Are you finding there is not enough time in the day to complete all you need to do?

Do you have a To Do list that has enough items on it to last a life time?

In today’s society, we are overwhelmed with daily demands. We think having a few more hours in our day would solve our problems. Being more efficient and managing our time better, we believe would allow us time to ourselves.

Personally, I see the opposite happening. The female species are excellent multi-taskers and always looking for ways to do more things in less time.

What do we do with that extra time? You guessed it, more things. So, instead of being tired at the end of the day, we are exhausted.

Time management tips are useful and necessary for some people. For others, it can be counterproductive. More stress can be present attempting to get extra done in the same amount of time.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, why you don’t have enough time in your day to finish all that needs to be done? Maybe, because you’re doing too much!

Reflect on that question. Procrastinating and not completing all your tasks is one thing. Going full steam ahead all day and still having unfinished work may mean you need to let something go.

Experiment this week with doing one thing at a time and be present while doing it. Have you ever completed a task or driven somewhere and not remembered. That is a sign of not being fully present. Our thoughts are not on the task at hand, but instead they are on what else needs to get done.

If multitasking is a must for you, add a task that will benefit your wellness. For example, listen to a relaxation tape while you cook supper, run on the treadmill while you watch T.V., use commercials to do some deep breathing after putting sound on mute, and listen to motivational CD’s as you drive.

Use time management tips wisely. Focus on making more time for you. Use that time for your own self-care.

Do less of what you SHOULD be doing and more of what you WANT to be doing.

That’s the best time management tip I can give you!!

Balance, Wellness

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high would you rate your energy level on a daily basis?

For many mothers, because of their multiple roles, energy levels can often fall leaving them irritable, exhausted and overwhelmed. If you are feeling drained and exhausted, it only stands to reason that your coping abilities will also be affected. When we are feeling at our best it is much easier to meet and deal with the challenges of our day.

So how do we find time in our already full day to keep our energy level up and our coping abilities at a maximum?

Here are 5 simple tips that will take your level up a notch or two:

1. Fill your tank with optimum fuel. - Nutrition plays a huge role in your energy yet many people continue to make unhealthy choices on a regular basis. Eating frequent, smaller nutritional meals are the best way to keep energy levels high and your mood stable. Eat every 2-3 hours starting with a nutritious breakfast. It can jumpstart your day. Increase your fruit, vegetables, and fiber choices while decreasing foods high in sugar and fat. Stay well hydrated, increasing your water intake to 6-8 glasses a day.
2. Get enough sleep. Easier said than done you might be thinking. For Moms, depending on the ages of their kids, sleep can be unpredictable and inconsistent. Proper sleep is needed however in order for you to meet your daily demands. To do this, take short naps(less than 30 minutes) if necessary to catch up on your required sleep. If you wake up in the morning feeling exhausted, really make a commitment to getting to bed earlier at night. Turn off the TV and go to sleep instead. Develop a relaxing ritual prior to bedtime that will help relax and induce sleep. For example, a warm bath, herbal tea in your favorite mug or 15 minutes from your favorite book. If you are operating on less that 6-8 hours on a consistent basis, your moods and health can be affected.
3. Exercise. I cannot address energy levels without talking about exercise. As you may have read before in many of my articles, I am a huge advocate of exercise. If you are not doing some form of it, you are missing out on one of the best ways to dramatically improve your health and well-being. Start small with something manageable like 15-20 minute walks on your lunch or break. Exercise can improve your mood and increase your energy level immediately. Don’t however exercise right before bedtime as it can affect your ability to be able to get to sleep. If you make a habit of doing it in the day or earlier in the evening though, it will actually improve your sleep at night.
4. Decrease daily demands if possible. Ask yourself if there are any demands on your time that you may be able to eliminate or decrease. Often we get involved in activities that end up increasing our stress level resulting in draining our energy at the same time. Is their something you can eliminate? Do you need to start saying NO to more demands on your time? Can you cut back on any of your present responsibilities at work or home? Can you ask someone else to help? Ask yourself what is the affect that these demands are having on your present lifestyle? If it is bringing you more pain than pleasure, it may be time to make some changes.
5. Time for relaxation. Because of the busyness of our lives, it is more important than ever to make time for relaxation and rejuvenation. That can be anything from a 10 minute chat with a friend who energizes you, a 30 minute walk in the park or some deep breathing exercises before you start your day. You know by the way you feel what activities rejuvenate and revive you. Make time for these things on a regular basis.

As you can see, many of the things that can be done to improve your health and well-being are all about choices and decisions we make on a daily basis. Make a decision TODAY to live your best life. Our lives are not somewhere out there in the future. Everything can not always wait until tomorrow or when the kids get bigger or when I have more free time or when I get a new job. Our lives are made up of this moment. Choose wisely. It is choices we make in these moments that will write the script of our lives.

Balance, Wellness

Contemplate for a minute the last few weeks. Have they been full of energy drainers or energy producers?

How do you feel at the end of the day? Do you fall into bed exhausted, dreading the next day? Is your mind racing? Do you wake up in the morning just as exhausted as you did the night before? Does your brain kick into overdrive as you think about your To-Do list?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you have more energy drainers in your day than energy producers.

I am a firm believer that how we go about our day is our choice. If you are feeling totally drained and overwhelmed on a fairly consistent basis, this is a clue that you need to reassess what is going on in your day.

Ask yourself these questions:

• How do I start my day?
• What do I think about when I jump out of bed in the morning?
• What nutritional choices do I regularly make throughout the day?
• How about exercise - Is it plentiful or non-existent?
• Am I always rushing through everything?
• Is there a task I want to accomplish but continue to put off?
• Do I always need to feel in control and be right?
• Does every task I do need to be accomplished perfectly?
• Do I complain and gossip more than I laugh?
• Do I spend more time watching reality TV than I do creating my own desired reality?
• Am I constantly thinking about what is missing from my life?
• Do I spend most of my time ruminating about the past or worrying about the future?
• Have I been spending more time scolding my kids than praising them?
• Does my career energize or drain me?

Give some really serious consideration to these questions and even go a step further and journal your answers, thoughts and feelings about them. What many women believe is that they are a victim of their circumstances and have little control over their lives - the absolute opposite is true.

Yes, there are situations beyond our control however it is our choice as to how we will let those situations dictate our lives. It is our choice as to whether we make decisions that will enhance our health and well-being. Anything is possible taken step by step.

Give some thought to these words…“If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”

If you are not satisfied with your present lifestyle, are you ready to do things differently? You get to choose.

Balance, Wellness

If there is one word that I hear more than any other in today’s society, it is “STRESS”.

I have presented information on this topic in my job as a nurse as well in my coaching with women. Women are sometimes consumed with multiple stressors all happening at the same time. In coaching, I am often supporting women in decreasing their stressors and increasing their stress resistance so they are better equipped to handle the daily stressors in their life.

One of the greatest stress management tools you can possess, however, is the ability to put everything into perspective. How you perceive your life has a profound effect on how you deal with stress and your level of happiness.

For an event to be a stressor, we first need to perceive it as such. What if we were to take note of the little daily demands that we find stressful and experiment with changing our perception of these demands?

Look at your commute to work in heavy traffic as an opportunity to listen to your favorite music or motivational CD. How about using your supper preparation as a time to spend with the kids. Get them involved in some way. Stress is in the eye of the beholder. What may be one person’s stressor could be another’s saviour.

This week also experiment with the role your thoughts have in how calm or chaotic your day is. Notice how negative thoughts can spiral into a stressful day and when the majority of your thoughts are positive, your daily routine tends to run much smoother.

We are often doing the same daily tasks but some days they seem more overwhelming than others. Why - because of how we perceive them. Certain days preparing supper can be an enjoyable task while other times it is one more job added to my TO DO list. It totally depends on my thinking.

One simple way to reduce the stress and create more balance in your life - change your thinking. Recognize when negativity takes over your day and stop it ASAP. When we start thinking our life is overwhelming, it will become just that.

Start living in the moment and remind yourself how precious life is. Practice becoming more flexible as life always involves a series of changes. Embrace then instead of resisting them. We only go around this way once!!!

Quote by Gillian MacBeth-Louthan:

“Whenever a negative thought comes, delete it and replace it with a good thought or good
intention. This will take some practice and concentrated effort, but it can be done.
Instead of continuously manifesting what you do not want in your life, change your focus. Practice adjusting the lens of your perception.

It is Universal law that all of life will respond to our thoughts.
So hold on tight to what your heart desires.”

Balance, Wellness

Have you ever had a difficult decision to make and your head was telling you one thing while your heart was telling you another?

Recently, I had an opportunity to experience this for myself.

My son, Sam, who just finished kindergarten, was registered for French Immersion. His sister, Maggie, had just completed Grade 2 French and loved every minute of this experience. When my husband and I had decided to place Maggie in Immersion, it required some thought and discussion with the school and other parents. For anyone who has talked to parents regarding their views on French Immersion, you know that there are many opinions and in the end you just have to do what will work best for you and your child.

Because Maggie was in Immersion, we automatically placed Sam in it with little hesitation. He was a strong student and loved school. Although, initially shy, quickly warmed up and made some great friends. When I announced to Sam that he would be going into Immersion and moving to a different school for Grade One, he just nodded in agreement.

The decision to do this - which was once clear - quickly became more difficult. Sam soon found out that his three very best friends (in the whole wide world) were remaining in the English program and that is where he was going to stay!

Here is where the head versus the heart comes in. For the next few months my head spoke to me. My head told me that he would quickly make new friends; it doesn’t make sense to keep him back from this opportunity because his friends aren’t going, he would be in a different program than his sister, and on and on my head spoke very clear and logical explanations as to why I should stick with my decision.

Move over head, here comes the heart. As strong and clear as the reasoning of my head, the emotion of my heart was stronger. It became increasingly clear to me that I needed to listen to it. Yes, my son was only 6 but he knew exactly what he wanted. His heart was telling him, he wanted to be with his friends. I knew I could always choose Late Immersion. I knew that Sam would learn French fluently at some point in his life. Maybe it would be more difficult later on, I understood this. However, knowing he was starting Grade One, running onto the bus, excited to be with his three best friends, that to me was far more important.

When my husband and I finally let our heart win, all our anxieties and worries quickly melted away. When we told others, not everyone agreed with this decision, however when a mother knows in her heart what is best for her child that is all she needs to listen to.

Will Sam remain friends with these young boys? Who knows? All I know is that I have given him an opportunity that feels right for our family. In the grand scheme of things, in the words of Robert Fulghum from “All I ever really needed to know I learned in kindergarten”, Sam has learned the most important lesson already from these three boys…”When you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.” I have just given him another chance to practice.

So next time you have a difficult decision to make, no matter what area of life it may be in, listen for what feels right. Keep in mind that our head can be very influential but our heart never lies.

Balance, Family, Wellness