Know Your Value

Know Your Value

Making the best use of your time sometimes has to do with knowing your value. Every day we have to make decisions on how we spend our time. Many times we will spend hours on things of little importance or value or even lacking in fun or entertainment. Why? Because we don’t think about the value of our time.

Your Time IS Truly Invaluable

When you think about it—your time is invaluable. You can’t buy more timer, per se. You can pay someone else to do something that would otherwise take your time. But, you can’t go back in time and get the wasted time back for anything…the argument with your friend/lover/child that should of never happened and you know you need to get over anyway, the driver that cut you off and almost caused an accident that you talked about for weeks, the time spent sitting on a couch looking at a square that shows you other people’s lives (TV)…none of it.

Life Is About Decisions

Obviously we are not going to make 100% use of every minute of every day. We need to have fun time, personal time, fitness time, relationship time, work time, living life time…but if we thought about time as the irreplaceable commodity that it is every minute of every day, we would definitely use our time as wisely as possible. So while we can’t think this way 100% of the time perhaps we could think about it a little more often.

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerOrganizer and TimerDiet

www.timerorganizer.com

www.timerdiet.com

Admit You're Happy Month

In Defense of Being Just FINE

August is #Admit You’re Happy Month, but today I am “Just Fine.” I am not happy or sad, just fine. Some days I have pockets of happiness and others pockets of sadness. But right now, in this moment, I am “just fine.” It is as if society doesn’t have a place for me being just fine. Am I hiding my feelings? Is it possible to be just fine? I think I am just fine therefore, I AM.

Happiness Guilt Trip

It appears that if I am not happy, then perhaps I am ungrateful or selfish or defective. At what point in society did we decide that being happy was a mandate? It used to be that having a good work ethic was of the utmost importance. Then we decided that work was not the be all end all, happiness was. “As long as my kids are ‘happy’” (as they engage in destructive behavior in search of happiness), “I just want them (my spouse, partner) to be happy” (as they are walking off to divorce court), “I am just not happy anymore” (as if happiness is to be a constant state of mind).  Don’t you think if you had to do it all over again, you would not wish for happiness? Happiness is fleeting at best and it is there to give us appreciation when we do not have it. Happiness was never meant to be a constant state of mind.

Gratefulness is NOT Happiness

When I went through severe financial difficulty in the summer of 2011, I was grateful that my basic needs were still met by God, but I was NOT happy. When my oldest daughter was struck by a car and was killed at the age of 33 in 2012, I was grateful that it was instantaneous and her suffering was not long lasting. I was NOT happy. When I ended what could have been a very bad relationship over a decade ago, before it was, I was grateful for the wisdom, but I was NOT happy. Being grateful is not synonymous with happiness. Conversely, one can be happy and completely ungrateful for what caused them to be happy.

What Makes Me Happy

Special moments with my kids and grand-kids, watching a funny movie, getting enough of the winning numbers on a lottery ticket to buy lunch, an unexpected kiss, making someone else smile, there are many more but they happen spontaneously. I don’t demand happiness, it just happens or it doesn’t—as it is meant to be. So I am off to my “just fine” life and that is perfectly fine with me, in fact…it makes me quite happy…

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

www.timerorganizer.com

www.timerdiet.com 

  

Back to School Part 2

Back to School Part 2

This is the last of a four part series on Back to School. The last two weeks at www.TimerDiet.com/blog there were two blogs, one on nutrition and exercise and the other on cooking focused on Back to School. Last week on TimerOrganizer the focus was on organizing schedules for the family and chores for the kids. This week we are going to talk about teaching kids on how to organize their time and the concept of goals. 

Children Do Have a Concept of Time

Kids Understand Time

When my daughters were growing up I used to be amazed at their ability to have, what I thought to be, adult conversations and concepts. Then I had grandchildren and again amazed, and as I should be. But really all children have an amazing ability to understand what would seem to be adult concepts. My youngest grandson when he was three years old shared some great words of wisdom with me.

I was fiddling with his car seat and the complexities of trying to get the straps just right. He guided me through the process and with his help we were successful in getting him strapped in. Then he said something that I will never forget. He said, “You did it! It just takes a little practice.” Wow at three years old he gave me words of encouragement and then some instruction to boot! Keep practicing Grandma!

Goal Setting

Kids are Wise Beyond Their Years

Ask your children what they want to accomplish each day. What are their long term goals? Do they have dreams? What can be done now and through the coming years to make those dreams come true? Ask them. I personally think all children should be doing something outside of school and the home that interests them. When my girls were pre-school they loved gymnastics and roller skating. They also let me know when they were ready to move on to something new. They both ended up as cheerleaders at a very young age (grade school) all the way up to high school, until…my youngest daughter came to me.

Kids Can Make Great Decisions

Graduating into Adulthood is the Goal!

She was in what turned out to be her final year of high school and first year of college (but neither of us knew this at the time of our conversation.) Her oldest sister had graduated the year before and it was summer and time to begin the cheerleading practice for the next school year and she was exhausted. She just wanted to stop before she got started in the middle of the summer with practices and fund raising and then all of the school events. I told her the choice was hers and I asked her what she was going to do with all that extra time. That’s when the wheels started turning and she decided to graduate high school early by taking a full-load at high school and attending community college. It was the best decision for her! And it was her decision. She went on to graduate at the state university in three years. So within six years she began high school and graduated college with a bachelor’s degree.

So as this school year starts, ask your children what their goals are for the year. What do they want to do? Who do they want to become? What are their plans? Ask them, “How can I help you?” I bet they have an answer!

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and recently released TimerOrganizer

www.timerorganizer.com

www.timerdiet.com

Back to School

Back to School – TimerOrganizer

Last Friday I did a Back to School blog for www.TimerDiet.com/blog discussing breakfast, lunch, and snack time for kids along with daily physical activity. Today I want to talk about organizing our time and helping our kids organize their time, and this includes chores and other various activities. Right before school used to be when my daughters and I would have our family meeting. We would have them at various times throughout the year, but for sure before the school year started we would discuss plans for the new school year. On the table were topics of activities the girls wanted to be involved in, schedules, and of course household chores.

Chores Schedules

Usually twice a year before school started and after school ended was the perfect time for us. These two times marked the beginning and end of commitments and goals as well as allowed for them to trade off chores if they didn’t feel they liked them much or just wanted to try something new. I feel having them pick their desired chores made for an easier situation. You would be amazed when you ask your kids which chores they want, they actually have thoughts about which ones they like and don’t like and it usually all works out!

Activities Schedules

Then there are other schedules as to classes, extra circular activities, and sporting events. As they grow up there are more and more things to schedule. How you handle these situations and your scheduling techniques are going to be lessons that you teach to your kids. Most everyone feels better when they know that everything is scheduled and everything is going to happen as planned! Give it a try—http://www.timerorganizer.com/weekly-assessment-.html has ideas on how to evaluate your week and see if you are accomplishing everything you had hoped. Check it out and come back next week for ideas on Back to School planning and organization!  

The next couple of weeks we will be devoting TimerOrganizer and TimerDiet to Back to School, so stay tuned.

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer