Life Balance

Five Questions To Help With Life Balance

June 24, 2011 By Steve Crenshaw 1 Comment

We are all trying to find life balance more and more. Yet many of us are adding things left and right because we don’t want to be part of the economic down turn. I saw the other day that the stress of our overbooked lives could be the largest reason for obesity. We need to back off, put stuff down and just stop to take inventory of who and what we have become. Prayerfully ask yourself these five questions and let Jesus take control of your life balance.

1. What can I trim back? Yes there is something in your life now that you can get rid of. Maybe you are causing your children stress because they have to be good at music and sports. Maybe they could focus on just one thing and be the best at that. Then you would only have to run half the places you do now. Maybe you can cut out the expensive coffee, and save some money for a trip. What ever it is you can cut at least one thing out of your schedule.

2. What is distracting me? Do you have things in your life that cause you to break concentration and focus? Try different way to get alone and just focus on the task at hand. Yes it is okay to make your kids go to their rooms so you can focus. That is what door locks are for.

3. What is holding me back? I know you are on the fast track and money is just rolling into your pockets, but are you doing what you feel like you were made to do? Most people find fulfilling success when they stop letting the chains of a real job hold them back. No, the answer is not your spouse. Get counseling if you think it is.

4. Who do I need to talk to? Is there unresolved hurt in your life? Have you hurt someone and need to apologize to them? Which ever way this goes you need to make the time and get it resolved.

5. Where can I give back? If you expect to receive you need to give. One of the best ways to gain perspective in life is to work in a shelter or a soup kitchen. Get rid of the majority of your clothes. The Salvation Army or Goodwill can always use items.

Your life balance is not just up to you as Christians we must learn to rely on Jesus. You chose to be where you are now and you can choose to be somewhere different if you let Jesus work in your life.

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: balance, control your life, controls, five, five questions, help with, human interest, Jesus, life, Life Balance, questions, salvation army, simples, speeches

10 Great Ways To Find Balance

May 11, 2010 By Steve Crenshaw 1 Comment

If we are going to find balance in our lives we have to start somewhere. Learning to lead ourselves means knowing when to stop working, and start living. No matter how much you have, it will never bring you peace. I know there are more ways than these so feel free to add yours to the comments.

1. Stop saying Yes.

No I don’t mean say yes to things you want to do and no to other stuff. I mean say no to everything. Once you have told someone no, then you can go back and say yes later. This will give you freedom to choose what you want to do and not have to back out of things you don’t. Think of the times you have said yes to something you thought at the moment of asking that you wanted to do, only to realize later that it really was not your first choice of things to do. Saying no to everything will give you a chance to test everything you want to do, then allow you to choose the best things.

2. Evaluate Everything.

When you evaluate your choices you can list them in the order of importance. The example here would be volunteer at the church picnic or clean the house. If you are going to freak out because the house is not clean, that would be the better choice. While volunteering at the picnic may make the most people happy, your peace of mind is still the better choice. Evaluating also allows you to decide earlier how to plan. You could clean the house the night before and still make the picnic, if you evaluate and plan what you want to do. There is no right answer to our question. You have to decide what is the better option.

3. Plan everything.

Yes I know that people live among us that are free spirits. Spontaneity is the only way they want to live. I also know if they would plan in times to be spontaneous those weekends to Miami would be less of a headache on Monday morning. As a free spirit you can take ideas 1 and 2 and give yourself more time to be spontaneous, but still do things for your greater good. Having a plan will let you see where you are getting caught making two promises at once. Having a plan gives you the opportunity to see where you are at and make adjustments to help you do what needs to be done and not feel overwhelmed.

4. Learn to be intentional.

As I was developing a plan for spiritual growth I came across a word I had heard, but never paid attention to, “Intentionality.” Intentionality means you are doing something you intended to do. Have you ever said I wanted to be a better… or I wanted to spend time doing… The truth is you never intended to do either thing because you did not do them. If you had really wanted to do them you would have. Being intentional means doing what you say you are going to do. I want to spend more time with my family but we have to much going on. Then get rid of the stuff and spend time with your family. Be intentional and you will never have to say I wish I had done that.

5. Plan one weekend per month just for you, or your family.

This needs to be done for a year in advance, and can not be compromised by anyone or anything. This is your me time, or family time to just stop and relax. It can be at a local park or a lake. It can be at the house with the phone and computer off, but it has to be planned, and it has to help you unwind. This is the one I will get the most push back on. The, “I can’t…” will start coming out. You can make all the excuses in the world why you can’t do this. Start making excuses why you have to do this, and it will get done. If you learn the art of being intentional about the things that really matter you will do the important and not make excuses.

6. Downsize.

This is the one 90% of you will tune out. If you have read this much then hang-on. If you really want to have balance in your life, get rid of your stuff. Stuff is the reason most of us have no time. If your house burned down tonight what would you try to save. If your laptop comes before your children, my point is proved. Take a serious inventory and list in order of importance the stuff you can not live without then start getting rid of everything else. A good post to read on this is the 100 Items challenge. It has challenged our family and I hope it challenges you.

7. Don’t focus on what other people have.

When we look at the things others have we begin to want. We see their nicer car, we see their nicer home, or boat, or couch, or cabinets, and we lose focus on why we are here. When you focus on what you have been blessed with, you begin to see you have enough. It may not be the newest and nicest, but it is yours and it is paid for. Don’t get sold on advertising. You are the reason the companies you buy from exist. Go on a media fast for a week and see how you feel.

8. Evaluate what you say.

You may not know this, but we say a lot of words everyday. Even shy people talk more than we think. Taking time to think about what we say can help us find balance. Instead of blurting out the answer you think the other person wants to hear, listen to them and let them find their answer. This does two things. It helps you not give bad advice, and it lets them know you care enough about them to listen to what they think. Not giving bad advice keeps your conscience clear, and letting them know you care opens your life to new relationships.

9. Cultivate Friendships

Don’t try to go it alone. You need people in your life that can come along side you and help you carry your burdens. Jesus said, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He said that because he comes along side those that chose to accept his burden and helps them carry it. There are many people in your life now that you can turn to for guidance and help. Take time to get to know those around you, and maybe you can help someone else in the process.

10. Realize Your Dream

Set a goal of living a balanced life, then set the small goals to achieve that. Many people say they want to live a balanced life, but most don’t do it because they never really start. Starting the process can be as much as getting in the habit of getting up 30 minutes earlier each day. don’t try to do everything at once. You have taken to this point to get unbalanced, take the time to become balanced. Living each day as it comes and practicing prayer and meditation, will increase your balance exponentially. Don’t give up if you don’t get it the first time. Be intentional and keep at.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/ / CC BY 2.0

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: 100 Things, Balanced Life, being intentional, cultivate friendships, intentionality, Life Balance, Life plan, meditation, minimalist, Plan Your Life, Staying Balanced

Maintaining High Performance And Balance In Life

March 11, 2010 By Steve Crenshaw Leave a Comment

We all have full schedules, learning how to decide what is truly important can free us up to enjoy time together with loved ones. A close friend of mine is studying 6-Sigma, which means by default I am studying 6-Sigma. One of the items I have taken away is the “5 why’s.” The basic principle is to ask why five times to find the real reason you are performing a certain task. When we ask our selves why we really do something we can start to move into a direction of balance.

When something new comes across your desk ask why you must be the one to do it. If it can be delegated; delegate it. I know this sounds simple and you have heard this a thousand times but I bet like people I talk to every day you do things just because you; “Want them done right the first time,” or “Done your way,” or some other reason you must be the one to do the task. If you are a sole proprietor; skip to the next paragraph. If you run a business with employees then train one of them to be a substitute you. You need some one you can rely on to handle the task so you can cast the vision and lead the team. If you are running a business and you are the only one who knows how it runs-you will never be able to relax or take a vacation. If you have to be on 24/7 then you are not getting the rest your body needs and it will catch you sometime.

If you are like me and have no one to delegate to then you need a list of things to-do. I use no Day-Timer or calendar system I just lay out on a spiral notebook all the things I need to accomplish that week. Each night I list the thing to-do the next day in order from most important down. If something new comes in I put it on the list, and it may or may not get done that day depending on priority. I check and write email for thirty-minutes in the morning and evening. This gives me the freedom to do all email on my terms. I understand that phone calls come in from customers but do you really have to answer every phone call that comes in, can you get an answering service? I want you to look at all aspects of balancing your time. If you look you can find ways to free yourself up, I promise.

Which are the best time management practices? (startups.com)

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Attaining Success, Balanced Life, Business, Goal Accomplishment, Life Balance, Personal Success, Six Sigma, Sole proprietorship, Staying Balanced, Steve Crenshaw, Striving For Success

Life Balance – Take Time to List

March 3, 2010 By Steve Crenshaw Leave a Comment

One of the most important things that you can commit to memory is the value of your time. Your time is the most important asset you have, and it is the only asset you can not get back. If you are self-employed you have more of a sense for the value of your time but if you are a paid employee you may not value your time as much. Either way you need to know what the true value of your time is so when trivial items arise you can manage them more effectively thereby not spending your important time on them.

First, you must commit today to know the value of your time. You can write it out to help remember it or just commit it to memory but commit today to know its value so you can take control of your time usage.

Now that you have committed, make a list of everything you need to do. I use a flip notebook and Evernote but any notebook and online note system will do. This includes household items, business items, family items, social items, and any other items that I do not have here. This process may take several hours, which is okay.

Once you finish, for now, you can see what you need to do. If your list is like my first one it looks enormous, but don’t worry about that, it has taken you years to procrastinate all of this on to the list so it may take two to three months to get rid of the majority. I guarantee you; now that you have your master list, items will get done faster than you think because with a list you can prioritize. For example, you are reading this article because me writing it is the most important thing on my list to do now.

Go through and decide what is important and you can use an; a, b, c, or 1, 2, 3 it does not matter just get them in some order. If you use a day-planner great if you are like me and do not great, this method is useful to either type. If you use a day-planner then you can put your most important item at the top of the planner to start first thing in the morning. If you do not use a planner then you will make a list of things to do tomorrow and put them in the order they need to be done. Your first project is the most important. Work on it and only it until it is completed or to a point where you can go no further with it. Then you will move on to item number 2 and so forth. What is not done today gets moved to tomorrow and so on.

Two things you need to realize are; first, the list does not stop growing. As new items come up they go on the list. Second, don’t stop. If you just keep going in a positive direction you will make progress. I know everyone gets off track but get back on when you do get off and keep moving forward.

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Life Balance, list, master list, Personal Information Managers, Personal organizer, planner, self employed, stay focused, Time, Time management, Time Saving Tips, To Do List, true value, your life

Life Balance – 5 Ways to Create Space in Your Life!

February 22, 2010 By Steve Crenshaw Leave a Comment

We each get exactly 168 hours every week. No scientist or philosopher or great person of the past has ever gotten more. In today’s world we can get bombarded with interruptions from every side and before you realize it your day then week then year is gone and you can not even remember what you had yesterday for lunch. Learning to lead yourself, and balance information and how it comes at you will help you have better life balance.

1. Get away. You must take time for yourself. If you will take one hour per week to plan the next week you will save a day in trying to figure out what to do next. I don’t use a day planner to keep time down to the fifteen minute block. I do have a 3X5 card my to-do list for that day only written on it. Remember it this way: one week per year, one day per month, one hour per week and fifteen minutes per day. If you take these times to plan your life and set goals you will be more successful than 95% of Americans.

2. If possible put yourself on an information diet. I know this sounds harsh but try to only check your email twice to three times per day. (If you are still reading thanks) If you think about it your email reading and sometimes rereading takes up significant amounts of your time. On my website I tell people I only check my email in the morning and in the evening so the know that when they send me mail it will not get answered right away. In the last week I have even turned off the auto check feature so if I am at the computer I will not even see that mail has come in.

3. Move to online mail such as Gmail or Yahoo mail or the new windows live which uses Hotmail and send or set up your online mail to check your work and personal mailboxes. Once you have moved the convenience is that you can check mail from anywhere in the world. If you set up filters for your incoming emails you will know which ones to check and what can wait until later or never at all. (Your can do this with windows outlook also but online is much faster and we will all be there eventually) If you use Firefox as a web browser there is a Getting Things Done (GTD) add-on for Gmail (Now called Active Inbox) so you can label your mail as it comes in and then act later.

4. When you do check your email do it quickly and efficiently. If it is trash; trash it. If it needs a response respond immediately so you don’t stick yourself with trying to answer all of your email two days after you have received it and then you get bogged down for two hours trying to catch up. Steven Covey says in his book Focus that we should either a) file it; b) act on it; or c) DELETE IT, in my opinion most mail goes in this category.

5. Let the phone go to voice mail. If it is not someone you need to talk to right away then don’t. They will either leave you a voice mail and you can check it like you do your email or they will not and it must not have been that important.

Everything you do needs to be done with this thought in mind. If you are working on a project and you stop to talk to someone it takes you at least five minutes to ramp back up and start your thinking process again. If you are a boss this should apply to your employees also. If you want them to be productive then leave them alone and let them work.

Bonus: Get rid of Nextel or set strict limits on its use. it is the biggest time waster on the planet. Most alerts are for bogus things or just to chit-chat not work. Those of you that use Nextel know what I mean. You will alert someone to ask them what they had for lunch, but you would not call someone and waste time to ask that. Either ban it or teach people how to use it.

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Active inbox, balance, Balanced Life, checks mail, create space, Creating Space, day planner, Email, fast pace, Firefox, Gmail, GTD, Hotmail, life, Life Balance, Mozilla Firefox, sets, setting goals, setting limits, Time management, ways, Web browser, Website, Yahoo, yahoo mail

Life Balance – Take Time to Plan

January 21, 2010 By Steve Crenshaw Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

When I begin coaching someone in developing Life Balance we brainstorm about all they want to accomplish. Once we have this on paper it is easier to see where they want to be and then sort through what is and is not important at this time. What I have noticed however is people get off track because they do not take time to review their list or even glance at the goals they have set. This is how I believe you should break down your time to get the most items accomplished.

1. Take 2 days to one complete week each year to review what you have done over the last year, then decide what you want to accomplish for the next year. Before you start making excuses let me tell you this, (If you want to accomplish all your dreams then you must stop and take time out to make a plan). Find a way! Get a babysitter, get a hotel room, go away to somewhere so you can think whatever it takes to get alone and think. Do this individually first then with your spouse or business partner or who ever is involved. (If you are doing this for the first time others may not want to do it. Do not force others into joining you pray that they will become involved and slowly speak to them about what you are doing.) During this time you will get everything down on paper and organized.

2. Take 1 day per month. This will help you refocus and plan the next month. Again you are putting down what you want to accomplish over the next month in order of priority. Reread your goals and refocus where you have lost footing.

3. Take 2-3 hour per week. This is where you focus intently on the upcoming week. This list will be short and precise; your weekly planning time is where you save yourself the most time and energy. Remember 20% of the items on your list will bring you 80% of your results. Decide what your most important tasks are and list them in order.

4. Take 15 minutes every evening to set-up you list for the next day. Things might have come up during the day before that need to be addressed tomorrow so review and revise your to-do list. Read your goals. You must read your goals at least daily so they are fresh in your mind; I prefer to read them in the morning and evening so they are ingrained in my thought process.

Start Your Work Day the Night Before for Better Productivity [Career] (lifehacker.com)
You can always do less (37signals.com)

Filed Under: Leadership Tagged With: Coaching, GTD, Life Balance, Planning, Project management, Steve Crenshaw, Time management

Five Questions To Help With Life Balance