Most people I am running into these days are lamenting the end of summer.
One woman I saw at a networking event told me she wished August lasted forever. Yes, perhaps. When we live life fully, though, we have fewer regrets. My work helps empower people to achieve more each day- so that those truly important items ARE done- and that includes enjoying summer YOUR way. Sue West and I are back: Listen here: Get Ready for Fall – August 9, 2013 or read on.
Sue: Where did the summer go? I am hearing that question a lot.
Carol: Right. Most people I know perceive summer as if they were still a child…it can somehow seem “endless” since it can be void of structure.
Sue: Yes…and if we are lucky enough to have a certain amount of freedom from “the regular grind” in summer, this affords our brain to recharge and come out more creative on September 1st. So let’s Design Our Fall!
Carol: Hi, this is Carol Williams, productivity coach at EpS, Efficient Productivity Systems.
Sue: And this is Sue West, Life Transitions Coach and AD/HD specialist
We have joined together as the Design Your Days Duo
for this series of audio interviews to give you short, “use today” pieces of advice, in 5 to 8 minutes. If you like this podcast, please LIKE our Facebook page for tips on your newsfeed several times a week.
Carol: Last time we talked about the ‘Summer Shoulds.’ We talked about how to re-frame those summer days, to determine what you Really Want out of those days. Now, we are wrapping up summer and looking at fall. The Back to School ads are out in full swing, and the August air brings a twinge of a chill into the air. Thoughts turn to sweaters, soccer, and Halloween. Perhaps this impending season change evokes a feeling a sense of a new start.
Sue: We have 4 tips for you today to help you with this transition. We’ll look at What Gets In Your Way of having a fall that works for YOU.
First, losing your adult children to college or to their first apartment can be the emotions which get in your way. Your kids are graduated from high school and this is your first Fall without them at home; they are off to college.
So, first things: Set up a schedule or Skype time when you can stay connected or get on Facebook. Be where they are. Second, set up some dates with friends, with couples, and even go on a retreat by yourself. Fill your time, at first, with activities, if you think you’ll have a difficult time.
After a while, though, it’s not about how to fill your time until they return home. They’ll be changed when they do. So now is a wonderful time to review what YOU love to do – hobbies, volunteerism, perhaps start a new or another business. What do you want so that you can expand your life?
Carol: The second tip is “don’t forget soccer”.
Last year, I found myself driving all over New Hampshire for my oldest son’s soccer games. I did not realize how much dedication this was going to take on my part. So this tip, really, is all about taking your “sideboards” into account when Designing Your Day so that you are not surprised when they do, and they will, impact your day and your available time. So, if you have children, take a good look at what activities they will be involved in and how that will impact your time. When you receive the game schedule, take it out, and transfer all those games, including prep and driving time, to your calendar. You’ll be glad you did.
Sue: If you have AD/HD, transitions into different seasons with their different schedules are especially challenging. Switching gears is just a struggle. But there’s definitely hope.
Take some time and try this exercise. You can sit quietly and visualize, or take a walk, or sit down and write about it. What you’re going to do is imagine it’s the first day of your new schedule – you might be grand babysitting, or getting your own children back onto a Fall schedule.
Imagine or write down every step of your day, from what time you wake up to what you wear – very specific so you can sense the whole experience and almost live it. Write out your routines for the morning, routines for the evening. And start using them a week or two before your new schedule starts, to give yourself some practice time and some stress-free time to get used to a new schedule.
Carol: The last tip is also child related. If you have a child or children at school, the likelihood is high that they will get sick since they all get back together, the weather gets colder and doors get shut tightly. Plan a little flexibility into your schedule. Have a plan B ready for when little Johnny wakes up with a fever.
Take a minute and think back to last fall when crisis hit, how you solved it, and how that worked or did not work for you. You can plan for it now, which will take off the stress in the moment when you have another parent to drive, when you have already set yourself up to work from home, etc.
Sue: To wrap up, we just provided 4 examples of What might Get In Your way when designing your day in the fall. In the next podcast we will dive deeper into these “stuck” places, and as we wrap up 2013, we will continue to move through the Design Your Days process. At the end of about 12 podcasts, you will look back and find that we’ve provided an excellent overview of our process.
If you want don’t want to wait for 12 podcasts…come join us on Friday Oct 18th at the Center for Health Promotion in Concord for the next Design Your Days Workshop. Check our Facebook page for registration information.
If that date does not work, we offer the Design Your Days workshop to YOUR group of business owners, so please contact one of us for more information and to get us on your schedule.