Current of Life by Virginia Kravitz

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Please note that Current of Life was previously published under the title: Living Your Potential

Living Your Potential


Time Traps: Take the Detour

Your Own Reality TV Show

There is a new reality TV show to hit prime time and this time the show stars YOU.  Answer this question: 

What do people watching your show notice about
how you spend most of your time?

If your answer points to somewhat of a disconnect between how you tend to spend your time and how you would like to spend your time, then find out what throws you off track.

Time Traps: Know Yours

People will say to me, “I’m a procrastinator.”  “I have too much to do and not enough time to do it.”  “I’m constantly getting interrupted.”

Whether it has to do with these or other frustrations, we all have our “favorite” time traps or tendencies.  Some of these have to do with our environment, while others have to do with our own habits.  Years ago, I recognized that I had a tendency to wrap myself in a blanket of overwhelm.  I noticed the feeling was triggered too often.  This changed, however, as I integrated some different approaches, and now, overwhelm is more of a passing state vs. a daily occurrence.  In fact when I experience this feeling now, I view it as a helpful cue to shift my thinking and adapt my behavior.

Identifying the time trap that you fall into most can help you find alternate routes. 

Take the Detour

How do you know which detour to take?  First, recognize the area that your time trap is signaling you to improve.  For example, does it have to do with your mindset or with the way you plan your day?  Does it involve your communication style or how you handle decisions in the moment?  Perhaps it is connected to your system for staying organized.

Using my example of overwhelm from above, my detour had to do with more than one of these categories.  For instance:  1) I shifted my mindset from “Tackling the whole list” to “Selecting from the menu”.  2) I adjusted my planning process to be more flexible.  3) I came up with a way that made decision making easier by learning how to ask myself empowering questions.

To help you identify your time traps, take a short self-assessment here. If you know your trap but aren’t sure what to do about it, you are welcome to email me with your challenge and I’ll either respond directly to you or include your question in a future issue.

Here's to you,
Ginny's signature


© 2005, Virginia M. Kravitz and In the Current®. All Rights Reserved. You are welcome to reproduce this article provided it is without any alteration, includes the copyright above, and if distributing electronically includes a link to www.inthecurrent.com.
 

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