I can’t quite explain it, but something clicked in my brain this afternoon: Am I always in this much of a rush? Do I always live for the next moment instead of the present?

Allow me to elaborate…
I just got back from spending a wonderful afternoon with my dear grandma. Because there always seems to be an infinite amount of work to do or catch up on, weekends included, I find I just have to put her on my calendar or else a week or more will go by and quality visits don’t happen. My plan was to visit at 11, have a quick lunch and run errands with her so I could be back by 2:30 at the latest.

Our quick lunch, it turns out, took over two hours. The lucky people in retirement communities have nowhere else they have to be so lunch, I have learned, is served on European time. Needless to say, I didn’t get back to work until 5pm.

For a large portion of the afternoon, I felt rushed. Needlessly so. Even more interesting is how long it took me to realize I was constantly thinking about the future and not the present moment.  Instead, I found myself thinking about the next activity on our list or the work waiting for me back at the office. I was stressing over nothing when I should have used that time to relax and revitalize.

Remember:
There will always be a list and there will always be more things to do. That’s life. The sooner you accept this and learn to live in the moment, the more relaxed and better off you’ll be. If you don’t learn to do this, you’ll never enjoy what life brings your way.

If you think of only the task at hand, you’ll be a lot more productive. Lists were created so you can give your full attention to the present and think about the future later!

BE PRESENT! Right here, right now.

Credit: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/images/clock.gif

1. Create “Just Do It” days. You know there are those tasks you hate to do. Perhaps billing? Catching up on your Quickbooks? Updating your website? Whatever those tasks are that you hate doing, make time. Dedicated a morning, afternoon, or entire day once a week or once a month to doing nothing but that task you must accomplish. That’s the life of an entrepreneur. You’ve gotta do whatcha gotta do.

2. Outsource. Are you making so much money that you can afford to outsource a task rather than set aside “Just Do It” time? By all means outsource! Call an accountant or web designer to do the work for you. Just one little thing: please outsource to another small business owner like yourself. It’s always nice to pay it forward and help other small women-owned businesses succeed.

3. Activate the signature settings on your email account. Sick of always signing your name and phone number and business name and address on every email? Activating the automatic signature settings will save you lots of time. Many providers even allow you to upload your company letterhead for a professional and polished look.