“That’s the good stuff,” is something my mom often says when we’re talking. She uses it to acknowledge something meaningful to her like appreciating my dad’s sense of humor or taking pleasure in stories about their seven grandchildren. I think about this too. There’s so much “good stuff” to enjoy and meaningful ways to spend our time.

Of course, not all of our time is filled with positive activities or thoughts. That’s life. Knowing this makes including the “good stuff” especially important. We need that balance. While my list could easily include hundreds of thoughts, for brevity’s sake, I’m just sharing twenty.

Linda’s “Good Stuff” List

1. Sipping my morning coffee
2. Seeing luscious colors
3. Biting a slice of juicy watermelon
4. Singing with or without music
5. Dipping toes into the river on a hot day
6. Laughing until the tears come out
7. Doing nothing
8. Writing in my journal and blog
9. Resting my feet on my purple velvet foot stool
10. Smelling anything baking, especially if it’s chocolate
11. Taking a walk with my husband and holding hands
12. Sitting by the river
13. Helping my clients with their organizing challenges
14. Conversing with my mom and her sisters
15. Receiving impromptu “I love you” text messages from our daughters
16. Hanging out with my family and friends
17. Seeing our daughters’ faces and hearing their voices
18. Hugging my family after being apart from them
19. Coming home
20. Getting into bed at night

What’s on your “good stuff” list? I’d love to hear from you. Come join the conversation!

Each day gives us the opportunity to use our time in a variety of ways. I just enjoyed a wonderful long weekend with plenty of time to relax and hang out with family and friends. It was a good combination of planned and unplanned time. Even though every day differs from a long weekend, we can integrate certain concepts to regularly give us a more balanced mix.

Looking at one of my typical days, I noticed that it was divided into eight segments. These groups represent how the time might be used during a given day. If you feel overworked and time-poor, try integrating some of these ideas into your day. It might result in a more comfortable balance.

8 W's of Time Management

Wake. Readying for the day sets the tone for the hours that follow. Review your morning routine. Do you give yourself enough time to prepare for your day? Instead, are you rushing and stressed from the moment you wake? What can you do to improve your start? I like to shower first thing. The water is refreshing and helps me wake up as I wash the sleepiness away. After getting dressed, I enjoy my morning cup of coffee and a small breakfast.

Work. The work begins. Do you feel ready to start? Have you looked at your calendar the night before so that you know where you need to be and when? Have you planned for travel time? Most mornings, I wake early enough to have some desk time before leaving for my clients. I use that time to catch up on emails, work on social media, papers, or calls. Then I go to work with my clients.

Waffle. You don't have to eat a waffle but eat something. Working takes energy. It's important to take a break and nourish yourself during the day. It can be tempting to eat on the run. I have been guilty of that and have eaten sandwiches while driving. That's not good for digestion or the other drivers on the road. Sitting and relaxing while you eat is beneficial and safer. Most likely, you’ll want to repeat the Waffle segment around dinnertime.

Walk. Since much of my work is indoors, getting some sunshine and fresh air is essential. Especially now, with the gorgeous spring weather, I love taking walks. It's even nicer when I'm walking with my family or friends. Not only is it great exercise, but I also get to reconnect with the people I love.

Wiggle. Add the toe-wiggling factor into your day. What do I mean by that? What makes you so joyful that your toes wiggle in delight? It's different for all of us. A simple cup of blueberry or grapefruit sorbet from our local ice cream shop, The Blue Pig, is enough to bring on the wiggle. I'm not suggesting that you eat ice cream every day. The idea is to incorporate simple things that bring you pleasure.

Write. Writing has become a regular part of my days between blogging, authoring The Other Side of Organized, emailing, social media-ing, and journaling. Using this way to reflect enriches my daily experience. Sometimes, my writing is just a sentence fragment containing a seed idea. Other days, an idea develops into a full-blown blog post. Writing in different locations is inspiring, too. One of my favorite places to write is at the Hudson River. If you don't enjoy writing, consider recording your thoughts or taking a reflection break where you don’t record but think about your day.

Wrap-Up. Days are full. Before finishing, take time for preparation and closure. Preparation might include reviewing tomorrow's schedule, clearing your desk, gathering items you'll need the next day, or selecting your clothes. I have a pull-down desk. I know I've finished my wrap-up when I clear the surface, turn off the light, and close the desk. It's my "done for the day" signal. How do you know when you’re done?

Wish. Your day is nearing the end. Give yourself time to relax, dream, and restore. Perhaps you like reading in bed, watching a movie, or lying down and doing nothing. Sleeping and dreaming will replenish your energy and get you ready for tomorrow. Each new day brings another chance to design the day with your combination of W's.

Which W’s resonate with you? Are there other W’s you’d like to include?

We spend a good part of our days thinking about what we have to do, want to do, or do. We spend even more time working on getting those things done. And then there are the moments or snapshots that mark time. Sometimes I can conjure up these images, and other times, I’m reminded of the moments from photos. These treasured photos help me remember both the mundane and significant moments that mark the passage of time.

As a parent, some of the significant family moments are things like the births of our children, first days of school, recitals, birthdays, graduations and all the “big” events in between. We know these moments define change. Then there are the beautiful non-event moments that get captured like your child smiling in delight or holding their Daddy’s hand.

“Our time is partly in the planning, but mostly in the moments that make us stop and realize how precious time is.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

As our youngest daughter just went to her senior prom, you can imagine the volume of photos that were taken of her and her friends. The paparazzi of parents gathered together with their cameras to capture this significant moment in their sons’ and daughters’ lives. Some were teary eyed as they watched their “babies” all grown up in their prom attire. Some talked in disbelief wondering, “Where did the time go?”

Photos were taken and our kids went off. The parents remained with instantaneous digital pictures preserving the memory.

As I looked at the prom photos, I thought about other times of “dressing-up.” Our daughters loved putting on costumes whether is was Halloween or not. They’d appear as ballerinas, fairies, princesses or other characters. Hours were spent selecting costumes and playing pretend. Perhaps things haven’t changed so much. They are still dressing up, but differently from when they were little girls.

Our time is partly in the planning, but mostly in the moments that make us stop and realize how precious time is. So, even if you are in the midst of a frenzy of lists to complete and places to go, take some time to stop and appreciate the moment you are in. It all goes way too fast.

What are you appreciating right now?

As far as arrival time goes, I am usually on time or a little early. I’m also human, so of course there are times when I’m late. One recent rainy spring evening, I found myself in a unique time situation. I actually arrived to my destination an entire hour early. Since I expected to arrive just as the program began, I didn’t have any reading material or projects with me.

There I was alone in an empty auditorium with my cup of earl grey tea. I couldn’t believe that I had a whole hour to just sit and do nothing. So, I sipped, breathed deeply and smiled at this wonderful, unexpected gift. I felt light-hearted and giddy by the idea that there was nothing special for me to do except wait. This was unusual.

After relaxing a while, I pulled out some blank index cards to write about this experience. People began arriving. Just like being at an airport, I enjoyed people watching. Some entered the room quietly, while others came in with a big display. The decibel level in the once quiet room quickly began rising, along with the energy level. There I sat, still smiling, writing and enjoying my time gift.

I noticed that most people were busy doing something like conversing with friends, checking email, texting, talking on their cell phones, or switching their seat to a more desirable location. The room filled with busyness. Everyone around me was active. In fact, I too was no longer just sitting. I was writing.

Then my friends began arriving, so I quickly finished my thoughts, put away my pen, and enjoyed having some face to face conversation before the event began.

The program was a comedy competition that my younger daughter participated in. Teens from all over the county competed in a friendly night of comedy improv. One of the improvs about corn threw me into a fit of almost unstoppable laughter, complete with tears streaming down my face. I love to laugh with complete abandon and these kids provided me with plenty of cause to let loose. It was a great evening between the free time and the abundance of laughter!