I love to plan and love to organize.  Love it. But I realized that I was using my planning and organization as a crutch to ignore “living in the moment” and accepted I needed to make a change. Sure, planning and organization has a time and a place, but to really experience life – sometimes you need to be more aware of what is happening right now and be ready to take advantage of your opportunities. Here’s what I’ve learned that I think will benefit you too:

Be Present In The Moment.

When I am in planning mode, I’m sometimes so focused on where I’m going, I’m not thinking about where I already am.  I realized this after I had both of my kids.  I needed to be more present with what was happening now.  It’s something I still have to work toward each day.  I have to physically stop what I’m doing and purposefully think about what I should be doing right now.  And then I have to focus on being present in the moment. Remember, there are many times where your undivided focus is essential – it’s with the things that really matter – and those are often not things.  Be present with the people who matter to you.  It may take focus, but it’s worth it.

Focus On What Matters Now.

I’m practicing something new this month with my writing.  I’m writing about what I think matters right now.  Small, daily lessons (for myself) that remind me why I started writing, why I wanted to share my organization skills and why I’ve stayed dedicated to this project for so long.  It’s a whole new world for me.  As you can imagine, writing an organization blog, I’ve planned out everything in advance! But I’ve overwhelmed myself with the nonsense workload that I developed and I knew it had to stop.  So this month, I have no plans.  I’m writing what I feel (I hope it works!)  You know what works for you – make decisions that will impact your moments right now.

Understand The Balance In Your Life.

I’ve had trouble the last few months getting everything in my life done.  I said “yes” to too many things and it put my regular schedule off-balance. Because of this, I put my workouts and my writing on hold – two things that really matter to me.  And now, I’m trying to get back to my balance and it’s not easy.  Learn from my mistakes and remember the power of “No” so that you can say “Yes” when it really matters. An effective balance in your life includes rest, things you enjoy, productive challenges and a good community.

You don’t have to be all things to all people – keep it smart and simple.  You’ll be more productive and mentally rested and ready to live in the moment when it really matters (and don’t they all seem to really matter?)