The new year has gotten off to a quick start. The headlines in the news continue to be about vaccines and politics, and a more recent voice that has been one of hope and promise. Wishing you all to be well and safe. Our medical community doesn’t need more patients! Thank you to all people who have been in service and volunteering to help our country, our world. It’s our duty to leave the earth in good shape for the generations to come. Let’s all work together.

We now have the first month of 2021 behind us. What I found interesting in 2020 was how fast the year passed. With most people working remotely and being home in general, and most activities being shifted to video calls, many thought the year would pass by slowly. Instead, the year seemed to go by at warp speed. Even January passed by in the blink of a second.

Working efficiently and effectively with our time management and organization skills are of the utmost importance. With many of our kids home, ranging from nursery school to college, we need to create an environment that is good for adults and children to work and play. Design or redesign a space that works and is comfortable.

Since we aren’t quite sure what the new normal will look like, I think it’s important to set up some type of routine or schedule so that we have something constant in our lives. Eating our meals together, setting a homework time, monitoring how many zoom calls we are on, and so on, will create some consistency and structure. Where we can have some control in our lives, take it.

Here are a few tips to help you manage … and if you’d like a time management tool simply email me at [email protected]

Self-time and Self-care
I am putting this tip first because people tend to put it last. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to help others. Make sure you have downtime during the day. Take breaks. We should be called human doers instead of human beings. Most of us do, do, do! We are not machines … even machines need to be well-oiled! Try just ‘being.’ Take good care of yourself. Stay healthy. And if you go out, follow safety guidelines. Be respectful.

Pause
A pause allows you to take a breath, to be present, and to be at choice. Therefore it gives you a chance to rethink, to regroup, to rebuild.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor Frankl

Be Positive
When making decisions you want to be sure you are coming from a positive mindset. Making fear-based decisions typically don’t bring you the outcomes you desire. Focus on what you have, not what’s missing. We all have the opportunity to be happy and move forward.

Be Present
In the present, we are fully alive and engaged in what we’re doing. It’s okay to think in the past or the future but bring yourself back to the present. It’s only in the present that we can be at choice.

Clear the clutter
If you want to clear your head, start with the clutter around you and within you. There are three types of clutter. Emotional, electronic, and physical. Clear your head of negative self-talk, clear your physical space of anything you are not using or plan to use, and clear your computer of the hundreds of emails that are just sitting there. When you clear the clutter, you will be able to focus better and with clarity.

Be Productive
If you haven’t set goals, it’s a great idea to do so because they help us navigate our lives. Make a reasonable ‘to do’ list and go through it one by one by one. People feel good when they are productive … you can feel their energy when they succeed. For starters, write down a couple of personal goals and professional goals and set your sight on accomplishing them.