make time, keep it simple, power of three, time wasting, peace, transformation, self-empowerment

Yes, You DO Have the Time!

Dear One,

What’s the reason for putting off those personal goals, dreams, desires, and juicy projects? Those things we would love to do or know we must do?

The number one reason I hear from people (I can be one of those people too) is, “I don’t have time.”

But you know what? I don’t buy it.

A closer look reveals two common themes:

We make our goals too big—so it seems like we don’t have enough time, but we would if we kept things simple.

Our perceptions of time are skewed. We have the time, in fact, lots of it—we just allot that time to other things. And, we let time-wasters suck time from our precious goals and projects (see where I’m going with this?).

Here’s how I’ve tackled this problem for myself (keep in mind that, like you, I’m a work in progress—I don’t have all the answers!):

  • I break it down into baby steps—remember the power of three? Just three small, manageable, infant-sized steps. Not great big hurdles that revolutionize everything (in our dreams!), but small molecular changes that we can do well (that grow into magnificence like the big hurdles never can).
  • I identify the time-wasters and wrestle them to the ground! For me, these are the time killing distractions of email, texts, social media, and news. They interrupt my flow and make it hard to get back. I place limits and hold myself to them.

I am currently deep into the edit of my first book—four years in the making! Gotta see this baby through.

So, how do I make space for this huge project in my life? One of my writing mentors said, “No one writes a book. We write one line, one paragraph, one page at a time.”

I work on one small piece of it at a time. And, I place strict limits on the time wasters: check email only twice daily, turn off notifications on my phone and turn phone off during writing time, no social media until after first writing session of the day is over, no news unless listening to NPR while driving.

What a relief… there is time after all.

Have a Beautiful day!

Karyn

Simple is Better: the “Rule of Threes.” 2018.

Karyn Shanks MD

About the Author

Karyn Shanks MD is a physician whose work is inspired by the revolutionary science of Functional Medicine, body-mind wisdom, and the transformational journeys of her clients.

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