Category: Change

Do You Wish For More Time?

Many of you wish for more time. If you ever find a way to get more time, please write me and let me know. I believe that we only have so much time. Each of us has 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day. We have seven days in a week, 52 weeks in a year, 10 years to a decade and, if we are lucky, we should have between seven and 10 decades to our life.

What we really want is a better quality of the time we have. And that, with a little work, we can do.

How many of you are like me? I sit in my TV room downstairs and look around at the mess. I wish I could find more time to do something about it, yet I only sit there. I get up and go into my office where I sit in my office chair and look at the piles of messes everywhere. I wish I had time to clean everything up, yet I just sit there. I can name any other room in the house and yet the view and the outcomes on the same.

I’m amazed that I always have time to read, watch TV, play games, and yet room to room nothing ever gets better. And nothing can get better until I decide to stop looking for more time and instead seek better time.

Better time is easy to do. It only takes a little forethought. You can start your road to a better time by first making a few notes which will help you to figure out what is more important to you. Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper or some post-its and write down everything you do.  Include the games, the TV, the computer, the books, etc. If you’re using Post-it notes, list one item per post-it.

The next thing to do is to take the list and prioritize it. You can start anywhere and be prepared to put things above and below because as you add more items some will be a higher priority, and some will be a lower priority. If you are using Post-it’s, please be careful not to put them in an area where they could mar the paint. As you come across items that need to be repeated daily or weekly please list that next to the item with an RD for daily, RW for weekly, and RM for monthly, etc.

Typically, you will get your calendar. To start, add what you want to do based on your priorities. You’re going to place your highest priorities on the calendar first, and then add more priorities until the calendar is full. For many people, this ends up looking like an extensive to-do list. The problem with to-do lists is that they never allocate time and therefore little really gets done because you have more items to do than you have time to deal with.

What I’m proposing you do which is different is the setting up of the time to do each item. Start with those things which are reoccurring. Find time for what you need to do daily, and then what you need to do weekly and then what you need to do monthly, etc.

The initial cleaning of a messy office may take 8 to 10 hours spread out over a week. And you will not have to do that every week unless you really like to make messes as fast as you clean them. Tidying up an office daily could take five minutes. The same with cleaning the kitchen or any other room in the house.

Once you have all your reoccurring items of priority placed into the calendar, then start with your highest priority item and put that on the calendar, and then set the next item into the calendar. Please, allow enough time to complete each item you place on the calendar. If possible to do so, it is understandable that you may want to have two or three different sessions to complete a significant task.

Some people end up with a lot of time left over when loading the calendar. That is good, and you can think of things that you’ve always wanted to do, which you can plug into those times. Some people will end up with too many items and not enough time. And, this is where some decisions have to be made. The choices are whether to place this task on the back burner until time becomes available or, to bump another task and put this one in its place.

Quite often it takes a little time to get used to the idea of using a calendar and sticking to what needs to be done when. This is especially true if you are not used to the practice of using a calendar. If you put in the energy and give the new ideas a little time, it will work for you. If you need a little incentive, go to the mirror, raise your right hand and promise the person in the mirror, that you are willing to work at making this happen. When you do use this method, you will be able to see your priorities actually come to fruition.

 

 

 

ENFP-T

Good morning, it is a beautiful bright blue sky out there this morning I was able to see the half moon in the sky as I walked into work today.

Have you ever taken on more than you can do? More than you can handle? And, sometimes more than you would like? I do that all the time. In testing assessments recently, I tested one that mimicked the Myers-Briggs. It told me I was in ENFP and that is correct. I have taken the Myers-Briggs and similar assessments several times. I know this to be true. I am an educator and trainer of adults.

What I had not known until now, and makes perfect sense, is that have -T or turbulent tendencies. This is caused when an ENFP personality wants to do everything they encounter. It is not enough just to teach, they become truly interested and want to know and do more.

The problem I find is the fact that although I love to learn and explore and do many things; resources such as funding, time, and abilities are often limiting factors. As I realized this, I started to do some research.

I found many articles which talked about the need for planning. Scheduling what can be done in the next 90 days, and doing it is very important. New items, coming in all the time, tend to disrupt attention and divert resources. This is not to say you should not explore items of interest. What it suggests though is to properly schedule the item for an upcoming quarter. And verify at the beginning of that quarter the actions you want to take.

I have begun scheduling my interests, with new books that I plan to write, new avenues I wish to explore, and the work that I owe to you, my audience.

The question is, “Will this make things better?” Only time will really tell. I believe we will both see the results together.

Thank you for putting up with me, and have a great day.

E – Extrovert

N – Intuitive

F – Feeling 

P – Prospecting

-T – Turbulent

ENOUGH

What we are doing in our schools today is giving voice to those who for one reason or another wish to disrupt our system of life in our country. As we broadcast and focus on each terrorist act within school systems, we give other want-to-be terrorists a platform on which to terrorize us.

One and the only thing that I see the latest school got right is that the students themselves have had enough of this. The students stood up and said this must stop.  And yes, indeed it must.  The students are doing this the right way by working with their legislatures.

 I trained with the M 22, which is the equivalent of the AR 15. I was lucky enough as a Cold War warrior, never to have to fire it in anger. And yet I cannot believe today that someone needs to have this warrior style weapon to hunt, they are embarrassing themselves.

If you can’t shoot a duck or a deer with a shotgun because it doesn’t hold enough shells, you should be denied a weapon on that fact alone. If you need 30 round clips to keep varmints from digging up your garden, you should really be shopping in the fresh vegetable aisle at your local grocery store. While you’re there, if you’re actually using that big clip to get the duck or the deer, we suggest a quick detour over to the meat counter. Think of what you’ll save in ammunition.

I agree with those on The Hill who said these weapons of war are not needed for our day-to-day lives. We know this because we’ve seen other countries where heavy weaponry is part of their day-to-day life. We see these countries almost nightly on the news. What countries do you see on the news with which have their citizens walking around with AK-47’s, RPG’s, and heavy caliber machine guns? Their cities and Villages sure look worse for the wear and tear on them.  Is that what we want for our country? To live in the rubble?

Allow me to ask a question for you to think on today.

What came first the weapon, or the war?

 

Please write a comment and tell me what you think.

 

Your Time

Thank you for being with me today I don’t know where you are. Here it is beautiful, sunny, with clear skies.

My question today is a simple one, “are you taking care of yourself?”

When we are younger, our parents take care of us. As we grow a little, we find ourselves taking care of our kids. And, as we get a little bit older, we find our kids taking care of us. This must be one of those universal cycles. And, as is true in life, we always look out to help and take care of our family, our neighbor, and those we see who are in need of help. So my question stands, “are we taking time to take care of ourselves?”

I ask this because if we don’t take the time, and we don’t listen to our bodies, the bodies have a way of speaking louder, to a point where we cannot ignore them. It is much easier to take care of a whisper than it is to fix a body when it is screaming at you.

I have been there, and I have done this myself to an extent, so I understand. With everything we have these days and very busy lives, we seem to be continuously running the race for others and saving time by ignoring our needs.

This is just one man’s opinion; however, with all the communication software we have on the market today, we can stay in contact with everyone for very little or no cost. Tie that into calendar systems which will keep track of each of your events, appointments, and meetings. The next thing you know, you have a system of organization.

The next thing you need to do to set up your calendar from the inside out. Start with you, and start with seven hours of sleep minimum, eight hours is even better. Lunchtime is the time to get out from behind The desk or off the construction line. Eat something and look around a little. Taking this respite from work is needed. Your work for the rest of the day will far eclipse anything you could’ve gotten done over lunch.

When you set this up, be sure not to sink the whole program by scheduling your ‘me time,’ at the same time somebody else needs your help whether it is kid’s soccer, your spouse’s ‘me time’ or other events you also need to pay attention to.

This is something each of us has to do for ourselves. And like everything else, it will take time and practice to get it right. The neat thing is it is something everyone can succeed at when we work at it. You succeed for your children, you succeed for your parents, you succeed for your spouse, and now, you can also succeed for you.

Have a great day

Good News

It is a frozen morning with the hot sun as we begin the climb out of the deep freeze until we are thrown back in next week.

Great news! Right now is, Colorado over the last year has cut its employment to 3.1%. Looking at the figures for veterans, my age group as an unemployment rate of 2.9%.   The only veterans who have an unemployment rate over 5% are those who were just separated and are preparing to search for the new job. This is great news.

What about the reveille pilot course? Well, this is actually great news for the course also. The course is designed to help people research and understand what they wanted to do in their work life. There are more jobs to go around. Those who want jobs will be able to take this course and map their goals and milestones in life. Again, no guarantee that they won’t change their mind down the line, at least They know what they are looking to do.

Just because employment is low in Colorado does not mean it is low all over the country. So, I am enhancing my course and offering it nationwide on the Internet. I am still running the pilot, and because this is the first time the course is run, there will be more coaching calls, and you can write me personally anytime and get a response within 36 hours. I am also adding a Facebook group where you can contact me one-on-one through messenger. I am offering 3 coaching calls.  One as we start the course, one in the middle of the course and a follow-up call Within 2 weeks after the course is over.  You will receive the course with the companion eBook and all the handouts for the course.  The course which costs over $1,000 will be yours for less than $200.

This is not a sales pitch, and the actual signup will not even start until March 1st.  I just owed it to you to tell you why I did not offer it in February and when it will open. 

Like to know more about the course, please send me a comment.  If you want me to stop this and talk about something else, please let me know that also.

Talk to you again soon.

Now We Will Get Something Done

Yesterday we saw a wonderful demonstration of what this country was designed to do and does best.

Yesterday we saw citizens of our country who have been neglected and denied their civil rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, stand up and peacefully march on their legislatures and the presidency to demand freedom from the fear of death.

These citizens showed the rest of us the way. Those who could no longer be present had their concerns voiced by parents and loved ones. Their message was clear. Stop allowing people the means to come into our schools and kill us. They meant it.

Unlike past incidents where speeches were made and vague promises uttered, these citizens spoke clearly, had true empathy, and expect results. And yes, legislatures and the government will have to fix the problem.

These citizens are tired of the talk, tired of their numbers being shot at, and young, most in their teens. They are however receiving an education into our government, our democracy, our way of life. These young citizens have awakened early. They are smart. They have the energy. And they have what it will take to see their demands happen.

We need to pay very close attention. For these are the citizens that will guide us into the future defending those in danger and without a voice, and even defend and protect us as we grow old.

Thank you to all those who have stood to say, “Enough is enough.”

Always Be Learnin’ Something New

Welcome back!

Our snow from yesterday has turned into a bright blue sky with temperatures that will reach into the 50’s today and the snow originally predicted is nowhere to be seen. This is the great mystery of Colorado weather.

You’ve heard me talk many times about how knowledge grows at exponential forms. What in 1900 took 100 years to learn we are now learning in about a year. And, as I’ve told you before, IBM has stated that by 2020 knowledge will be doubling every 12 hours.

We also have technology, which I have talked about before, which is taking over jobs in larger and larger areas of employment. Although the first thought of this is shocking, it turns out to be nothing new. If you think back to pre-World War II, or even post-World War II right after the war, the same type of thing actually happened.

There used to be groups of people who were in typing pools (mainly women). Or, worked in accounting pools utilizing a calculating machine that would add or subtract and put the figures on a cash register type paper tape when a large handle was pulled (these jobs mainly done by men). As computer mainframes and eventually, electric typewriters and desk computers came into business areas the need for these different pools was over. Nowadays, in most industries only the president or vice president actually has a secretary. Everybody else does their own work.

If your job is dangerous, dirty, or dull, computers are probably starting to take it over. This affects everything from the transportation industry to manufacturing, and 21 other jobs that computers are presently doing. The question is, what do we humans do about it? Actually, that is easier than you think.

Computers will not be doing everything for a long, long time. This is mainly because people don’t want to have computers do things for them. You go to the bar for socialization, computers are really not who you want to talk to at the bar. Can you imagine going to a barbershop or beauty salon where computers did your hair or manicured your nails? No fun at all. And who wants to order dinner from a robot?

The question becomes how do we prepare? Well, you do that now. You learn a little bit about coding, there are plenty of short free courses you can use on the net. You don’t have to be an expert, just understand the basics. Understand how your basic personal computer or tablet works or even your personal phone knows how to send and receive email, write documents, connect with others, and shop online. As new things come out learn a little something about them. You don’t have to own a massive program or use it continuously just know that it’s there and what it does and how it works.

Just as workers of the past learned and grew as technology changed and found new ways, we can follow their examples and do so now and in the future.

Have a great day, and I look forward to writing for you again tomorrow.

Thank you to juliette leufke and Unsplash for the image.

Don’t Panic

Hi everyone, hope you’re doing well today.

I’m sitting here on a wonderful cloudy day watching the snow come over Pike’s Peak and its surrounding mountains and for a cold, blustery day with an overcast sky the site looks pretty nice.

I found it interesting this week when everybody had raised eyebrows as the stock market took some corrections. When the stock market went up, nobody could quite put their finger on the why. With the executive branch getting off on so rough footing, and the legislature having a hard time agreeing on almost nothing, and the allegations of other countries meddling in our affairs, no one could pick a finger on exactly why the stock market rose so well. It is actually gone on for a couple of years without a correction. When things go this well, as the stock market did, you don’t question it. You go on the ride and enjoy it while you can.

When the market started to make a correction, then everybody really wanted to know why. Even with the 10% correction stock market looks like it’s doing still better than it had before. The stock market has always been a place where once you are in, you took your stock and through it in the back of the drawer somewhere and left it alone. Because in the long run, one certain thing is the stock market will rise, even though it takes peaks and valleys to do so. The ideas to pick good stocks or other market funds that meet your needs, don’t invest more than you can afford to invest, and realize the ups and downs, and up again

Thanks for being with me today. Tomorrow, will we will start a new series of finding a job for today and tomorrow.

Happy High Road

Would you like to know if the fact that will not only set you free, it will help you to work with anyone, anywhere, at any time, feel great, and get great things done? Impossible you say? Read this blog, and if you still don’t believe it’s possible, write me in the comments section, and I’ll call you, and we can talk for half an hour.

So, what’s the fact? If you can be happy and feel great, the majority of the time those feelings will transfer to the other person and be found in their responses. I hear a question already, about all the people out there who are so negative. Many times, that negativity and wish for dominance that others have for you, has nothing to do with you. The truth is often they don’t even know you.

Folks who display immediate negativity and desire to dominate others are those who have been hurt by other people. The neat thing is (and here is where the real secret lies,) they cannot dominate you any more than you can dominate them. For them to do so, you would first have to give them permission. You do that by starting off acting like they do.

The trick is to find your balance, your happiness, your drive for the path you want to walk in life. And then when negativity shows up in the forms of other people, be nice to the people, and don’t let the negativity in.

Easier said than done? Try this. Keep your positive attitude and your happiness. Then when you have to say something less than absolutely positive to anyone always start off with telling them three good things about themselves or three good things that they are doing. And then you can tell them something less than positive just do so in a positive way. Afterword’s, tell them one more thing very positive about themselves. It is often very hard to be mad at someone the when they’re telling you good things about yourself.

We all have some days that are better than others. However, you do get to choose. If you choose a happy high road, imagine all the others that you could bring with you.

Complacency

Complacency is something that will sneak up on all of us.

People love habits. They like the feeling of accomplishment. They love knowing that things are done. And they like the ease of living that good habits will give the people who use them wisely. More often than not many of us will also fail at long-running good habits.

If you don’t believe me, please take a poll about six weeks after New Year’s day. How many people you talk to set up goals for the new year, and within six weeks, have already failed at them? Did they not care? Did they not believe? Did they not try? The truth is they did care, they did believe in they did try.

In teaching new forklift drivers, safety and control are taught and preached for hours both in the classroom and during driver training on the forklift. You would think that most accidents would happen within a few weeks after the training, while the new drivers are still what behind the ears. Not so.

Most accidents for new drivers of forklifts, according to the statistics, happened about three months after training. Why? Complacency. Brand-new drivers are very cautious. They stick to every safety rule. And, they keep the speeds very low. About the three-month mark, new forklift drivers become complacent. They start to get a little sloppy in their safety, speed increases a little and the next thing you know, they bump into something. Sometimes they bump into someone.

Are they bad people? Do these accident-prone drivers not care? No. They did so well for three months driving the forklift that they started to let their guard down. Often, they don’t even recognize it.

These drivers were taught well. Were watched to ensure good habits were being formed. And, did a good job. Complacency just sneaks up on them.

The trick is if you like the results a habit gives you, pay attention and keep it up. Don’t  become complacent.