Guest post by by Cass Mullane, Accountability Coach, Right-Brain Business Plan® Licensed Facilitator, Prosper Creatively, LLC
Do you notice how often you hear complaints about how there are never enough hours in the day? How there is never enough time to get all the stuff done?
Well, I have to say that I often feel pressed for time and that I’ve made the same complaints on occasion. I’ve even secretly wished for my own personal Cass Clone!
Time for me falls into two buckets, the time that you control and the time that is affected by outside influences.
The responsibility for landing in a time crunch is usually mine because of choices that I’ve made. It’s my responsibility because I said yes and added something to my plate. It’s my responsibility because I chose to procrastinate. It’s my responsibility because I did not delegate as well as I should have.
So instead of lamenting my perceived lack of time, I step up to the mirror, say, yep, I chose this, and I make a plan to keep moving ahead with something productive. I slide things in and move tasks around to make sure I always know what’s next and then I give myself a kick in the pants and get back to work.
There are also occasions when your time is affected by outside influences. What happens when you’ve got everything lined up and planned out and then someone throws in a wrench? Is your response, “But wait, I have deadlines! I have a big show to finish prepping for, I have a Board meeting to run, I have appointments, travel, clients, family, friends all depending on me to do what I said I was going to do!!!”
Here are a couple of scenarios:
I’m in my studio waiting for my client to arrive. I’ve had a busy morning, a quick lunch and I’ve prepped for our session. Then I receive a text that he’s going to have to cancel. … Ok, that’s an hour.
I’ve cleared the books for a three day workshop, lined up the travel arrangements and I’m working on a few details before I head out at the end of the week. Then I receive an email saying the workshop is postponed for a couple of months. … Grrr, sigh… hmmm, that’s a gift of three days.
I’m cleaning up my space and moving things around because I’ve got a lot of work to do and I need things to be put away before I start a big project. I pick up a box, turn to put it back in the closet and, POP! my meniscus tears and that means surgery. … Seriously?! … Well, that’s a gift of couple of weeks (ok, a week since there will be a LOT of sleeping time)!
What should I do with all this unexpected free time? Complain about it because it is not what I planned or make the most of it and treat it as a bonus? If you add up the three examples above, I suddenly have almost two weeks of free time sitting there grinning at me.
So the question becomes, how do you look at your unexpected free time? Is it a burden… or is it a bonus?
My vote is: It’s a BONUS!
A final note: Because we tend to work so hard on so many projects we tend to forget a crucial element: Celebrating! Instead of focusing only on what’s remaining on the never ending To Do List, remember to make sure you acknowledge what you did get done today, move it to your “Ta Da” List and drop a note into your Cool Stuff Jar™ to celebrate!
Cass Mullane is an artist with an MBA. Cass’ calm, comfortable approach consistently yields positive results for clients. Her business and personal coaching practice, www.ProsperCreatively.com, specializes in delivering solid left brain business skills to right brainers and creatives in a fun, visual way. She’s a best selling author, textile and mixed media artist and creator of the Cool Stuff Jar™ coaching program. You can also visit Cass on Facebook!
