The 12 Days of (a calm, cool, collected) Christmas

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Laura
It’s that time of year where we swear we’ll keep our cool, year after year. But whether our holidays are filled with challenges or cheer, the stress can get to us before the ball is even close to dropping on New Year’s Eve.

Here are a handful of easy ideas for keeping your composure and taking a little care of yourself and others during the month. They’re meant to be of the 10-minute variety, and some are unorthodox — who ever associated a carwash with our dear Savior’s birth, or The Festival of Lights?

  1. Browse a holiday craft magazine in the check out line AND THEN WALK AWAY:
  2. Continue reading →
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Finding Your Morning “Waggle” — the ideal morning routine for you

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Laura

I’ve finally hit on a morning routine that really sets me up for a good day. It means I have to get up before the rest of the house, but it pays off immediately. Instead of that panicked, “Holy cow, everybody get up, we’re already running late” feeling that has filled many a morning, the first bit of the day is now all mine. And no matter how much I have to give away the rest of my day, I always know I had a little time just for me way back when.

Continue reading →

Posted in 10-minute projects, Books, Scheduling, Self Improvement, time management, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Making Time for 10 Minutes of Solitude

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Laura

Meditation. Quiet. Prayer. No matter how much we want to make time in our days for any of these, it always seems like the last thing to be checked off the to-do list. Everything else is so much more pressing! I was just reading a book by David L. Goetz called “Death by Suburb”, which I thought was going to be a hilarious social commentary about suburban living. It turns out it’s more about finding God in the midst of the chaos and pressures of daily life. Not what I had been looking for, but he’s got a lot of good ideas and I liked a couple things he said about finding quiet time amidst a lengthy to-do list…

“For spiritual development and entrance into the thicker, more reflective life, solitude is more inside space than it is outside space. Solitude isn’t something to consume, like a summer vacation at Lake Tahoe. The answer to finding solitude isn’t to physically flee the suburbs and move farther west to another plain-vanilla subdivision next to a cornfield. It begins incrementally with the practice of becoming still. For a minute, for two minutes, for five minutes — not necessarily in beholding a snowcapped mountain peak, but simply in stopping the pursuit of efficiency…

“It may be as simple as getting up earlier each morning or buying a decent pair of ear plugs, but creating space is as necessary as setting up a line item for Christmas gifts in one’s personal budget through the year… Without a line time for quietness, the days get used up carpooling, working on another degree, making partner in the firm, planning yet another birthday party. “

I was with him till the “stopping the pursuit of efficiency” part — it’s hard for me not to try to be efficient. Even scheduling quiet time becomes an exercise in efficiency — setting the timer, scheduling it at the right time. But I guess that’s better than not doing it at all. I think I’ll add “Quiet Time” to my Daily Bucket List (the handful of things I want to try to do every day). Maybe if I do it enough, it will be come part of the routine. And I even get to “check it off”!

5 places to find 10 minutes of quiet:

  1. First thing in the morning
  2. Arriving somewhere early
  3. The beginning of kids’ nap time (because you never know when it will end)
  4. Hiding in the bathroom (most people won’t bother you there)
  5. Before school pickup (it may be the last “quiet” of the day)

Are you able to find quiet time during the day? Where? Are you able to stop doing to-do lists in your head during your quiet time? (That, to me, will be real success.)

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Facing Fear and Getting On With It, with Tips from Martha Beck

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Laura

manasa-ahamvritti.blogspot.com

Fear is a powerful thing. We have fears of everything — public speaking (more than death!), spiders, heights, success — that’s one I’ve never understood. Success to me sounds like prestige, cash and good living. What’s to fear?

But it’s true that fear is a powerful de-motivator. It’s part of why I like doing things in 10-minute chunks — I know I can jump ship before it gets too scary. But the truth is, usually once I’m in it, I see it’s not so bad. Continue reading →

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10-Minute Ways to Make a Vacation Happen

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Laura

orbitz.com

If you’re like me, you end up in an endless loop of “I should have booked earlier”, “Vacation is a month away and I haven’t booked anything,” etc. And so you either go to the same place (again) or stay home and spin it to friends and colleagues as a  “staycation” — hoping that giving it a name with a fun pun will make it seem more fun. Continue reading →

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10-Minute Steps to Spark a Breakthrough

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Laura

oprah.com

I just read this article in the October issue* of O Magazine about jump-starting a “breakthrough”. So many of our dreams go by the wayside because we get stuck, but life keeps on moving. We barely remember we put something on hold a week or a month ago, because we’re so caught up in getting through today. The article, “How to Spark a Breakthrough”, offers great tips on jumping the little hurdles along the way. Continue reading →

Posted in 10-minute projects, Creativity, Inspiration, Mind, Perspective, Self Improvement, time management, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Apps to Save Time on Holiday Shopping

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Laura

When I saw this article on shopping apps in the Los Angeles Times, I thought it was too early to be writing about the holidays. But then I realized the sun has long set on Halloween and Thanksgiving is next week which means it’s “full speed ahead!” In the interest of full disclosure, let me say I’ve never downloaded an app. In fact, I feel like I’m kidding when I say the word “app”. I hope to feel slightly less silly by the end of this post. Continue reading →

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10 Minutes a Day on Generosity

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Laura

Patience Salgado

I liked this profile in Oprah magazine about Patience Salgado. She has a blog called kindnessgirl.com all about easy-to-do good deeds. She chronicles her own good deeds, many of which are a bit out of my comfort zone (“tie a message — ‘it’s going to be okay!’ to a flower, and leave it in a public place”). I wish I were, but I’m just not that girl. Other ideas, some of which might be up your alley, are profiled in the Oprah article, “Some Kind of Wonderful” about Salgado. Continue reading →

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Keeping the Balls in the Air — the Daily “Bucket” List

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Laura

“Too many balls in the air”, “Burning the candle at both ends”, “Too much on my plate”… Why so many metaphors for overextended? Because we are!

But we threw most of those balls in the air ourselves! And we actually ordered the items on the plate! Still, it’s a lot. How can we give attention to all the items, keep them in “play”, and stay sane? We can’t do them all perfectly, but can we keep them all moving?

That’s where a “Daily Bucket List” comes in — things that keep you balanced that you’d like to do every day, if only for a few minutes. Here’s what to do…

  • Think of 10 things (or 2 or 4 or 7…) that you’d like to do for at least a few minutes every day, and jot them down (items could be time for reading, the newspaper, friends, kids, spouse, dinner prep, organizing, desk work, financial planning, mail, rest, quiet, etc.)
  • Mix it up: combine fun, work (reading and desk work), short-term and long-term (organizing and financial planning), and think of what gives you peace of mind at the end of the day (knowing the bills are paid on time) and personal satisfaction (knowing you spent some time on charity, or art, or helping your child solve a problem)
  • Keep the list handy and check it off as you go — keep a post-it note in your purse or a notebook with the categories down the left and the days of the week across the top and check as you go. It’s 9:30 a.m. and I’ve already checked off four — it’s amazing how much you can get done when you only ask for a few minutes at a time!
  • Give it a shot: Some days you’ll get through most of your list, taking just 10 minutes or so for each item on the list; other days not so much. Whatever you do, you’ve taken just a bit of control of your daily destiny.

Major disclaimer — the daily bucket list is not nearly as sexy as your life bucket list — while “balancing the checkbook” may not rate as a life goal, it definitely has an affect on peace of mind on a day-to-day basis.

What’s on Your Daily Bucket List? What gives your day balance? What would you like to spend a few minutes on every day if you took the time?

Posted in 10-minute projects, Goals, time management, Uncategorized | Tagged | 2 Comments

Is “Enough” REALLY Enough?

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Laura

(Copy of October Give Me 10! newsletter)

The theme of this month’s newsletter is “enough”.  I’m in one of those crazy busy periods where there simply is not “enough” time for everything and I can’t do “enough” to do things right. Thanks to my friend, Theresa, for giving a new meaning to “enough”.

Theresa told me about a book, “A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough” by Wayne Muller. He suggests that what we are doing is already enough. In a day when I felt I was doing everything half-way, at least I did SOMETHING — I touched a lot of things, briefly. Which was as good as it was going to get.

So next time you have a day when you only make it to half the game, half the meeting, half the play, give yourself a high two-and-a-half for doing that much!

Other Books About “Enough”…

From the number of book titles with “enough” in the title, it seems that we are on a never-ending quest to be content with enough. A few books I like or would like to check out…

Merriam-Webster’s Definition of “Enough”…

“Occurring in such quantity, quality or scope as to fully meet demands, needs or expectations.”

What?! Impossible! Or does this mean I need to adjust my “demands, needs or expectations”? Is this where the “art of low expectations” comes in? Your thoughts?

Theresa’s Favorite Quote from “A Life of…Enough”…

“When approaching a task, a responsibility, or some choice between this and that, take a moment before you begin and ask yourself: Am I  truly able to say that I really love this? Or is it more honest to say that I can handle this?  You will know instantly which is true.”

What’s your perspective on “enough” — does it feel more like a copout or a comfort? Can you live with “good enough”?

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