Timing Is Everything
I’ve always been a little obsessed with Halloween. Who doesn’t like a good scare and a pillowcase full of candy?
When I was in middle school, I lived in a town that had a pretty nifty amusement park, and the most popular ride (other than the vomit-inducing rollercoasters) was called the Haunted River. It was like having Halloween all the time!
You’d pile into a rickety boat with all your friends and head down the “river” where ghosts and goblins would jump out and spook you at every turn.
I must have rode the Haunted River dozens of times…until it was shut down due to mysterious circumstances, but there’s one trip I’ll always remember.
It was less petrifying and more…pathetic.
The ride started like normal, and in the darkness my friends and I could barely make out the boat a short distance in front of us. Suddenly, we heard the other boat’s passengers shriek and dodge something that jumped out at them from the plastic bushes.
Oooh, boy—this was going to be good! Whatever monster was up there would be scaring our boat any second.
As our boat reached the spot where the other boat had their creepy encounter, my friends and I huddled together waiting for the surprise attack.
But nothing happened.
Our boat sailed on for a moment and then a noise behind us made us spin around in our seats. A Dracula-ish animatronic figure was leaning over the water…right where we had been 5 seconds earlier.
Our boat was out of sync with the ride!
The ride continued that way with a giant spider, the wolf man, and a mummy scaring the empty air after we had already passed them.
Timing is everything…especially when you’re trying to scare a bunch of jaded 13-year-olds.
The Haunted River kind of lost its appeal after that voyage, but timing is everything in your life, career, and business too.
Step 4 of the Life Editing Process is Rearrange Everything Into a Perfect Flow. We’re talkin’ time management, baby!
Your schedule’s not set in stone, and adjusting a few things during your day or week could make a huge difference. It’ll help you feel more in sync with your life.
And wouldn’t you like to be less stressed while getting more done?
It’s totally possible!
I encourage my clients to act like mad scientists and experiment with their schedules. Put on your white lab coat and mix up your tasks!
One way I’ve rearranged my time is to move my workouts to the afternoon or evenings instead of forcing myself to do them in the mornings. I know all the research that people who exercise in the mornings are more focused, eat healthier throughout the day, and blah blah blah.
But I’m way too bleary-eyed and zombie-like in the morning. I’d blow off my workouts to get more sleep…and then feel like a loser. I swear Richard Simmons looked very disappointed in me from the cover of my Sweatin’ to the Oldies DVD.
When I finally cut the crap and moved my workouts to later in the day, it was a miracle (praise Jebus!). Giving myself permission to rearrange my schedule, even if it’s not what the “experts” would do, was just what I needed.
So what do you need to rearrange?
Think about all the areas of your life: health, career, business, spirituality, family, hobbies, friends, etc. Where are things not flowing as easily as they should? Where are you getting frustrated?
What in your life is missing the mark…like the fake monsters from my youth?
Take a look at your schedule this week and pick at least one task that’s frustrating you for some reason and move it to another time.
Be adventurous! Reclaim your minutes! A rearranged schedule can make your stress disappear.
And you’ll realize life’s not so scary after all.
This post focuses on Step 4 of the Life Editing Process, Rearrange Everything Into a Perfect Flow. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.
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I’ve actually been experimenting with moving workouts to the evenings as well. I really don’t have time in the morning so I was only getting exercise on the weekends. I haven’t been doing it long enough to call it a true new routine but I’m finding 30 mins of light excercise/cardio is helping to give me some extra energy at the end of the day. And I’m talking pretty late in the day so I can have a boost of energy to get some things done between 9pm and midnight instead of slowly sliding into zombie land. I might just go do a mini work out right now!
This is great advice Sage, I’m going to look at something now and move it. I want to reclaim my minutes!
Absolutely! And don’t worry if your rearranged schedule doesn’t work at first. Keep trying until things start flowing easily.