Make Space for Reflection

Are you experiencing pure joy right now?

Like most of us, you’ve probably had more joyous moments over the past few glorious summer months, but not pure joy 24/7. And that’s okay because that’s just not real life. BUT, this is my favorite time of year to re-assess.

During the summer, we have more space and time to think about our lives.

And then in September, we are gifted Labor Day – which I like to think of as the NEW New Year’s, but with Margaritas and hamburgers instead of champagne and Chinese food.  We get to hit the reset button AGAIN and schedule our priorities into the calendar to make it happen!

Let’s face it, by the time we hit mid-November, our time is devoted to the holidays and end-of-year activities. So, now is the time to PAUSE, REFLECT, and come up with an ACTION plan.

I stepped in to help at the front desk of Dedham Acupuncture this past week and realized that on both computers, our scheduling software was “stuck” on DAY view.  Meaning, I could only see each acupuncturist’s schedule one day at a time.  I changed the view to WEEK and saw that we were mostly booked out.  I then switched the view to MONTH and again realized that open time slots were scarce.  I then started telling every client coming out of their treatment to please schedule ahead. There was some hesitation. I then proceeded to say “It’s looking bleak and your acu only has 1 spot left next week, and 3 the following week.”

I had my Ah-ha moment right then and there. This hit close to home and I realized that my personal calendar was stuck on DAY view. I realized that my myopic view of my personal life calendar resulted in me not planning for what was important to me.  I booked all of the usual suspects – dentist appts, hair appt, therapist appt, but not time to do what fills my bucket.

What does your future self want to see happen? Take up a weekly yoga class? Paint and redecorate your dining room. Can you switch your calendar view over to monthly and start carving out time for this before we hit the mad dash that is known as the holiday season?

 

Good. So glad we had that quick intervention.