Are you underwater, swimming, resurfacing, or on a raft relaxing?

I am resurfacing from an extremely busy few weeks. I knew it would be that way and I was prepared.

What about you? How do you prepare?

What are you telling yourself?

Is it positive and helpful or critical?

I don’t know if you are having the same issue, but…

Suddenly, my next two weeks are really full!

How did that happen? I thought I was “off” for the month! I only begin correcting exams at the end of the month. But I have a guest teaching “week” this week with a focus on leadership and team development, plus an important funeral of a good friend, so now this week is much fuller than expected. Next week looks about the same because of birthdays and such.

And that makes me mostly happy. I get to teach something I love; I will certainly not be bored  - and the funeral will bring closure for many of us who loved Helen.

The How of productivity without overwhelm:

How do I keep from feeling overwhelmed, even if the activities are (mostly) great?

I use a couple of coaching tools on myself.

One is the Eisenhower Matrix (some call it the 4 Ds of time management; you can look up both)

Another is writing everything down- on the family calendar, on my electronic calendar, writing it in my to-do journal…

These two activities help me to separate the important from the urgent, and to keep everything “together” so it gets done in as calm a manner as possible.

Time management is key to getting the important things done.

We need to find ways to CARVE out time for the important things and for reflection and Rest for 2022.

Look at your calendar and make that “cut” and CARVE out the time.

Then when you are in your reflection day (or at least half-day per month), decide what is really important and CARVE out time for that one or two items for the next month.

Then reflect again at another pre-planned date. And keep those times holy.

The How of productivity without overwhelm:

How do I keep from feeling overwhelmed, even if the activities are mostly great?

I use a couple of coaching tools on myself. One is the Eisenhower Matrix and one is writing everything down with visualization - on the family calendar, on my electronic calendar, writing it in my to-do journal…

How are you getting ready for the fall?

Are your emails paired down and ready for responses? Do you code/color-code them for “triage” and potential clients?

What about your to-do list(s)? Do you keep your old lists to make sure you haven’t out something under the pile of papers for too long?

What is your calendar like?

Here are 15 tips to be more productive and better manage your time.