HERE’S A GREAT REASON WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS POST:  The first Let ME Out contest giveaway is announced at the bottom!!  (The actual post may be useful, too, so keep reading!)

I know it’s not Tuesday, but let’s look back to a post called Try-This Tuesday: Gaining Control Of Your Time.  I’ll give you a few minutes to read it and then come back!  I want to explore this a little further in light of the wonderful response I am getting from you, dear Readers.

Our relationship with Time is much like our relationship with a living, breathing thing.  We have to check in on it, examine it, make changes, respect it and respect ourselves in the process.  For example, you may recall that while I was telling you about how I fill my work week I heard a voice tell me “Yeah, but you don’t exercise.”  That voice was allowed to be heard because I was checking in and examining my relationship with Time.  I am now in the process of making changes by delegating some of my fundraising work and devoting scheduled hours to exercise.  I respect that I have a certain amount of Time to work with and I respect myself by filling my Time appropriately.

This is a constant process.  For example, I have suddenly found myself with some extra Time in the mornings thanks to the God of Carpools.  So I have to sit down again and examine what I want to do with that time.  Otherwise, if I don’t have a concrete plan, I end up starting 10 things and accomplishing nothing.  Likewise, an unexpected event may take away Time from me in any given day which will force me to re-examine my weekly To-Do list.

But let’s get back to YOUR relationship with Time.  If you haven’t examined your relationship with Time yet, that’s the first step.  If you are wondering where you will get the Time to do that, here are some suggestions:

  • Whatever it is that you do before bed, stop doing it 20-30 minutes before and do this task
  • Wake up 20 minutes earlier
  • Take 20 minutes out of your lunch break if you get a full hour
  • Can you get someone else to pick up/drop off your children to their activities?
  • How about while they’re at their activities?

And here’s one that will get me Mother of the Year:  when you are supposed to be watching your child at his/her swim lesson and all they are doing is swimming back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…pull out a little notebook (carry one with you if you already don’t ) or open up a new memo in your BlackBerry and DO IT!  You paid for this half hour – make it work for you!  I’m not even joking.  I mean, look up once in awhile, right?

As the task prescribes, once you know what you currently do with Time, decide what needs to change.  DE-CLUTTER your schedule first.  Get rid of commitments that you really don’t need to commit to.  Not as easy as it sounds, much like throwing away that horrific vase your great-aunt gave you 15 years ago is not as easy as it should be.

Once you de-clutter your schedule – even by one item –  you will find pockets of Time to allot to the things you can never seem to find time for.

By the way, what is it that you wish you had more time for?  Share it with us in a comment below.

AND NOW…ANNOUNCING…The Let ME Out Contest Giveaway!!

I am offering a FREE series of four coaching sessions to 3 readers!  The Let ME Out introductory coaching package will help YOU identify YOUR goals, YOUR strengths, YOUR path…and of course, we’ll look at de-cluttering the heck out of your life to get that creativity flowing!

ENTER TO WIN by submitting a contact form – tell me WHY you would like to win this coaching package in a short paragraph.  Here’s the creative part:  You have to use the word “sunshine” in your entry.  The 3 entries with the most creative use of this word will be selected!

Contest closes September 30, 2011.  Winners will be contacted by email on October 3, 2011.

I look forward to reading your entries and even more so to working with YOU!