Spend your Time Reality Checking

Where is your time : 3 Reality Checks

 It is amazing to have a dream.

It is amazing to have a dream?

Photo Credit:ToniVC

I am not certain if that phrase should be declarative or interrogative.

Dreaming is fun. You wake up feeling like you may actually have a purpose in life. Of course you feel like Mary Poppins ready to go Fly a kite. You spent the night before making of list of all the wonderful things you wanted to accomplish. You titled it “Action Plan for Tomorrow and Beyond”.  You went to bed ready to wake up, ready to get started.

All is well until you get to work.  That’s when you realized you were ready. Past tense. It all changed when you were confronted with the reality of your cubicle.  This was confirmed by your task list in Outlook, and the memo lying on your chair announcing a working lunch staff meeting. Your lunch hour was supposed to be your premeditated, put the action plan in motion time.

Your day is not going as planned.

I have listed 3 reality checks to get you through the rest of the day.

1.You have to go to work.  The very reason Monday is so unpopular, is the very same force that sucks your action plan into the Abyss of Good intentions.

 Work is for those who need money right now. I am in that category, I show up faithfully everyday. I have a family. I have bills, therefore I work.  This is my reality.

Since the time you have in a day is limited, you must decide ahead of time how you will spend that time.

2.You Are Responsible For How You Spend Your Time. You may control some aspects of your day.

Lets look at a typical breakdown of time

7 days

24 hours a day

______________________

=168 hours a week to spend living

24 hours a day

-8 hours of sleep

-8 hours of work

-1 hour travel time

________________________

=7 hours of freedom a day = 49 hours in a week to do you.

 Seven whole hours in a simple day!

That is seven hours to be a part of a family, eat, perhaps shower and prepare to do it all over again the next day.

I have provided a very generous breakdown of time above. I actually get approximately 6 hours of sleep; My employer mandates that I work 7.5 hours daily.

My travel time depends upon to which office I am reporting.  I cover a very large portion of the state and have to get 4 kids to school and daycare. My husband usually cooks, but in the event he is working late, I have to feed the family.

I am in school. I am mommy. I am wife. I am supervisor. I am a volunteer.

I am responsible for the way I spend my time.  This is my reality.

  3.To Sleep And How Much To Sleep That Is The Question

Many try, but sleep is non-negotiable to a certain degree. Your health and overall level of pleasantness will be affected if you do not receive adequate sleep. I have to get my day started early in order to be ahead of all of the potential disasters my family of 6 to7 on any given day may encounter. Additionally, I don’t like to be grumpy, therefore I sleep.  

I have to go to work

Thankfully I love my job, my team and my supervisors. However if I did not have to go to work, I wouldn’t. Being honest here I could think of many things to do with this precious 8 hours. This is my reality.

What is your dream?

If you want to be something other than what you are identified as now. Lead Trainer, Gardening Assistant, Clerk. You have to embrace your reality as a snapshot of your life. This does not have to always be. You can do more. You can have more. You can live your dream by making time for it. Like money your time will leave if you do not designate a way to use it.

Today How will you plan to make time for your dream?

How will you plan to make time for your dream?

Tell me about it!

5 Steps to Encourage Yourself

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Steps to Encourage Yourself

I am truly grateful to the individuals that have been able to display what it means to set the bar high. On the journey to excellence ,I have been forced to reevaluate where I am, how I got there, and why I must proceed. A few weeks ago, I completed listening to an audio by Jon Acuff entitled Quitter.

Jon Acuff takes you on a journey through his life as an employee that constantly changed jobs. His book outlines the pursuit of his dreams. Jon Acuff makes me proud. He is proof that regular people like myself, have dreams that count, dreams that make a difference and dreams that can come true.

It begins with a dream.

I can recall  numerous conversations that I have had with folks that have a world of potential in them, yet they have no dreams. Not even one. This saddens me so much that I have spent lots of time praying for vision. Not for my own vision, but for those that I encounter will begin to see beyond what they have experienced and realize there is so much to life.

How do you introduce the potential of a fulfilled life to those that are not living for anything? This has and will continue to be my prayer.

From time to time I hit a rough patch. We all do! Yes, Forrest Gump’s’ mama was correct in saying, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” I totally agree to the twelfth power. With life offering so much consistent variety, I believe that you have to be prepared. I realized it is impossible to plan when you have no plans.

That is why this post is for those whom I love, those who are searching and those who don’t know that they don’t know.

I would like to share with you 5 steps to encourage yourself. Get some paper and a pen please, we have work to do!  Before you begin the steps, I suggest praying for direction. I am often asked whether or not I am religious. I don’t think that I am because religion has nothing to do with it. However; if I did not have a relationship with God, I would be lost.  You can be with anybody, but if you don’t have a relationship what do you really have?

Step one- Be honest with yourself.

This is step one to stepping up to your plan and also the gate between many people and the potential for success  the rest of their lives.  Being honest means that you may not be able to take yourself at face value, simply because you have put on a mask for so long. Being honest means looking at your situation as it is, and deciding whether or not it needs improvement.

Step two- Jot down the changes you need to make.

This is an extension of step one. I have a feeling you thought about some things but did not put any action to the thoughts. Please do so now. Thank you.

Step three-List what you need to do to make the changes successfully.

The steps you thought of in step one and jotted down in step two need action plans to be accomplished. What can you do ? What do you need to do? Who do you need to call? Start with these questions and you may find other questions that will be answered in your pursuit. 

Step four- Review your list of action plans daily.

How many of us have made a new years resolution only to wake up on January 17^th, forgetting what we set out in the beginning of the year to complete? This is because some where between January 6^th and January 8^th, we decided to continue with our resolution tomorrow. Afterall, we had done so well for so many days. This is because we are creatures of habit. Unfortunately our habits include procrastination, which leads to a long list of unresolved resolutions.  You must commit yourself to being focused on your changes daily.

Step five- Belief in yourself.

You have to be your own representative. Everywhere you go, there you are. You will never get away from you. You have to know that you, will be able to take yourself where you want to go. This is hard but you have to believe in you.

These five steps are the beginning of a change in you. I have also included a link to Michael Hyatt’s life plan to assist on your journey.

I believe in you. I am hear if you need to talk.

Skye