I'm Making It: Activities for Weeks 3 and 4
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As a part of her I'm Making It program, Sandra Magsamen shares daily activities that will help you live a happier life.
So often I hear people say, "I just don't have time for me" or "There is no time to do what I really want—I am so busy." I say that's nonsense. We all have 24 hours in a day to do with as we choose.We each have to own our choices about how we spend our time. We all have to make a living and also make a life. This week's activities are designed to help you redefine how you view time, and more importantly how you make use of it.
Don't let time run away with you. Manage it and use it to make every moment matter!
Missed Weeks 1 and 2? Get the daily activities that kicked off the program.
Day 15
Make a list of everything you'd like to do but don't have time for.
Really think this through and write the list in your journal. It could be anything like learning to make cheese, sewing a quilt, reading a book from start to finish, taking a walk or sitting down for dinner instead of eating on the run.
Be clear about what you want to do and think about how much time it really would take to accomplish each thing.
Day 16
Make a picture of how you spend your time.
Take a look at your day—really look at your day. How do you spend it? What things are you doing that you don't love? And how much time do they take?
Draw a circle in your journal and divide it into four equal parts. Think of each part representing six hours. One quarter of the day (six hours) is taken up with sleeping, for most of us. Take a few minutes and fill in the other three quarters. How do you currently use these remaining moments?
Now draw another circle, divide it into four quarters and color one quarter to represent sleeping six hours. This time, fill in the other quarters with how you would like to spend your time.
Day 17
Make time for one of the things you put on your list of things you don't have time to do.
Do something on your list and enjoy it. See that you can shift things around so that time works for you. How does that feel?
Get more daily activities for Week 3
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Day 18
Make a date with five minutes.
I often hear folks say "time flies." Honestly, there are days where it seems to fly, that's for sure, but there are also times when time just drags on.
Most of us have not really had a reality check about time in awhile. So I invite you to sit down and set a timer for five minutes.
Just sit, relax and feel what it's like to have five minutes pass.
Well?
What do you think? Are you surprised by how long five minutes really is? A lot can be done in five minutes when we respect the time and realize it holds great possibility.
Now, make a list in your journal of what you can do in five minutes.
Imagine the possibilities.
Get your daily activities to finish the week
Make a date with five minutes.
I often hear folks say "time flies." Honestly, there are days where it seems to fly, that's for sure, but there are also times when time just drags on.
Most of us have not really had a reality check about time in awhile. So I invite you to sit down and set a timer for five minutes.
Just sit, relax and feel what it's like to have five minutes pass.
Well?
What do you think? Are you surprised by how long five minutes really is? A lot can be done in five minutes when we respect the time and realize it holds great possibility.
Now, make a list in your journal of what you can do in five minutes.
Imagine the possibilities.
Get your daily activities to finish the week
Photo: Jupiterimages/Thinkstock
Day 19
Make time with a friend.
Make time to reach out to a friend today. You could call, email, text, go to lunch, meet for a walk or send a card. You decide how you will reach out, but, in some way, connect with a friend today.
Friendship is key to a happy and healthy life, so always find, take or create the time to nurture the people in your life.
Day 20
Make time for another thing you put on your list of things you don't have time to do.
Go ahead—you can do it!
Day 21
Make time for nurturing you.
Today, give yourself a little time. Choose something that makes you feel good and take time to do it for yourself. Maybe it's 30 more minutes at the gym, a longer walk in the park, an extra cup of coffee at breakfast or time to scrapbook a few pictures. Whatever it is, make time for it and for you.
Get seven more activities for Week 4 and create spaces that nurture you
Make time with a friend.
Make time to reach out to a friend today. You could call, email, text, go to lunch, meet for a walk or send a card. You decide how you will reach out, but, in some way, connect with a friend today.
Friendship is key to a happy and healthy life, so always find, take or create the time to nurture the people in your life.
Day 20
Make time for another thing you put on your list of things you don't have time to do.
Go ahead—you can do it!
Day 21
Make time for nurturing you.
Today, give yourself a little time. Choose something that makes you feel good and take time to do it for yourself. Maybe it's 30 more minutes at the gym, a longer walk in the park, an extra cup of coffee at breakfast or time to scrapbook a few pictures. Whatever it is, make time for it and for you.
Get seven more activities for Week 4 and create spaces that nurture you
Photo: Digital Vision/Thinkstock
This week is focused on creating spaces that nurture you. It's about making a home—your nest, a place to grow and find comfort and joy.
There are many small steps you can take to bring awareness to your environment, and to make small changes that have a big effect on how you live. The daily activities below are designed to inspire you to think about your home as a place of respite, and to make it your personal sanctuary.Day 22
Make a collage in your journal.
Begin to visualize in a tangible way what kind of space you love. Collect pictures of houses, furniture, images, rooms, lamps, dishes and spaces that intrigue, comfort and inspire.
As you pull each image from a magazine, you are making decisions about what you love and what environment you feel best in. As you create your home, you can draw from these images to recreate spaces that you love and that nurture you.
Day 23
Make your home glow in candlelight.
Our homes, like us, have many attitudes and can take on many moods. Explore and experience your home in different ways. Pull the shades down, don't turn on the lights and fill the room with only candlelight.
Experience how the feeling of the room changes as you make the lighting decisions.
Just like a director in a play, you can set the tone and the feeling of the environment. Lighting is a vital player in setting mood, so have fun and explore in the light and in the dark.
Get your activities for Days 24, 25 and 26
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Day 24
Take 30 minutes to organize your space.
It doesn't take much energy or time to bring order to chaos in our homes. When things are where you know they are and you have a sense of order, life just seems to move better.
Take 30 minutes to do a few things like getting the dishes washed, making the beds, taking the trash out, sweeping or vacuuming and straightening up, and I promise you will feel on top of the world!
Day 25
Make a bouquet of flowers and place it next to your bed.
A little bit of nature brought into your home brings a lot of pleasure.
In the spring, cut a few branches of forsythia buds and watch them blossom into sprays of yellow. In the summer, cut daisies or even dandelions to bring in a little sunshine. In the fall, a few branches of brightly colored leaves will fill a room with beauty. And in the winter, a few branches of holly will fill the room with joy.
Day 26
Make something grow.
Plant something in your home—a seed, bulb, little plant, some herbs—then nurture it. Water it, put it in the sun, talk to it and watch day by day how your actions and care help to transform and grow nothing into something.
Reflect in your journal on how you nurture relationships in your life.
What specifically do you do to help those you care about to grow?
Get your final activities for Week 4
Take 30 minutes to organize your space.
It doesn't take much energy or time to bring order to chaos in our homes. When things are where you know they are and you have a sense of order, life just seems to move better.
Take 30 minutes to do a few things like getting the dishes washed, making the beds, taking the trash out, sweeping or vacuuming and straightening up, and I promise you will feel on top of the world!
Day 25
Make a bouquet of flowers and place it next to your bed.
A little bit of nature brought into your home brings a lot of pleasure.
In the spring, cut a few branches of forsythia buds and watch them blossom into sprays of yellow. In the summer, cut daisies or even dandelions to bring in a little sunshine. In the fall, a few branches of brightly colored leaves will fill a room with beauty. And in the winter, a few branches of holly will fill the room with joy.
Day 26
Make something grow.
Plant something in your home—a seed, bulb, little plant, some herbs—then nurture it. Water it, put it in the sun, talk to it and watch day by day how your actions and care help to transform and grow nothing into something.
Reflect in your journal on how you nurture relationships in your life.
What specifically do you do to help those you care about to grow?
Get your final activities for Week 4
Photo: Jupiterimages/Thinkstock
Day 27
Make yourself tune into the moment and your surroundings.
Focus on the details of where you are right now and write them in your journal.
Use your senses and discover your surroundings in a more profound way than you might have before. What does the room smell like? What does it sound like? Is it light or dark? Is it warm or cold?
Really open yourself up to the moment, embrace it and feel it.
Day 28
Create a space where you can grow.
Make up your mind to nurture your environment and create a space that you love, that you feel great in, that nourishes you.
Make yourself tune into the moment and your surroundings.
Focus on the details of where you are right now and write them in your journal.
Use your senses and discover your surroundings in a more profound way than you might have before. What does the room smell like? What does it sound like? Is it light or dark? Is it warm or cold?
Really open yourself up to the moment, embrace it and feel it.
Day 28
Create a space where you can grow.
Make up your mind to nurture your environment and create a space that you love, that you feel great in, that nourishes you.
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