“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”   –Yogi Berra

Do you ever float through your day and then wonder whatever happened to all of your time and not accomplishing what you had planned?  I know that I do this on some days and then have to step back and regroup.  The many demands on our time from tending to children, spouses, aging parents, household, and work demands can all add up to more than the 1440 minutes in a day. Wow! 1440 minutes in a day might sound  like a lot to some of you, but then not very much to others. Of course, you have to consider if we are taking good care of ourselves and getting 360 minutes – 480 minutes of sleep every night there is a huge deduction. To those who are committed to getting in their 10,000 steps a day, 1440 minutes definitely sounds small!  But good news, you only have to take 6.94 steps per minute, which is a piece of cake, right? Oh, sorry, I didn’t really mean a piece of cake.

Everyone has the unexpected appear even in their best laid plans. But when it becomes more of the normal and makes you feel like everyone else is in control of “your” days, then new strategies may be needed.

12 Tips for living “your” day:

• Keep a calendar that is reasonable
• Have a plan. Don’t just go with the flow.
• Make a to do list. Prioritize your list with the most important items that have to be done. Determine those that can wait or move to another day, eliminate those that are not necessary or that you really don’t enjoy
• Not everything or everyone has to be on “your” list. It’s okay.
• It’s okay to say “No” if it is your own personal time
• Eliminate or limit activities that do not add quality to your life (checking email, committing to last minute requests, talking for extended time to negative people, checking social media or texts) especially after work hours
• Be mindful of your attention you give to those you are with. Live in the moment
• Don’t work consistent overtime day after day, week after week. Do not lose vacation days because you didn’t make time to take them
• Share what needs to be done. (Preparing dinner together, laundry, taking care of pets, let extended family and close friends help when they offer)
• Plan ahead & organize. (What everyone needs to take for the next day, quick meals on busiest days)
• Make “Sleep” a priority.  Even if you have the most chaotic day, enough sleep will help you be more resilient, feel better emotionally and physically. You will be able to be deal better with stress and problem-solving.
• Make time for yourself. This is not intentionally last, but often that is where time for ourselves fall on the list, if it makes it on the list at all. (Take a short walk somewhere in your day, reconnect with nature, develop a spiritual practice, meditate, be grateful, do yoga, listen to your favorite or calming music, read a good book, bathe with some special body wash)

Hopefully, you can find one tip above that will help to make your days more enjoyable, manageable, more yours, and to end up where you want to be!  Thank you for taking time out to visit today.