve balls and their reactions increase tremendously. And since baseball season is coming soon (Go Sox!!!), they are able to: 

-see the ball 

-decide if it is really meant for them 

-if it isn’t then in the split second they let it fly by, bounce off or catch and toss it to the appropriate person 

-If it is, then they contact and hit the homerun! 

Sorry, I got caught up in the reverie of last fall there for a minute. Although, I realize the Sox are a great example of never losing sight of your intention and your goals! And, I'll be that each morning, Sox players ask themselves similar questions as they prep for practice and games. To link your daily actions with your larger intentions, begin each day by reading your intention and goals and asking yourself the following three questions: 

1. Check in on "What is most important to accomplish today to move me toward my big goals?" 

2. What do I need to do for me today? 

3. What do I need to let go of? 

Notice that you get to let go of things twice! This is a great way to remove the unwanted and unnecessary stuff the crowds our days and, quite frankly, wastes our time. By identifying and eliminating it, you make space not only to focus on what is truly and important, but also to take time for the unexpected, magical serendipity that occurs when we are open to living our intentions.

My wish for you this month was aptly put by R.B. Brooke "Live the life you’d dare if you knew you could not fail."