Tips, Tools & Tricks for Reducing Stress and Enjoying Life!
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Issue 6....................................................................February 2003
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Text Version:Click HERE              Online Version: Click: HERE

Last Saturday for the first time since I moved to the Space Coast in Florida, I was excited to have the time and opportunity to watch the shuttle re-enter the atmosphere and fly overhead to land just south of me at Kennedy Space Center.

Standing outside with a few others at the Buckler show in Deland, I anxiously awaited the 2 sonic boom which I was always unprepared for.  We scanned the sky to the west and north, as I kept looking at my watch.

Even after 5 minutes past the estimated flyover, I wasn't too concerned, but then someone rushed out and said "they can't find it on radar".  

I turned on the radio through the PA system and about 50 crafters gathered around.  "We think the Columbia is lost" came the announcement about 9:30 am.  What?  How can that be?  What happened?

It was a personal blow, because 16 days earlier I had watched the shuttle lift off into a perfect morning sky, with dolphins playing in the waters off Cape Canaveral.  I realize that I was one of the last people to see the shuttle leave the earth.  

Every launch and landing carries awe and mystery to me, and yet how blase we can become when an event occurs flawlessly with regularity.  It can't happen to us, we think.  How sad for everyone else, but tragedy rarely hits home.

When you think of how many materials, actions and events it takes to make a shuttle mission safe and complete, and all the variables that could go wrong, that seems to me to be that the real miracle is that it can get up there at all.

And so it is with life itself...how many components, both inside and out of living creatures must function correctly and symbiotically for us to be alive?  We rarely think of the mind-boggling complexity of our planet and beyond.  It's easy to take it for granted.

But like the shuttle, every day that we live well, without damage or disease, accidents or suffering, disaster or war we can be grateful for every minute we have and for what DOES go right and make it the best minutes of our lives.

What are you grateful for today?

"You are multi-talented, as well as being incredibly lovely"  Edgar

If the guy who wrote "Jimmy Cracks Corn" doesn't care, why'd he write it?

If the Professor on 'Gilligans Island' could make a radio out of a coconut, why couldn't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why do we point at our wrist to ask the time, but we don't point at our crotch to ask for the bathroom?

Who was the first guy to point at a cows udder and say "I'm going to drink whatever comes out of that"?

Or better yet, the first guy who pointed at a chicken and said "I'll eat whatever comes out of it's butt"!

23 WAYS TO MANAGE YOUR TIME
Your most valuable resource, time is one thing you can't buy, steal, or create.  Here's ways to get more out of it.

Start with knowing what's important to you. Figure out your values and your vision. Write it down and review it weekly.  Choose more:

1. Start delegating to family members, co-workers, professionals, and teenagers needing extra money.

2. Learn to say no to what is not in your mission or your values.

3. Let go of perfectionism. Not everything has to be done perfectly and some things are out of your control.

4. Listen to audio tapes during your commute or household tasks.

5. Use a planner or PDA that includes a daily to do list, a weekly calendar, a monthly calendar, a listing of projects, telephone numbers and important information.

6. Empty out your planner of the clutter and junk. Put the little pieces of paper in an in-box to go through in your weekly planning session.

7. Keep your planner with you at all times.

8. Do not keep a bunch of calendars around. Use only one so everything is in one place.

9. Keep a master list of all the things you need to do, call, see, write, etc. Don't use post-it notes all over. They seem to get lost.

10. Answer routine letters by answering them on the original. Photocopy your message for your own files then send off the original.

11. Cut down on TV time. Plan your TV time so you only watch the shows you really wanted to see. If you are watching, clean during commercials or sew while viewing.

12. Lay out all the things you need for the next day, the night before.

13. Tidy your desk before you leave work so it will be clean for the next session.

14. Try to spend time on planning and important things so you are not always "putting out fires."

15. Use a timer to keep you from spending too much time on one thing or to challenge you when you are cleaning.

16. Relax when you are relaxing and work when you are working.

17. Make goals and rewrite goals every few months, so you have a focus.

18. Clear the clutter from your desk.

19. Go through your files once a year to get rid of paper you no longer need. Saves space and time. Or go through a file each time you put something in it, to keep your files current.

20. Get rid of things that don't work, especially pens. Save yourself some frustration.

21. Start with the worst item on your to do list. Everything else will be a piece of cake. You also won't be thinking and dreading it while doing other tasks. Procrastination sucks out your energy.

22. Be sure to bring things to do like reading, writing a letter, paying bills etc., when you know you will have to wait someplace.

23. A couple of times a year, keep a time log. Jot down everything you do for a day or two. Then examine where your time does not match what is important to you.