Don’t Waste your Time. 

How much rushing do you do?

Do you rush everywhere? Doing everything?

Rush through eating?

Rush through “listening”?

How crowded is your schedule?  Full to the Max?  Then over-full even more when you get interrupted with something you didn’t plan?

Do you ever just rest quietly?

 How’s your nighttime sleep?

************************************

Do you recognize this “rushing” in everything you do, as a problem?

If you do, let’s just keep reading here.

If you don’t, you really do need to re-think this.

Rushing, as we know it today, is pretty normal for a great lot of people.  In the mornings, do you get up at the very last minute? Then rush through coffee or whatever your routine is, maybe a quick breakfast; rush to get ready for the day, then rush out the door?

During your day, do you rush to where you’re going, then rush through your work so you can get it all done …? Rush so you can squeeze lunch in; rush through the afternoon so again, you can get it all done ??

Then Run to get all your errands done, then Rush home…Rush through getting your dinner ready to eat… or grab something quickly on the way home…

Then pack everything you can do into your evening until you’re exhausted and ready to fall into bed.

Please listen to me.  It’s a Problem.  And Not a Small Problem.

****************************************************

I’m pretty sure you’re not satisfied with your life full of this frustration.

We need some stress in our lives.  It keeps our body alert and working properly.

But think about it.  How much stress do you have in your day-to-day life?

Do you have any peace and quiet at all in your mornings after you get up?

Do you sit down for breakfast?

Does you work day have any rest or break times in it?

Do you rush through lunch, not able to relax and enjoy it?

Does your morning and afternoon feel full of frustration because you can’t work everything in, that you want to, and need to do?

Do you have a relaxing, healthy dinner at least a couple of nights a week?

Are any of your meals home-cooked and eaten sitting down?

Do you find yourself so caught up in the juggle of things that you can’t even think to take a long, quiet breath …?

**************************

Do you WANT to make your life better?

I’m pretty sure you know, there are lots of self-help books and podcasts, and actual coaches that can help you…being organized, doing food prep, etc. and help with your “time management”. 

But your body and your mind actually need a REST.

All this running and pushing yourself to get one more thing done, it’s wasting your time.  And it’s wasting your life.  How long do you think your body can withstand this pace…without something going haywire?

How long would a car last going full speed for days on end with poor fuel and no extra care?

How about our home, if you didn’t give it extra care?

My own issues in this direction probably started for me when I was growing up.  Daddy was a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer.  He was in charge of sailors on ships.  He taught the four of us girls how to work.  If the finished job wasn’t up to par, we didn’t just fix it to get it right.  We did the whole job all over again.  That was his way of doing things.

Perfection was the goal.  Perfection and continual running and pushing all work together.  And the result is anxiety.

I see my grandchildren striving for excellence.  What could be wrong with that??  Well… nothing… except when you just continually push yourself in every area…it’s just not good.

So could there be things that are more important and better than “Always the Best”?

1.     Progress is good…Progress leans on the practical and realistic…and it doesn’t sacrifice your time.

2.     Consistency is also good…when you focus on the process, and mindset, you form habits and routines… laying building blocks for a great outcome. Maybe not perfect, but Very Good, each time.

3.     And what about Passion for what you do?  Passion gives you extra interest in your project, or your work.  So your work comes from your heart.

4.     Sometimes we try to be perfect so long, it seems like we’ll never get there.  In that case, “done” would be better than perfect.

When we let all these things  “push” us to always do better, what do we miss out on?

●       Time to be sensitive to other people around us?

●       Time to reflect… on our lives… on things we do…

●       Time to dream…

●       Time outside, appreciating Nature’s Sights and Sounds…

●       We also miss out on the ability to just let our mind wander.

There’s more to life than this… I Promise!

*****************************

There was a research experiment done with artists.  I can’t remember the exact story, but the gist of it was that half of the artists were told to paint the most excellent picture that they could imagine.  The other half were told to paint as many pictures as they could.

The ones judged to be the best pictures turned out to be painted by the group who were instructed to paint as many pictures as they could.

They didn’t take time to go for perfection.

*****************************************

How can we get that “perfectionism bug” out of ourselves?

When you continually fail at meeting all your scheduled things you “need to do”, it causes you to get used to criticizing yourself because you didn’t measure up… the beginning of a habit of doing that for the rest of your life.  Your mental health pays the price for this.

If this is in relation to work life, or home life, or your success, or other areas of your life, the pressure is all the same.

So it comes back to being calm, instead of anxious.

If you’re trying to be more calm, when you set your goals, set them a bit smaller, and see if you relieve a little pressure from your life.

These are Things to Know:

1.     Know…Nobody on this earth is perfect

2.     Know it’s ok to make mistakes… (are your sure?). Yes.  It’s not about never failing.  Mistakes are how we learn and grow.

3.     We don’t even need to be at the highest level all the time.

4.     Focus instead on progress.

And about comparing yourself to someone else?   Don’t compare yourself.  To Anyone.  Everyone has their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

******************************

 If you could achieve your goals without being perfect…how would you feel about that?

So, then there’s the subject of GOALS!

SO …

Do you have any long-term goals?

Do you have a vision for your future, and do you feel a purpose in your life?

A Vision, and a Purpose help you with your life.

And It’s good to aim high.  But again, it CAN create an over-full schedule, anxiety and worry, and self-criticism.

What about giving Top Priority to some of these goals?

Be kind to yourself.

Do things that help you relax.

Take breaks.

Practice deep breathing.

Make time every day for exercise.

Do the things it takes to get good sleep at night.

Eat good quality food.

Have people you care about that you spend time with, relaxing.

All these things will help you set the stage for changing your habits of having the need to “get everything done”

Understand this: 

You don’t have to “get everything done”. 

And it doesn’t have to be done perfectly.

We need to care for ourselves.  It will help us get through our life in good shape… and get things done.

Don’t waste your time Rushing through your days.  What you’re really wasting is your life.

These are some things I, myself, have done to overcome my need, to “get it all done”.

1.     The most important thing I did was flip the switch.  When I felt the sting of not getting it all done, or that “guilty” feeling that I’d never catch up, I would say a Thankful Prayer. 

a.      I’d find something about the situation to be thankful for, and I would end up with a positive feeling instead of a negative one.

b.     And it wasn’t that hard.  It’s like any habit.

c.      Gratitude from your heart is a true game changer.

d.     and it felt good.

2.     I began caring for myself.  Letting my body rest—during the day, but more importantly, at night.

3.     I began giving myself TIME.  Time to reflect.  Time to be still.  Time to chew my food. Time to spend with people I liked.  Time to look at God’s beautiful creation all around me.

4.     I have learned to sit outside with a cup of my coffee, listening to the birds and other outside sounds.

5.     I continued to work hard.  But I stopped working continuously.

6.     I began doing some random things that I wanted to do.  This was totally new to me.  I had to give myself permission though, to give myself the TIME to do this.

7.     I will say, this is something that doesn’t just happen on its own.  You have to MAKE it happen.  Force it a bit.  Show yourself you CAN.  Then you’ll begin to feel the benefits.

Have I accomplished LESS?  No.  I have made Good Progress (more than before I began making changes).

Life is made up of tiny moments.  Notice them.  Feel them.  Let them transform your life.

Hit the “Pause Button”.  You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you for reading.  My prayer is that you can make some inroads into transforming your schedule, and your life!

Update:

I have an Oura ring.  It measures all kinds of things, including my heart rate while I sleep, and it gives me a score for my “readiness” for the day, and for my sleep quality.

Last night, as I had finished this article and was going through it making some small changes in wording, etc., my husband said, “Don’t do that too long…”

Yes, I usually try to stay off my electronics later in the evening.  But if didn’t lack much… and I wasn’t REALLY Working…just finishing up some things!

So, I finally finished.  Yaaayyy!!  Then off to bed.

My readiness score for today was 73.  Ugh! It said I hadn’t gotten enough sleep for my needs.  For me “not to worry” but that I needed a couple of nights of extra sleep to restore my sleep balance!

My sleep score was 76.  With a red “pay attention” line on my “Restfulness”.  Typically y heart rate lowers around midnight (which is good) to 60.  Last night my heart rate only lowered to 65 (not good), and that was at 4 a.m. (not good).

This is an example of:

1.     How we so easily think we can squeeze more into our day to. “Get more Done”!!

2.     How we can feel good about our work, and think all is well, but our body keeps the score.

3.     How far off-track we can go, very quickly.

I’m glad I have my Oura ring; I’m glad I watch my scores.  It helps me educate myself “about myself”, so I can know how to change my habits.

We’re all a work in progress.

Take care of yourself.  Thank you again.

If I can help you in any way, please contact me. 

Sharon

P.S.

If you are interested in an Oura ring, I can send you a code for $40 off the regular price.  Just contact me.  I don’t benefit from it, but just would be glad to help you benefit.