Free Up Your Diary

by Alison Nancye www.thelifekitchen.com

I've just come back from a week in Byron Bay and whenever I spend time there I am amazed at how chilled and flowing things are in Byron compared to the hectic and frenetic pace of Sydney life.

Whilst I love my Sydney social life, I realise by being away, that city slickers wherever we are in the world actually create more stress and overwhelm, simply by overloading our diaries with both work and social activities.

I came back to seven activities in the diary scheduled for the first weekend home (and most of those were for my children!), and I thought 'what was I thinking by saying yes to everything?!' So I decided to cull immediately. I freed up my first day back at work to gain more clarity and vision for the week by deleting about half of the things that I thought I 'had' to do, pre-holiday. Instantly I felt lighter and reconnected to that freeing feeling I had throughout my Byron vacation.

So here's my tip for this week. Grab your diary and review your activities this week and the month ahead. And as you reflect on each day's appointments, ask yourself do I really need to do this or is there perhaps a more efficient way?

I really wanted to meet up with someone this week for a creative brainstorm but changed it to a phone meet instead. Instantly I freed up two hours of my diary just by staying put and connecting with the person by phone.

There are zillions of ways you can free up yourself and your schedule, simply by being honest about the activities you really want to do each day, week and weekend. Get real about your time and the way you spend it, you will feel so much better when you do.