I talk with business owners every day who struggle with managing their time.
My goal as their business coach is to help them realize that thinking differently about time management can be more important than any new tools they could buy for time management.
And as they justify their overbooked schedules I simply offer this:
Entrepreneur Michael Gerber often says “Time is just another word for life.”
So over the next few days, when you say things like “I don’t have enough time to meet with you” or “Don’t waste your time doing that” – insert the word life in the place of time, and see if it changes the way you feel about what you are saying.
“I don’t have enough life to meet with you”.
“Don’t waste your life doing that”.
The client usually stops talking. The pain in their silence is obvious and heavy.
With all that is going on in our lives, it may seem impossible to squeeze something else in – you will argue “I don’t have enough time left to dream!”
Or, you don’t have enough life left to dream…
Some of us have forgotten how to dream, as our work and family obligations trump any amount of unscheduled time we have. Unfortunately dreaming has slowly become one of those ” use it or lose it” practices.
And if you are one of those people who has ‘lost’ your dreaming skills, you have to believe that time spent following your dreams is valuable before your “self” will allow it to happen.
It’s all in how you think about it.
Adding dream time to an already jam packed schedule may seem impossible – so do what you can to set yourself up for success.
Here’s how to create time (life) to follow your dreams -
- Start with giving yourself permission to spend time dreaming.
Nothing kills dreaming faster than guilt. You may stare at blank paper for a while – but keep the faith! Your dreams are in there, just waiting to come out. - Actually schedule the time to dream.
Waiting for a few hours to just open up for dreaming will NEVER happen. Be realistic. Start small if you have to. It may be hard at first, but do it any way. - Be specific about what you want to do during your dream time.
Cross it out on your appointment calendar and add a note like I will go to the zoo to take photos from noon to 3pm and then come back and edit them till dinner time. Have a plan, and be determined to stick to it.
With any new habit that you want to develop, research says you’ll need to dream this way routinely for about a month before it becomes your new way of dreaming.
During that month, know that you’re gonna drop the ball, make mistakes, forget to dream – and that is ok.
Don’t beat yourself up.
If you need some help getting started, here is a link with some great tips and techniques for managing and organizing your time.
But remember – it all starts with how you think about dreaming.
Then it’s up to you to determine how you will make it happen. I am confident you will.
You are defining your life to dream.
Until next photo,
Remy
Remy’s dream is creating opportunities for photography showings and public displays of her work and to ultimately be recognized nationally as a respected photographer . . . then the world. Remy is CEO of Cornerstone Creative, a business consulting practice in Northern California. Remy’s post day is Wednesday. +Remy Gervais
This content is published under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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I have enough life to do whatever I chose to, I will be cautious of my choices today.
Great blog….keep living life.
V
“Actually schedule the time to dream” is a big one for me. I need to even schedule time to work on my dream.
I thought I had you to organize my time . . . ;-)
Great post -
Cath
I truly loved this brilliant article. Regards -Mariska
Veronica and Cath – great affirmations…keep saying them in your heart and head…lemme know if I can help you make it work! xo Rem
Thanks Mariska! See ya next Friday! Rem
I’m sorry but I can’t help feeling like this was written for ME :)
That whole permission thing is always tough… but I’m building the habit of strategic time in the business, so this can’t be far behind!
Thanks sweets for all you do – Heather
Oh boy, managing time. I can’t manage myself out of a paper bag! Can a person have too much time on her hands and not get everything needed done? Yes!
I’m going to start making dates with myself by marking off times on my calendar. And sticking to it!
I appreciate everyone’s affirmations and have taken some to heart.
Thanks Remy!
I have a sort of related time issue distraction. Insert the words “Etsy.com shopping” for time.
These days, Etsy.com is my biggest distraction
and as much as I love it, it shouldn’t get that much time or energy. Note to self: more writing less Etsy.
I’m also a big believer in scheduling time to do nothing, or think, or draw, or write or mine my memory banks. Great advice!
Oh, ya know women forget that dreaming is an inward feminine practice. We get caught up in do, do, do which is more of a male attribute of outward motion. There is a natural rhythm of yin and Yang in life and it’s super important for women to honor the feminine process. We have been forced into the male paradigm of rush, achieve, do, succeed and while some of that’s ok, it must be balanced. Bitch please, take a dream break!
Blessed be…Divine Femininity!
Laurie
Hey Laurie – thank you so much for grounding me in the most important part…the business side of me tries to create logic and structure and you are right, some times, it should just be -
xo Rem
Dear Remy,
Thank you for sharing this post with Michael Gerber and us.
For all of you PRO DREAMER and life creators – may I invite you to Michael’s new facilitator program of Origination – The Dreaming Room for Awakening the Entrepreneur Within.
Multiply your impact through others.
With much love,
Michael through Johanna Nilsson
Johanna –
Thank you for your note and good wishes.
The 11 years I spent with Micheal’s company had an incredible impact on me, and how I coach today with my clients. I wish him much success with the new facilitator program –
Here’s to creating incredible impact.
Rem