The first quarter of 2009 is coming to an end. It seems to have flown by. With the accelerated pace of technology, innovation time seems to have started moving. The day just seems to whiz by, and each next day blends seamlessly into the other. The buzzing of your email is a constant reminder of all the various things happening in your life. The brain never seems to have time to rest and reflect on the path that is being taken. If this is not looked into, time will continue to pass us by without our paying adequate attention to the bigger picture. Some changes that I am actively incorporating in my life to manage this are:

1. Goals list: I manage my goals on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis. I use a program called “Things” to manage all the data. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is to look at this list and plan my day accordingly. This enables me to achieve SMART goals and the satisfaction of tick marking each completed task really makes my day.

2. Meditation: 20 minutes during the course of the day I do my best to turn off any distractions and turn the noises in my head off to minimum. This is something that I am still unable to do on a daily basis, but I am working on it and plan to make it a habit by the end of the next quarter.

3. Gratitude Note: We tend to get so caught up in our daily routines that we tend to forget to connect with important family members, friends and work colleagues. I do my best to send out an email or make a call to someone in my contact list that I have not spoken with for sometime. This helps to keep relationships alive and I am always pleasantly surprised at how many business referrals I have been able to generate with this small task.

These are some of the things that I am making a concentrated effort to incorporate into my life. They have been most helpful in helping me manage my time better, as well as improve the overall quality of life.

What are some of the things that you are doing to assist you in balancing out the changing pace of life? Look forward to your comments and suggestions.