Time Management

Prepare for the Unexpected

Unexpected Life Events

Sheri here –

How do you respond when the unexpected happens?

  • Do you freeze? 
  • Go looking for ice cream? 
  • Call your BFF? 
  • Spring into action? 

Maybe you go into fight or flight mode. But having a plan A, a plan B, or even a plan C is not a bad idea. It’s important to remember, when things happen unexpectedly keeping calm is crucial. Having to deal with life’s unexpected moments is inevitable.

Lately, I’ve had some unwanted situations come into my life. I’ve realized I have no choice BUT to solve them or drown in overwhelm – which doesn’t help anything!

When It Rains It Pours (Literally)

This past weekend, the unexpected happened (again)! I started noticing a spill on the stairs of my house that wouldn’t seem to dry. I realized I had a water leak! The final convincing evidence? Seeing water drip out of an electrical outlet – not good. 

Now what to do? Who do I call? So, I had a “meeting” with my trusted home advisor team – my husband, and we decided to call a plumber. 

I started with my “go to guy” who couldn’t come out for three or four days. But, this was urgent. So, now what? Who do I know, that I trust, that could make a recommendation? I decided to ask some friends and received a couple of referrals. 

Fortunately, one of the referrals was able to send a team out within an hour of my phone call! Once they opened the wall up – it looked like a mini Niagara Falls! (I should’ve been wearing my raincoat). Before I knew it the leak was fixed. Problem solved!

How to celebrate this quick repair? Chocolate brownies of course!

Get a Plan In Place

So, how do you handle surprises? Do you ignore them, hoping they will go away? I’ve learned (the hard way), that doesn’t work well and often exacerbates the situation. 

Do you ask for help or input, fumbling along looking for answers? Most of the unexpected, makes it difficult to have a plan waiting. But, you can have a plan of action for broad categories of emergency. 

Some pre-planning and thought are still required though. A good place to start is having a plan for when you need to leave your home in a hurry, such as a fire, a flood, or an earthquake. 

Here are some questions to consider when getting your game plan together. What do you think you would need beforehand? Maybe it includes what to take with you. What’s your communication plan with people? Think about family or those you may need to get in touch with to notify of your safety. 

These are not the sort of things that you put together in the heat of the moment. Do you have a plan in place? Or have you thought about putting one in place? 

What about basic repairs? Do you have emergency numbers in a convenient location? Maybe on your cell phone? What about the emergency numbers for the baby-sitter or the house sitter? Have you thought those through?

Life Happens: Expect Challenges

Life is a journey filled with twists and turns, triumphs and accomplishments. 

Because life doesn’t always follow a script, it’s important to plan for the unexpected. That sounds impossible. How can you plan for something which you cannot anticipate? The truth is, you can’t plan the details, but you put yourself into a certain mindset that will help you achieve your goals. 

One of the biggest obstacles we face when the unexpected occurs is fear. This might be fear of the unknown or fear of things going wrong. Keeping a positive mindset drives us to get through the difficult times. It motivates us to keep going, it gives us strength.

Confronting a negative or unexpected event awakens inner strength and willpower we might not know we had otherwise.

Planning is not only important, it is essential for successful living. By embracing and engaging with the unexpected, then combining it with your plans and action, you will begin to find sustainable confidence and peace of mind.  

I’d love to hear what types of emergency plans you’ve put together! Leave a comment below!

If you’ve been ignoring ways to prepare for the future, I’d love to support you by helping you strategize. Whether you need help to put a plan in place or to stop procrastinating, give me a call – just use this link.

Although my house may be a little torn up, the problem is resolved, and I can feel comfortable that I took rapid action. The brownies sure were good too! 

Til the next time.
Ciao,
Sheri

Your Values: Your Built-in Compass

Values

Sheri here –

Is being uncomfortable always a bad thing? Last week, in my blog, I discussed how to venture outside your comfort zone, and get comfortable being uncomfortable. If you missed it, see it here.

But what has also occurred to me is that sometimes we are uncomfortable because we are out of integrity with our values – in our personal life and or business. You might ask:

  1. What are values?
  2. What difference does it make?

Get Back to the Basics

Webster-Dictionary.org defines values as “beliefs of a person or social group in which they have an emotional investment (either for or against something).”  When you are feeling lost I am a big believer in getting back to the basics –  reconnect with what’s most important to you!

Our values are our moral compass. They ground us in giving us a better sense of direction that guides us down the path of life. By helping us set our priorities straight, we are more adapted to handle life’s challenges in a productive way. 

Values drive the decisions that align us with our goals. If we are living inconsistent with our values,  there’s a discord inside of us that causes us to be uncomfortable until we make the necessary changes.

Our Values Guide Our Decisions

Defining our values is important because they are the roadmap for what motivates us to pursue our dreams. What’s most important in your life? What must you have in your life to experience fulfillment? For me, my top three are 1) my relationship with my spiritual power, my God, 2) my relationships with my family and friends and 3) my health and self-care.  Followed by my business.  

Your values define you; they represent a part of WHO you are, that shapes WHAT you do. Can others identify your values by your daily behaviors and choices? Birds of a feather flock together.  Values help you associate with like-minded people who want to see you succeed because they share in your principles.

How do you devise your values?  In reality, you probably already have a pretty strong set of values. Values that were either accepted or rejected from when you grew up, or you created your own.

Our values are usually fairly consistent. The order isn’t necessarily fixed for life because major life events can modify them.  Things such as relationship changes, career changes or changes that affect us in a profound way that cause us to  re-examine our priorities. 

When you are clear on your values, your guiding principles, it becomes easier to make decisions. Our values are correlated directly to the choices we make. Even if some choice in your life could honor one of your values,  if it dishonors another (especially one higher in your list of priorities) it still may not be the right choice for you.

For instances, if you have a couple of different opportunities that will take your time, or your energy and one is not consistent with your values, then the decision is clear. It’s a “I don’t think so”.

Our Values Bring Comfort to Our Life

But what if both of them are consistent with your guiding principles?  Whichever one is ranks higher, then that becomes the choice. For instance, if you have a business opportunity that conflicts with a major family event and family is more important to you than your business – you’d choose the major family event, right?!

If you didn’t – what would your comfort level be?

You can get uncomfortable when you start making choices that are inconsistent with your values. So, when you are uncomfortable, check in with your values. This is the perfect way to alleviate stress and remind yourself the motivation behind what you do. 

When I was talking about being uncomfortable, outside your comfort zone, consider your values as a  part of what helps you define your comfort zone. 

Okay, so what if you don’t know what your values are or if you need help defining your guiding principles? Hit reply or book a call here.

‘til the next time

Ciao,
Sheri

Ps:  If this whole conversation is still foreign to you, and it’s intriguing. But you don’t know where to start? Give me a call just click this link. Let’s talk.

Let’s Finish the Year STRONG

Goals

Sheri here –

There is still time to finish STRONG for the year!

If you set goals, now is the time to review your progress against them and tweak them to make 2020 amazing, unusual but still amazing!

Not Too Late to Set Goals

Ok, so the year turned out unlike anything you planned or even could have imagined!!

Were you able to do a course correction and do something extraordinary in these crazy times?

Not too late – reviewing your goals or setting new ones can be an excellent support tool for you.

While goals are frequently considered start of the year activities, you can make and begin goals anytime. I wrote a couple of blogs (here) and (here) if you’d like more information on the “HOW to” part of goal setting.

It’s never too late or too early to set goals.

And once they are set, you can readjust them, even deliberately put them on the shelf. The important thing is to keep working goals that align with your dreams.

Review Your Progress on Your Goals

The beginning of a quarter is a great time to review progress on your goals.

Generally, at least quarterly I go back and relook at my goals and see how I’m doing. If I’m making great progress, then I put a little stretch into it. If I’m lagging behind, I may reset the goal to keep myself motivated.

No matter what, I keep working on them.

One of the goals that I’ve made every year for about the last 5 years has been to lose weight. And over the last 5 years, I’ve probably lost and kept off about 35 pounds, including during this crazy covid year.

When I decided 5 years ago to set a weight loss goal rather than be disappointed in myself AGAIN. I decided to do it differently.

This wasn’t going to be one of those “I’ll just write it down and do nothing about it” goals. This is one, where I made a plan that requires daily action: good nutrition, counting calories, keeping a food journal, doing SOME exercise daily and getting adequate sleep.

While I can’t do 10 pounds at a time, I can do daily actions, that as I measure activity, I see progress. Dropping and keeping off 35 pounds, for me, is huge progress!

So I don’t do it perfectly, somedays I’m better than other days; but it is the consistency over time that has worked.

How do you use goals to help you? Leave a comment below.

Do you see how this same technique could be used for any business or personal goal? The consistent small daily actions really make a difference. It works on everything.

Finish Strong

This is the time of year to start looking at your accomplishments for the year and what you still want to do to make this year great – to finish STRONG.

What do you need to do starting now, to make this a great year? It’s not too late to set a goal and make a plan to get great things done before 2020 ends.

The key is to decide and start!

Baffled by goals? But still want to get things done this year? Book a call here and let’s discuss a strategy to get it done!

Ciao,
Sheri

Your Daily Routine Matters

Routines

Sheri here –

How can you be more productive?  Put more in your day?  Have you tried using daily routines or habits to set yourself up for success? To help you get more done, improve your attitude, be healthier, or look your best?

Time is a scare, nonrenewable resource.  Daily routines help you make the most of this valuable resource.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Daily routines and rituals let you choose how you start and end your day to set yourself up for success.

Over the years I’ve developed certain daily routines.  Some of them have become so routine, they are programmed into my subconscious.  Things like brush my teeth, wash my face, take a shower, put on my makeup and grab something to eat before I start my day.  Maybe you do the same thing.

Some of these routines and habits work for me and others not so much.

When I reflect on how I want my day to go, I’ve realized that since I began to spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation first thing in the morning, checking in with my God, that my attitude is better.  Now I didn’t just dream up this daily practice – I heard someone else talk about how they did it and how their day was better.

Then I tried it several times and noticed the tone of my day seemed to be better and the only thing different was intentionally spending time with my spiritual source.

There are evening routines – dinner, clean up and preparation for the next day.

It might start with planning your day the night before – making certain that you have everything planned and set out so you can dress, grab and go in the morning and you know what your schedule looks like.

Those routines and habits – the ones that help us get ready for the day could have been consciously or unconsciously put into place over time.  Are you always running late?  That’s where planning the evening before sets you up for a successful day.

Making Changes to Routines

What about other tweaks to daily routines  – where do we find suggestions?

There are articles about the habits of successful people, and I bet you’ve seen them too.  Maybe you wanted their level of success; but resisted doing some of the things that they have done.

Or talk with some of your successful, productive friends about their routines for additional ideas to enhance your personal productivity.

Maybe you could try one or two of those routines – not all of them at once, but maybe adding one thing until it becomes comfortable.  Then add another.

Success requires an intention and action, starting with the routines and habits to support it.

How about you?  Do you have favorite daily routines and habits that help you be more productive – more of the person that you want to be? Share in the comments below your favorites.

Ciao,

Sheri

Create Your Values Statement

Values

Sheri here –

Recently, I had a situation that had me confused and befuddled about the choice I needed to make.

The details aren’t important; but what is: how I made a decision, how I chose which direction to go.

My values, my personal operating system, my moral code was key in my making that decision.

Even with those guideposts, that decision, which path to take, took a LOT of soul searching, a lot of prayer and meditation.

Once I made that initial decision, which direction to go, the next steps came more easily.  Even those steps weren’t easy, but my heart knew I was moving in the right direction for ME.

What drives you to create your values statement?

You may already have a set of values, but they may not necessarily be easily visible to you.   Maybe it is time well spent to formalize them, so they are easily recognizable!

When I first formally documented my values, I was in the middle of a personal life crisis – my world as I knew it was starting to tumble.  I was feeling rudderless and needed some direction.

Somewhere I had heard that having a life purpose and values could help in situations such as mine.  I got curious.  That search was lifesaving then, some 25 years ago, and many times since.

You don’t have to wait until you have a personal crisis to create your value statement.  It just takes a decision to spend the time.

How do you create your values statement? 

Where do you start?

Start by getting quiet, thoughtful.  If you meditate, meditate.  Or take a walk or sit quietly in your favorite peaceful place.

Think about what’s important in your life.  How you want to live and act. 

These are specific things that you may want to consider – Your:

  • Spiritual relationship
  • Family and Friends
  • Passion projects – your service commitments
  • Health
  • Self-care
  • Learning
  • Honesty & integrity
  • Loyalty
  • Fun & play
  • Generosity
  • Gratitude
  • Kindness
  • Resiliency

The list goes on and on.  Each of us are different. Choose 5 or 7 key things, but no more than 10.

Then rank them!

Why rank them?  Sometimes we have conflicts in our focus or how we will spend our time.

Knowing what’s most important will guide you in making choices or where you draw boundaries.

This is a world filled with lots of choices, your values can be your filter to narrow them down.

Keep in mind, this process may take some time.  It is time well spent! 

Ciao,

Sheri

P.S. Drop a comment below if you are struggling to figure this out and need some support, I can help!

Trading Money for Time

Money

Sheri here –

We hear a lot about trading time for money, but let’s talk about trading money for time!

The first subject, trading time for money, is generally about going to work for someone for a paycheck. 

Some of you work or have worked for a paycheck and may still be doing that.  Others have left (or never started) and are in business for yourself – as an entrepreneur or retired, living your dream life.  

You have more freedom in where and how you earn your money, but make no mistake, being an entrepreneur is work! 

Trade Money for Your Time

When you trade your money for your time –  you hire out a task.  You could hire out a task in your home or business.  You are not doing it, someone else is.  

You are then FREE to focus on something that brings you pleasure or to focus on that task only you can do.  

There is more to making your money work for you than paying off debt, saving it, or building a retirement fund – it is getting you time back.   Time to work your business and earn more than you would pay someone to do that delegable task or time to enjoy some “you” time.

The added bonus?!  You are employing someone – paying them money so they can further their personal financial picture.  This is a win-win, yes?

A couple of quick examples that come to mind: having someone clean your house, do your gardening or do your grocery shopping.  Yes, you pay and maybe pay a little extra than if you did it; but you have your time available to spend as you choose.

The Possibilities are Endless!

I recently traded money for time with a flu shot.  

For some reason, I COULD not find a place I could get the flu shot for free or under my insurance unless I went to my Doctor or I paid for it.

I didn’t like those choices; however, after going to three drug stores to get the same answer, I thought, I’ll just go to my Doctor.  

Well, that was a pain!  By the time I finally made an appointment with the Doctor’s office, I’d spent another 20 minutes.

That appointment was going to be a week away and then I’d have to go to the office, wait and drive home.  Probably another 2 hours of my time to get that done.

I felt I had spent enough time chasing after getting a flu shot.  I decided I’d just pay the fee.  

And I was happy to pay for it. Those 2 hours became mine, available for me to use for what was important to me, even if it was a nap!

Where in your life are you sub-optimizing your time?  Where can you find someone to do it for you, so you can focus on a higher value (to you) task?

In the comments below post your ideas on what tasks you can delegate to others.  And then what you would do with the time you bought back!

Ciao,

Sheri

Bright, shiny object

Distractions or Shiny Object Syndrome?

Time Management

I am a magpie. I am attracted to bright shiny objects.  Those who know me always expect to see something sparkling on me.

I am hopelessly addicted to shiny objects.  And they constantly distract me from getting things done.

Are you familiar with the “Shiny Object Syndrome”.  That’s when you are constantly distracted at every turn by something more fun, shiny or better than what you are currently doing or working on.  It can include other distracting things that are not shiny! …

Distractions or Shiny Object Syndrome?Read More »

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