Many of us try to get a fresh start in a new year by making resolutions that will improve or enhance our lives. Then, life happens. However, there is a way to get in control of our lives and make it last.
(PRWEB) January 4, 2005 -- Many of us try to get a fresh start in a new year by making resolutions that will improve or enhance our lives. We make a valiant effort with the high hope that the changes we make will last. Then, life happens.
There is a way to get in control of our lives and make it last though. If you've been through the "been there, done that" dilemma, you may be rethinking ways to make your changes stick. One of the things professional organizer Cyndi Seidler advises is that people need a valid reason to make a change, they need a worthwhile purpose.
Cyndi Seidler states, "A purpose could be anything from wanting to improve our health in order to live longer to wanting to keep our room neat so we'd feel better in it. Whatever it is, there needs to be a meaningful reason you want something." Seidler, who is an organizer to the stars, explains, "When we get into a rut, it's because we didn't put our attention on the important things. In focusing less on the tangible and more on the fulfillment of things you value, you'll achieve a sense of balance."
To create an ideal lifestyle for ourselves, we need to structure our life so that we have time to do those things that have purpose for us. But first we need to determine what our aims are that get us from the place we are to a final destination where we want to be. Seidler offers some tips for getting our lives in balance:
1. Change priorities. Priorities should encompass family relations, personal enrichment, health, pursuing passions, working toward long-range goals.
2. Change the way you operate. Adjust your normal operating basis to fit in your new priorities. This could be done by segmenting your day and week with a routine agenda. Include the time you devote to work, to family, to personal leisure activities and friends, to your health, toward your passions and long-term goals.
3. Plan your schedule daily. Refer to those activities that get you from where you are now to where you want to be.
4. Create a time plan with a master list and daily list. Limit the number of things to accomplish in one day.
5. Focus on your lifelong passions and start to really pursue them. Life is more fulfilling when you're doing those things that bring you joy. Direct your energies on doing more activities that are in sync with your purposes.
6. Do less what you don't like and do more what you do like. Many things you don't enjoy doing can be delegated, so make a list and see what you can enlist another person to do, or hire someone to do it.
7. Learn to say "no" to things that don't align with your purpose. Match time and resources to the priorities you've chosen.
8. Don't make work the center of your universe. Step off the work highway temporarily to regain a sense of balance.
9. Make time for yourself. Do those things that comfort you -- a bath, a walk, reading.
10. Keep agreements you've made with yourself.
In striving for balance, it's not so much about managing time to achieve our goals and pursue our passions. It's more about managing ourselves. It's about knowing what we want, and why we want it.
Happy new year. May things never be the same.
About Cyndi Seidler
"Organizer to the Stars" Cyndi Seidler is an author, syndicated columnist and professional organizer. She's a frequent media guest, and has been helping individuals create organized lifestyles since 1994. Her methods have been featured on TV and in numerous newspapers and magazines. For more information, visit her company's web site: http://www.handygirl.com
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