Hello, hello! Posting has been few and far between these last few weeks. The timing seems to correspond with a major schedule shift experiment, namely, get up at 4:30-5am and go to bed by 9:30-10pm.

The early morning hours are mine for yoga, meditation, shower, breakfast, and some writing/planning time. Then it’s time for everybody else by about 8:30am.

While it’s been working well for the most part, there are still a few wrinkles wanting ironing out. Last week the shake up came from morning meetings–Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday–that started at 6:30, 6:45, and 7:30am. Something had to give and it was typically the writing/planning time. Not having enough planning time is one of the most sneaky trains that shoots me straight into feeling overwhelmed.

The other is a pattern I’ve seen emerge involves time for ToDo/admin stuff. Ex. my own bookkeeping, non-urgent email correspondence, processing incoming info, and then all the tasky things that are easy to brush off like flies.

Once the day gets going at 8:30am, priorities lean towards client work & networking. Before the schedule shift, ToDo work happened late into the night–now it just isn’t happening. Hmmm, not good.

So what’s a girl who is committed to a success, balance, & a healthy life to do? For the ToDo/admin work, I can schedule appointments with myself, and then hold those as sacred as client appointments. I’ll see if 45 minutes two times a week suffices.

For the loss of morning writing/planning time… this one is a little tougher because even without somewhat regular early morning meetings, I’m not creating enough space for this Important-Non Urgent time. I should actually be spending about four times as much because of the Project Simplify program in development. [side note: this program has not been announced yet and I’m leaving it in the realm of mystery just a little bit longer… suffice to say I am excited!!!!]

Again, the solution will lie in my scheduling. Back to Covey’s First Things First–schedule in the “Rocks” first, rather than try to make this crucial activity squish within the spaces that never seem to appear. Choices can be tough, but the more I check in with the vision of my successful, balanced, healthy life, the easier those choices become.