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Category: Time
Moving Fast Is Key
Sometimes speed is the only thing that matters. When you need to get things done, moving fast is key. Rest at your leisure.
Try to sprint through your work day and personal admin. Get through it as quickly as you can. If you linger, you are just wasting precious moments of your life in limbo.
One of the best tricks to use is to imagine you are going on holiday tomorrow. Since you will be leaving at 6am, there will be no time to complete anything in the morning. Therefore, you will need to get those things done today and tonight. Along with packing, of course.
Adding this pressure is good. Firstly, you trick your mind into assuming you need to get things done. Secondly, your priority list will shift around. Many things you don’t need to do will fall by the wayside. Those critical items will be squeezed in. You will type faster, have shorter phone calls and keep on point in all communication.
Think of each 15 minutes as a sprint. Set yourself a milestone to reach in that 15 minutes. Set the timer on your clock, phone or computer. Then, dash for the Done ✅.
Surprise yourself with how much you can do. Oh, and it will feel great having completed so much. All those lingering items just gone from the list.
Moving fast is key.
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Your Shifting Identity
Everything and everyone we come in contact with affects us in some way. With each interaction or experience, your shifting identity will move again.
We exist in a constant stream of movement. Remember when you met a person and agreed to catch up for coffee or a drink? That changed your life trajectory some amount. You were curious and invested some time and money in this new relationship.
The conversation you had may have shifted your thoughts or mindset in one direction or another. Or it may have just re-affirmed your position on everything. Although usually you come away from new encounters with at least one new perspective.
And, this time investment may have meant that you did not meet someone else. Some people are on the exit path of your life and others are bounding down the arrivals gangway. People are coming and going. Some are gaining prominence in your life while others remain idle or disappear.
Your thoughts, convictions and values are doing this all the time too. It is like you are trying to find the right combination on a large combination lock. You are shifting and moving or locking things into place.
Sometimes this process will be joyful while other times the pain of identity shifting will almost break you. You might long for the person you were but can’t see a way back there. Or you might be excited for the future. Not knowing how things will shift can be intriguing or unnerving.
Regardless, your shifting identity continues.
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Your Choices Create You
With every choice you make, you create your future. Each decision about people, places and things matter. Your choices create you as you select environment, friends and behaviours.
All the choices you have made have got you where you are now. Your decisions have influenced where you live. They also determined your income, family makeup, clothes you wear and hobbies you have.
Every choice you have made, big or small, has moved you in a direction. Your current situation is a result of all those decisions. Hopefully it is mostly good. If there are any areas you would like to change, you need to make different decisions for your future.
Want to stop drinking? Make different decisions than you do now. Decide to not go to the pub. Or, if you do, drink tea, water or soft drinks. Don’t bring alcohol into the house and you won’t be able to drink at home.
If you want to get your fitness up, then you need to start exercising more. Stop smoking or vaping. Eat healthier foods. Hang around different people. You will succeed quicker if you have healthier people around you. Also, decide to see yourself as a fit and healthy person. This one decision will have a huge impact on your results.
Your choices create you. Keep making better ones every day.
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Quality Time Defined
Is quality time what you want or what they want? If one of you isn’t delighted, is it still quality time? It’s time to have quality time defined.
Deciding you are going for a walk with a friend, who doesn’t enjoy walking, might not be the best idea of quality time. Do you both have to enjoy the activity, discussion or company? Or is it ok if just one of you do?
When you spend some of your day with your young child, is it enough to just enjoy being together? Or do you need to enjoy the event too? Is it quality time either way?
Encouraging your child to try something with you might seem like a good idea. You will be expanding their horizons and possibly adding a new, burgeoning skill to their repertoire. This is brilliant if they thoroughly enjoyed it. However, if they were not very interested or engaged, is it still quality time?
Is a shared memory considered quality time, even if it is not a brilliant or positive one? Perhaps they learned a lesson, or you did. If it came from a difficult experience, but something good came from it, does it fit the description?
In summary, life will be different for you with quality time defined.
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Find Your Fit
We spend quite a bit of life searching. We are looking for something and we want it to be the best thing available. If you find your fit, you should stick with it.
Think of how much time is spent trying out new restaurants or trying on new clothes. Some people like Steve Jobs had a great idea. Find the clothes you love and buy a dozen of them. Then you can wear the same thing every day.
Some people have restaurants they love so they can eat there every day. They know their preferred meal, drink and dessert or pudding.
There is a fine line between searching for the very best for you and settling with good enough. The idea of good enough might mean for now or forever. But sometimes the time, energy and decision making going into something can be too much. You can go overboard with research and expectations.
There are lots of key elements of life in this idea. Aim for the best. Simplify. Find joy. It’s a heck yes or no. Do your research. The 80/20 rule. Reduce decision making. Consistency and discipline are key.
It is a good idea to explore every once in a while. However, for the most part, once you find your fit, stick with it.
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Enjoy The Summer Fun
Take a trip, relax with friends or enjoy the evenings. People have different ideas of what they want to do for the holiday period. Enjoy the summer fun though, regardless of your chosen activity.
What does your ideal summer look like? Do you like the heat? Is there a place you usually go? Does your time involve more family or more friends.
Some people like to be around many others. Although others like to get away from it all and be a little isolated.
I do like consistent warmth. Although I am not a big fan of air conditioning. A light breeze can be nice. I also enjoy a pool or the sea to jump into to cool down too.
Reading a book under a tree and contemplating what you are reading is nice. As is looking up at the sky and watching the clouds roll by. If you can see shapes and animals in them it is all the better.
Oh, and ice cream. You cannot forget some nice ice cream. I’m partial to Haagen Dazs, especially their vanilla, pralines or salted caramel flavours.
Whatever you like to do, go full on now during August. You may have only four to six weeks left before the autumn air is with us.
Enjoy the summer fun while you can!
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Pottery Decorated By Kids
It’s a nice idea for kids to decorate pottery. It’s a nice way to let them be creative and have a lasting memory of it. Pottery decorated by kids can be both lovely and useful.
We had a pottery place just around the corner from our house when the kids were very little. I hadn’t really noticed it before kids. And even with kids, I probably didn’t see much value in it. But then I went once with the kids to make a gift for their Mom’s birthday.
Although it was at times challenging to get the small children to decide on, focus and complete the items, it was worth it. They really enjoyed the process. In addition, they liked the idea of making something for Mom.
Even though we couldn’t get the finished product for some time, when it was ready, it was great. We ended up spending a fair amount of time and money in that shop over a few years. With that, we acquired quite a few pieces of designer pottery that we often used.
We often used pieces every day. However, through a combination of moving and being extra careful with these irreplaceable items, we stopped using them. That was until now.
Roxane got a big decorated plate out for dessert serving yesterday. It was great to see and use it. The kids even compared the size of their hands and feet on it too.
Pottery decorated by kids is a lovely, lasting gift to yourself.
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