“What is it about my daily rituals? Why such pleasure in repetition? Well, it occurs to me that I might just be practicing… being me. Those cherished creaks in the old floorboards. The precise angle of the winter sun cheering my kitchen. Assembling ingredients for a dish  I’ve made hundreds of times. A novel position my cats have adopted, lost in their midday dreams. Each nuance resonates with a kind of timeless wisdom, and I realize thiat it is these humble putterings–nothing fancier–that have allowed me, finally, to know myself.”–David Jacoby

To being yourself!
Elizabeth

If you’re struggling to find these quiet moments, check out www.ScheduleMakeover.com or contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com. I can help you develop a routine for a peaceful, beautiful life.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach and trainer who empowers women in business to build businesses and achieve work/life brilliance™ through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance and business development.

Michele Deville featured in Real Life E newsletter

The most recent Brilliant Time Strategies newsletter just went out yesterday. In it, I featured Michele Deville, who in addition to being a coach, speaker, and author is a volunteer grief counselor.

If you’re going through difficult times and didn’t receive the newsletter, sign up in the bar at right, and you’ll receive a link on the Thank You page to this important information.

Don’t neglect yourself during hard times… when you take time to love and care for yourself, you heal and then have the capacity to love and care for others.

Take care,

Elizabeth

If you want to end your feelings of overwhelm and guilt and step into the future with confidence, check out www.ScheduleMakeover.com or contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com I can develop an ideal schedule for you that helps you get through stressful times.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach and trainer who empowers women in business to achieve work/life brilliance™ through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance.

This is what I would look like if I didn't shut up the voice of overwhelm!

For almost two years, I’ve aimed to build a business while working about 40 hours a week so I would have time for physical, relational, and spiritual health. But that doesn’t mean setting time boundaries is always easy for me. On a daily basis, I have to combat the voices in my head that tell me “You are not working enough,” “You are not successful enough,” “You are not making enough,” etc…..

Do you hear any of those  voices? Or if you can’t quite hear a voice do you sometimes feel an inexplicable sense of terror at the thought of actually taking time to relax or slow down?

If so, this exercise can lead to freedom for you. (It’s a cliff notes version of concepts in “The Worry Free Life.”)

• Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. Write “The Voice” at the top of the left column and “My Response” at the top of the right.
• Start to write down all of the voices that you hear in your head in the left column. If they come out in the “I” form, rewrite them in the “you” form. For example: “I need to work all the time” should be translated into “You need to work all the time.”
• Writing these voices in the “You” form exposes them as an outside force negatively influencing you instead of you identifying with these voices as your own inescapable thoughts.
• In the right column, respond to these voices using this formula:
  For demands write: “Why should I (fill in demand)?”
  For statements write: “So what if you think (fill in statement)?”
  For questions write: “It’s none of your business!”
• If you want to take your counter attack one step further, after your first response, write down truths such as: “I have the ability to choose when I will work.” and “I can succeed without working all the time.”

I know this sounds funny, but it works! I’m in the midst of building my time management coaching business and developing a couple of new products. This week, I’ve heard and fought off these voices of overwhelm in my head:

• You are a loser.
• You have to do everything at once.
• You’ll fall behind.
• If you don’t do everything at once that you can think of, you’ll fall behind.
• You’re not good enough.
• You’re not working hard enough.
• It all depends on you.

I recognized these lies and responded to them using the above technique and was able to stay focused and move forward with confidence.

What voices of overwhelm are tormenting you? It’s time to tell them to shut up and cast them out with the truth! Please use this technique, check out the book, and if you need extra help, be in touch with me about a coaching consultation. You don’t have to conquer overwhelm alone!

Have a brilliant day!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach who empowers individuals  who are overwhelmed and frustrated because they want to achieve a life of peace and productivity but are struggling to make it happen. She helps  them set priorities, set expectations and set routines so that they move forward, feel peaceful and have time for themselves and the people they love.

My definition of success: Spending a work-free week in Hawaii with one of my best friends!

22 must be my lucky number! In the November 2008 issue of Inc magazine, I was featured on p. 22 along with a bunch of other awesome entrepreneurs from the Inc 500 conference.

Now, you can check out the March 2009 issue of Inc magazine to see my quote on p. 22 about “What’s the best part of owning your business?”

My answer is right at the top: “Defining success. You set the goals, and you sit on both sides of the table at the performance review.” Elizabeth Grace Saunders, Real Life E®

Being a full-time entrepreneur has given me the freedom to not only do what I want to do, but be who I want to be. Sure, I probably don’t make as much as some of my friends, but I have an amazingly rich life full of treasured friendships, amazing adventures (I was in Hawaii last week!), and inner peace. I can set the pace of my professional career–at about 40 hours a week–and have time to live a fantastic life in the process.

I couldn’t ask for anything more!

So if you have a chance, check out Inc and have a brilliant day based on your personal definition of success!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time strategist who focuses on “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-Out World.” She teaches others how to control their time instead of letting it control them and practices what she preaches by running two businesses in just 40 hours a week. Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC.

If you liked this and want to find out more, check out Elizabeth’s time management coaching, training, speaking, and resources!

Kelly Moore, PR Consultant, Writer, Wife, and Mom of 2!

, who also juggles kiddos and a husband. (In my opinion, this is just as hard as juggling flaming torches.) She described to me how she recently got home late from a meeting, paid the babysitter, folded some laundry, and then sat down on the coach–for 30 seconds.

Yep, in less than a minute she felt totally guilty that she was taking time for herself, even though the children were nestled in bed, her husband wasn’t home yet, and all of the day’s work was done. Her situation lead to this Q&A:

Q: I am someone who thrives on being productive, but lately I’ve been feeling burnt-out. How can I take time to rejuvenate myself without feeling restless or guilty?

A: I can completely understand this situation! As a classic achiever, I’ve struggled with perceiving rest as a dreadful chore. When I slowed down, all I could think about was everything I “should” be doing. Part of this dilemma is about changing your mindset. (In Thursday’s post, I’ll talk about being a human being versus a human doing.) But the other part is all about making the most of your strengths.

In Strengthsfinder 2.0, it defines the “Achiever” strength in this way:

“People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work
hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.”

This is a fantastic quality, but can cause problems when you start shaking when you take a moment to sit still.

One strategy that helps me calm down without freaking out is making a “life to do” list. This means I write down activities that rejuvenate me, like taking a walk, spending time with friends, praying, or traveling, and I cross them off as I achieve them. I can make a relaxing Saturday feel ultraproductive when I complete everything on my list.

If you’re feeling burnt-out, I really encourage you to take time to make a to-do list for yourself that includes everything that makes you happy! Then schedule in time every day, week, or month, to complete these “tasks” that fill you up.

As Mel Robbins describes in her podcast “Create Your Ideal Week Using LEGOs,” there are a minimum number of things you need in life to be the best business owner, employee, parent, spouse, and person you can be. By putting those in first, you’ll have the energy and passion to approach the rest of life with gusto!

Be brilliant today!

Elizabeth