Here We Go 2022!

Hello Friends,

Here we are in 2022! Do you have your “New Year, New You” plan ready to go? I do!

I’ve started a new fitness regiment based on steps per day, not workouts per week. It incorporates walking, pilates, yoga, and weight lifting. Try : Leslie Sansone: Miracle Miles 5 DVD Set featuring Free Super-Sculpting Chain Link Band in Assorted Color (Here’s where I use my planner )

I’m also getting back to some of my hobbies like crocheting, and of course I have my book and blog to work on. So, I am planning on a fun and busy year!

What about you?

People often ask me “How do you find the time to …” or they say “Wow, it would be nice if I had the time to …” Sound familiar?’

Everyone seems to wish that they had more time. What they don’t realize is that everyone has the same 24 hours in each day. It’s what you choose to do within that day that is the difference.

Life is all about choices, and that includes how you spend your time. Lifestyle choices, job choices, habit choices, and spending choices all contribute to how you spend your 24 hours each day.

If you feel that you don’t have enough time to live and enjoy the type of life that you want, you can make some changes.

The first thing you want to do is sit down and make a list of all your daily activities. Monday through Sunday.

If you already use a day planner or calendar this will help you out a lot. Then add in all the little things that you don’t put in your planner or calendar like stopping for coffee or grabbing dinner on the way home and other things like that. (Those type of things can eat up a lot of time.)

Now make a separate list of all the things that you would like to do during the week if you had time. Prioritize these based on what would make you feel the best, give you the most relaxation, or benefit you the most.

Next look at how long it takes you to do some of your habits, for example putting on make-up in the morning or sitting and having your coffee.

Are those important? Could you shorten them to include something else in your day? Also look at how long it takes you to get to work, maybe if you left earlier you would avoid traffic and you could get more things done earlier?

Utilize ‘dead’ time, like waiting for appointments. Good examples of this are writing, cleaning your pocketbook, filling out forms, returning emails. Think about all that you could get done in all those little pockets of time!

Analyze your weekly prep. Do you spend some time every week getting ready for the upcoming week? If you don’t, this is a game changer!

Spend 20 minutes on any given evening pick out all your outfits down to your accessories. Have them lined up for the week. Then you don’t have to fuss with what you’re going to wear, you can grab an outfit and go. Try Capsule Wardrobe Core Capsule 2022 Edition for some great ideas.

Next spend about 20 minutes meal planning for the week this way you have a menu plan in place. A great guide for this is : The Ultimate Meal-Prep Cookbook: One Grocery List. A Week of Meals. No Waste.

Spend 30 minutes chopping vegetables prepping salads and sautéing meats. (This step may save you both money AND time.)

This hour and a half of prep time will save you literally four or five hours during your week. This frees you up for those extra things that you want to do: for some down time, for some fun time, for some family time.

Sometimes leading your best life, your happiest life, is all about time management. If you want more inspiration, try 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs

Have a Great Day!

Dottie Lake