I was merrily driving back from seeing my mum in panto in Reading when disaster struck – upon approaching a busy roundabout on the A11 dual carriageway my car engine switched off and the power steering disappeared! Thankfully there was a quiet road turning to my immediate left on the roundabout and I rolled in and came to a halt.
Would you believe it… I’d run out of fuel!! Cue embarrassed phone call to the AA to get some petrol delivered so I could carry on my journey home, via the nearest petrol station.
While I was waiting for the nice AA man to turn up it got me thinking about how often in life we approach things with a ‘I’ll do that in a minute’ attitude and yet we might just be on the verge of a breakdown and not even know it!
I know that I am a terror for saying ‘I’ll do that later’ or ‘I must add that to my to do list’ and in this instance it was a ‘I’ll fill up at the next stop’, which I knew was just 2 miles up the road. The car was after all telling me there was 31 miles left in the tank… but obviously this was not the case.
It makes you think doesn’t it.
How many of us are running on empty and at risk of breaking down ourselves?
- I’ll make time for ‘me’ later
- I’ll write my book later
- I’ll walk the dog in a little while
- I’ll book myself a little holiday soon
- I’ll make time to read that book this week
- Sometime this year we’ll get together
- I’ll write that blog next month
- I’ll start the gym soon
- I’ll have a massage soon
- The list goes on.. and on… and on!
Are you resonating with any of these?
Later might just be too late
If you are ploughing forward through life and focusing on what feels like the most important things but knowing deep down that you really need to invest a bit more thought, time and love into yourself then please take this blog as the nudge you need to STOP for a moment and actually book some time out of your diary and plan something for yourself that is 100% for you:
- A country walk
- A holiday
- A book reading or DVD mammoth session
- An afternoon with friends or family
- A shopping expedition
- A nap (regularly?)
- A new hobby
- Some craft time
- Some cooking fun
- Whatever floats your boat
One of the key lessons I have got from 2014 is that you need to make time for NOW in your life. That family is massively important but above all else that LOVE is one of the major things you need to have as much of in your life as you can.
When the final curtain call comes and you trundle off to the next world you will be making that journey on your own and there will be nothing but love and good memories to take with you, so make sure you are creating these in your life every day.
Developing a ‘Do It Now’ mentality
I live with a ‘do it now’ person. My man sees something that needs doing and he does it then and there, or maybe within a few hours, but nothing gets left til later. It drives me mad sometimes and my ‘do it later’ attitude drives him round the twist too but there’s a lot to be said for not putting off til tomorrow what can be done today, even if that’s not really how you feel you function instinctively.
So, how do we flip from a ‘later’ to a ‘now’ attitude? Baby steps of course.
You don’t have to redically change who you are and start doing everything immediately but there will be certain things in your life that you should definitely be prioritising to do now instead of later.
As a general rule it is said that if it will take less than 5 minutes do it now. This must, I feel, be taken with a pinch of salt as I know I have a gazillion less than 5 minute to dos that would fill a day or more if I did them all now. So, common sense applies here.
How about you take that first step today and become conscious of what you’re putting off.
Next time you find yourself thinking ‘I’ll do it later’, or any other version of that, I want you to STOP and think. Be aware of what you’re feeling and really look at the thing you’re considering putting off.
Is it something you could do now? If it is the DO IT!
If it’s not then I want you to set a date or time when you will do it. If it’s later today then tell yourself a time. If it’s later this week or month I want you to set a date and, even better, put it in your diary.
And why stop at today? Why not do this for the next week… the next month? Just take it one task at a time, one day at a time.
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I’d LOVE to know how you get on with this and any lightbulb moments you have so please do join in the conversation by leaving a message below, joining in on social media or whizzing me an email.
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Do you like the idea of getting more conscious of the way your year ahead is planned? Have you seen my Ultimate Diary Planner? Find out more at www.ultimatediaryplanner.com
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