Time Manages Me

I have learned that it is not easy to fit everything in. This blogging is certainly always last on my list and quite challenging to get to. It takes time to create new thinking patterns and therefore habits. Since I haven't devoted any time to this new habit I was going to create, it didn't happen.
As my business grows I am finding out that this is a good form of communication and I really could benefit from getting it going. Managing my time does seem to be my biggest challenge this year. Being busy is such an unusual situation that I wasn't prepared to handle it. I so have to depend on my calendar, and Outlook has shown itself to come up a bit short. We have a networked system of computers at our house and both of us schedule appointments. Sometimes both are expected to attend, sometimes it is just a courtesy to let the other know what is going on. So we have previously always tried to remember to invite each other to all of our appointments. But that doesn't happen every time. Consequently we have often found ourselves double booked, or with consecutive appointments across town from each other. And now we have the Local NMTSS events to add as well.
This issue prompted me to look for alternatives and I found the Google calendar to work quite nicely. Only thing, it will synchronize only one default calendar with my Outlook. Preferring to have all calendars - my Outlook, my PDA, Craig's Outlook, Craig's PDA, and both laptops that access the Google calendars - on the same page I look further for a more complete solution. I think I have found a good one. It is called Sync My Cal and so far it is getting all the calendars connected and synchronized. At only $25 it is not out of my price range, compared to any of the other commercial solutions that can cost hundreds. It can't get all of our appointments on the refrigerator calendar, but all others are looking good. Nice bonus feature is the contact sync that I have yet to try. If we both had all of our contacts together in one place - now that would be a miracle of organization!
Back to managing time. I am beginning to think that time manages me. If I don't have a concrete to-do list each morning and my weekly goals in front of me every day, I get so sidetracked! Yesterday I was supposed to do my vacuuming. Got so many other things done including organizing the paint cans in the garage - never did get to the vacuum. So that little chore is facing me today, when I already have enough to do - on the hottest day of our summer so far. Setting aside enough time to do everything I want to do is really not possible. I read a book by Brian Tracy - Eat That Frog that has helped when I feel overwhelmed. He said that we will never get everything done, so we shouldn't worry about it. It is better to get the most important thing for each day done right away and then everything else you get done that day is a bonus. That does help reduce the stress of too much to do.
Of course, not everything I want to do has to be done. But my Basic 5 checklist has to be #1. When it isn't I find myself sidetracked and not working on the important things. I am going to add "write in your blog" to my weekly checklist and move forward from here!

Here's to not getting sidetracked,

Leanna
www.SebringTotalWellness.com