Do the Best You Can Today and Don't Take Life to Seriously!

[Deb Bixler]

Get up everyday, do the best you can at everything you do and be grateful for what you have not what you don't have. Keep in mind that your best can change from minute to minute and your best can always be better when you grow because of your daily experiences.

Remember that everyone is living life the best that they can too. When you keep that in mind, and understand that everyone is operating from their own space, then you never have to take things personally. Nothing that other people do is because of you. What other people say and do is a projection of themselves only.

Each day is a series of choices. Actually, over 60,000 decisions are made each day. So, simply do your bet and avoid self-judgment and regret and make sure that you always choose the path of positive growth. Do not get hung up on the small stuff! The secret to being content and happy with life is to make a decision to do so.

PS If you want to send me a private email, I would prefer that you send it direct to my in-box. [email protected]

 

[AJPratt]

Wow! Thanks! Your timing with this is uncanny!

 

[beepampered]

So how do you get better at making decisions? I say dozens of decisions get pushed to the next day for me when I would save headaches and time if I just made the decision at the moment.....

 

[Deb Bixler]

It sounds like procrastination to me...I recently did a seminar on procrastination and time management. Actually, time management is a foolish statement because, it is impossible to manage time. Time is the most valuble resource there is and it is far more valuble than money! Anyway, you can manage your commitments not your time. I did post a article on my blog about procrastination. Here is parts of it:

Why do we procrastinate?

In a nutshell, you procrastinate when you put off things that you should be focusing on right now. Usually you do something that is more enjoyable or that you’re more comfortable doing. Procrastinators work as many hours in the day as other people (and often work longer hours) but they invest their time in the wrong tasks. Sometimes this is simply because they don't understand the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks. Everything urgent is not always important.
Another common cause of procrastination is feeling overwhelmed by the task. You may not know where to begin. Or you may doubt that you have the skills or resources you think you need. So you seek comfort in doing tasks you know you're capable of completing. Unfortunately, the big task isn't going to go away - truly important tasks rarely do.
Other causes of procrastination include:
• Waiting for the “right” mood or the “right” time to tackle the important task at hand;
• A fear of failure or success;
• Poor decision making skills
• Poor organizational skills; and
• Perfectionism ("I don't have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won't do it at all.")

How to Overcome Procrastination:

If you're honest with yourself, you probably know when you're procrastinating. Some useful indicators which will help you catch yourself procrastinating:
• Filling your day with low priority tasks from your To Do List
• Reading your To Do List more than once, without starting work on it or deciding when you're going to start work on it
• Sitting down to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately going off to make a cup of coffee or check your e-mails, or something else you enjoy more
• Leaving an item on your To Do list for a long time, even though you know it's important;
• Regularly saying "Yes" to unimportant tasks that others ask you to do, and filling your time with these instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list.
• Not looking at your To Do List for days at a time
• Adding things that are not on the To Do List after you have done them, so you can cross them off

Common causes of procrastination were discussed in detail above, but they can often be reduced to two main reasons:
• You find the task unpleasant
• You find the task overwhelming

I know you do not want to hear this: Get over it!
If you are putting something off because you just don't want to do it, and you really can't delegate the work to someone else, you need to find ways of motivating yourself to get moving. The following approaches can be helpful here:
• Give yourself rewards
• Ask someone else to check up on you. Peer pressure works! All 12 step programs work on this principle.
• Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task.
• Think about how much it is costing you. (In sales, family time, sleep….)

 

[mistym]

Deb...you must have known I needed this. I love you saying that we cannot manage time...so true.

I always say that after I put my son to sleep at 8, I will sit down and get on the phone and call for bookings. Something always comes up...and they are always legitimate things. Like tonight, I got in late from a meeting at my other job and I had to call my hosts before it got too late, so bookings calls got pushed off. So I figure ok tomorrow I will do it. But then I check and my consultant is coming by to learn Pampered Partner, so ok Wednesday, well again I have a commitment which will run my home by 8:30. But this has been happening for weeks now...

So while I am trying to get on the phone, it seems something always comes up. What am I doing wrong?? What am I putting out there that is preventing me from getting to this...I mean, I am not looking forward to getting on the phone, but I know I have to...its so frustrating!!

ahh, thanks for listening!

Misty

 

[beepampered]

OH, Misty, I can so relate to your dilema. It seems like the "perfect" time to call is the time my kids need me at bedtime or the night my husband has to stay late at the office so we eat dinner late. Perhaps calling during traditional dinner time is okay or maybe asking host if you can call after 9 so you can make bookings calls earlier? I look forward to some wisdom (although I also have to be honest and say that I do make excuses.)

 

[quiverfull7]

I have not done this but I was very intrigued by someone who has posted on CS that if they have a cancellation ... they use it to work to book shows instead of being frustrated that they lost a show. I am thinking that on a slow week I should just "work" ... get a sitter , take all my calling/booking info and go somewhere... even if it's in my car in a safe parking lot, maybe just in my driveway ... and do my calls. I cannot accomplish these calls at night with my busy family but a quiet car with my cell phone and I could go down a list with the ability to think clearly and not be interuppted. Even having time to leave messages clearly can be difficult. We have got to think outside the box to take our businesses where they need to go... Thanks in advance to whomever had posted these ideas before...

 

[baychef]

Deb, thank you for your words of encouragement. I knew before I left for Atlantis that I was burning out and that if life got more complicated for me...I would fall deeper into the depression I had started with. (we are all healthy and that blessing makes life less complicated).

Coming home from almost a week away with my teenage son that lives with his Dad, I realized that:

He and I have a fabulous relationship and despite the divorce...we done good. I so needed to be reassured of this. We had so many laughs and he wanted to be with me.

Once I got back into the swing of my 2 jobs and everything else in life...it hit me very hard that I need to get more help and need to take some time for me. I sit at one job and go home to sit doing PC.

I knew these things already, but this trip really put reality in my face.

Your words, Deb, just coincide with what I have been feeling. Words we all could use. Thanks again!