Feel like there’s not enough hours in the day? Always running late, or making promises you can’t keep with deadlines?

 Read this article By Erin Duckhorn for some strategies to help you!

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Time is just another word for life.

—Michael Gerber

Time management is a skill that a lot of us struggle with. Even with the best intentions and the latest technological gadget that is supposed to streamline your work and improve efficiency, how often have you left work planning all the things you need to do in the morning because you didn’t get to them today? Busy business owners are just that: busy!

What kind of work is keeping you busy?
At E-Myth, we make a very clear distinction between the strategic and tactical work. Strategic work is the work you do to define the results you are there to produce. Tactical work is the work you do to produce the results strategic work has defined. When you think about your day, what percentage of your time do you spend in each area? Where is the greater value for your business?

Even if you know that you need to focus on strategy, how do you carve out time in your day for strategic work when you’re just trying to stay on top of the technical work you have to do? It’s a question we hear all the time from our clients. It doesn’t matter if you’re a retail store owner, a doctor, an IT professional or a contractor; everybody, it seems, is fighting the clock.

That’s why we dedicate a whole process in our Mastery Impact! coaching program solely on time management. With the intention of freeing yourself from the technical work, in this process we take a look at how you’re spending your time to accurately determine how much of your time is spent on productive activities that directly contribute to the results you want, and how much of your time is spent unproductively. This is a revealing process, and we usually identify areas for improvement very quickly.

Another thing we explore in our Time Management process is what we call “Time Bandits.” You know, those pesky “time stealers” and distractions that take attention away from strategic work—email, a talkative vendor, the telephone, your mother-in-law, broken office equipment… The list goes on.

Finding the discipline to eliminate Time Bandits is an important part of getting to the strategic work you need to do. Below are five Time Bandit Busters (there are 25 more in our process) that might instigate a change in how you approach time management.

5 Time Bandit Busting Tips

Read full story here….

It’s okay to have goals. It’s good to set aside time to meet them. What’s not okay is to feel that in order to be happy, everything in your life needs to be perfect. Learn how to break free from perfectionist thinking with these tips from Dr. Domar’s new book.

Are You a Perfectionist?
Wanting to be perfect is normal. What’s extreme is expecting to be perfect in all aspects of life. “Perfectionism is an act of control. If things are perfect, they feel more ordered, more in control,” says Dr. Domar. “Some people tolerate a lack of control; perfectionists feel overwhelmed by it.”
Some characteristics of perfectionists:

* Intensely competitive
* “All or nothing” approach
* Procrastination
* Fault-finding

READ FULL STORY HERE…

I met Ananda as a member of one of her online communities and after watching her work, I wondered how in the world she manages to do it all. So I asked, and here’s what Ananda told me about how she finds balance and peace while managing a very long to-do list.

Tap Into a Higher Power

“I am work in progress. So I am still working on balancing my life. My spiritual and self-care practices set the tone for my day, week, month, and year. They consist of prayer, meditation, yoga, Reiki healing touch, chanting with my mala bead, saying affirmations, setting intentions, reading my daily devotional texts, drinking water, eating healthy, and moving my body. Having a regular practice centers me and creates a daily reminder of balance that I can come back to throughout my day.”

Have a Theme

“I also make sure that I have quiet time in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Doing breathing exercises, giving myself Reiki, and using mindful walking help me to slow down my thoughts and the busy bee energy that I often carry inside of me. This year I decided that my theme was joie de vivre (joy of living in French). I call it JDV. To maintain my JDV state of mind, I am spending time learning and managing my feminine and masculine energies with support from the Buddhist principles of right view, right intention, right action, and right speech.”

Find Help and Support

“I also use the support of a life coach, body wisdom coach, and two spiritual communities (a monthly meditation group and weekly service at All Souls Unitarian Church). Making sure I get enough sleep and taking breaks from email and online activities helps me too. Spending time with family and friends is a great recharger.”

Take a Breather and Connect with Nature

“Having do no-thing days each month helps me surrender more and relax. Journaling and blogging about my experiences helps too. I take walks in nature and touch trees to really let go. Having acupuncture each month and using herbs and vitamins works wonders for me. I also listen to a lot of music and live without a regular television. I do watch television online, but it is limited. That helps me manage my time better because I am addicted to television!”

Stick to a Schedule

“I am a scheduler and organizer. My parents and the nuns that ran my all-girls Catholic high school gave me a first class education in organization. Being a lawyer with finance experience also keeps me on top of my game when it comes to setting aside time to do things each week.”

Have Someone Hold You Accountable

“With all that said, I am still a procrastinator when it comes to writing my books. That’s why I have a book editor, copy editor, and a circle of readers who stay on me. I also get overwhelmed with my life and projects. When that happens, my agenda doesn’t get accomplished. It can be frustrating. Sometimes the little girl in me just wants to play and have fun. She doesn’t want to do any work. So my agenda doesn’t get accomplished. Other times my inner critic is yelling at me so loudly that I don’t think I can do what my agenda calls me to do. So I stop where I am and become stuck.”

Become Self-Aware

“Last year I started to identify, claim, embrace, accept, and integrate the different parts of myself into a personal council. My life coach and body wisdom coach helped me name the eight parts of myself. I call them my eight archetypes. Now I embrace them on a daily basis and can better understand myself and what they need when things happen. Having this understanding really helps me manage my feelings about being stuck and overwhelmed. It calms me down and allows me to breathe and accept where I am and what I feel.”

Let Go of the Need to Control Outcomes

“Acceptance creates space for surrender. Surrender allows me to let go of my need to control. And letting go of my need to control humbles me so that I can exist in the present moment. Once I come into the present moment, I can see what I need to do. Then I can make a choice to do only those things that really need my attention. I can handle the other things later. That process offers me balance in the midst of an overwhelming storm.”

***

Ananda’s current book,Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One (iUniverse, Inc. – August 2007) is on sale now. Love’s Troubadours tells the story of Karma Francois, a thirtysomething Oakland-born BoHo B.A.P. (Bohemian Black American Princess) with Louisiana roots and urban debutante flair. Her forthcoming title is a poetic memoir, That Which Awakens Me. This book focuses on Ananda’s journey as a creative woman. It will be published in late spring. For more information, contact Ananda at kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com.

Also readers can visit the following web sites to find out more about her monthly radio shows: BAP Living Radio – www.talkshoe.com/tc/18598 and Go Green Sangha Radio – www.talkshoe.com/tc/21325.
Thank you Ananda for sharing your words of wisdom!

	Leah Mullen BellaOnline’s Life Coaching Editor For more Life Coaching Articles, visit here.