If I’m committed to doing something, I’m all in.
Sometimes, though, I’m all-in with three or four or five things that overlap one another. And, I have had, in the past, a tendency to dramatically underestimate the time that things take to actually do.
I used to just say yes, do it all by not sleeping much and not really taking breaks, feel wiped out for three or four months afterward and say… “I’ll never do that again!”
But, who can say no to amazing opportunities that all feel right? Friends, family, relationships, business plans, creative projects… It’s all so important, all at once.
I decided that I would learn to do it all WITHOUT burning out and losing my mind.
What I needed was a very very very well-thought-through schedule.
Schedules used to make me feel awful, like I had no freedom. Plus, they never worked for me because I don’t like to watch a clock.
But, I needed to make a schedule to make it happen.
I had to.
My options were: 1. live a limited life where I burn out or 2. have the energy and calm to do everything without these restrictions and still have time for myself.
#2 required that I use a schedule.
Before I sit down to map out the next three months, it struck me to share this because it’s a tool I can’t say enough about.
Schedules have many magical qualities to Feng Shui your life:
They create windows of time where things need to be done — without fail– so you can’t linger, overthink or blow things off. Within time constraints we can actually be more creative!
They reorganize your universe so you can see how to best use your most precious resource— time. Using time wisely is incredibly empowering.
Schedules give you a sense of when things far out on the horizon are coming so you can prepare in advance instead of last minute. (I’m dedicated to having my book keeping 100% done by December 31st this year!)
You’ll also have a good sense of what’s worth doing and what is taking up too much time with limited reward. It’s why I skipped the gym for walking + running and yoga at home. I love yoga classes but it’s a 3 hour endeavor for me that I just don’t have to spend to go to a class regularly. The gym was just not rewarding and I didn’t really like it. I’m back to trees and running!
Plus, you can use them to reinforce new habits, setting time for them!
Using a schedule also showed me the value of keeping regular bed times and waking times when I’m insanely busy so that my sleep stays on track in all the action.
And… that’s just the beginning.
Without a schedule and a clear one that is all-encompassing (*scheduling both the beach trip + the time shopping for beach picnic food, scheduling both the phone call + the preparation before the phone call, etc) I am a total mess.
Because I felt the rumblings of anxiety this morning thinking about everything that was before me– and I’m headed into a season of actually doing what I love the most– I knew it was time for really major scheduling.
Off I go to do mine, and I hope that if you don’t have one yet that you will soon!
xoxo!!!
Dana
The Joy Immersion : 30 Day Negativity Detox is a commitment to happy-making, mirror-polishing, life-lifting and simple space shifting for 30 days. It’s loaded with lots of actions (some you may know even if you’ve never fully-practiced them, some you’ve likely never seen or heard of…!) that can help you detox from your own negative beliefs, baggage and the haze of heaviness, uncovering more of your greatness and light.
!!!
xoxoxo
Dana
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Welcome to Creating Genius!
I spent the last year creating this e-guide to balancing and unblocking life by pulling together the best of a decade of space-changing and life-shifting feng shui! It’s 50 days and 50 ways to use feng shui to shift your space and your routines to move from “stuck” to creatively inspired and alive.
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Gather up your magic & make gorgeous dreams come true!
xoxo Dana
Hi Dana, oh please please 🙏🙏🙏 share more and in detail about what tools and practices work for you. I use my own method I think of as “bullet journal lite.” I leave out the future planning and any past review or tracking. So it’s really just a calendar plus semi-daily (hit and miss) to do list. No it isn’t working well. I’m willing to be inspired. Thank you❤️❤️❤️
Yesssss I will. Key is making an organizational system that works for you, rather than trying to force yourself into a certain structure. I can’t deal with more “work to do.”