It’s your choice

Happy New Year! Don’t you just love opening a new calendar and seeing all the empty spaces in each month—each day beckoning with possibilities? It’s exciting to know I can fill them (or not fill them) as I choose.

Yes, we do have some “musts” that fill those spaces each month. Some of us have 9-to-5 jobs that leave only nights, weekends and vacation days with actual choice involved. We have families to tend and friendships to nurture. We have appointments and commitments to keep. However, some choice is still involved in adding things to our calendar.

How are you choosing to fill your 2012 calendar? Are you doing so with intention? Or are you simply allowing things to fill up? And how do you make your decisions?

Ask questions first
For too many years, I let my calendar fill up with little thought to what gave me life and energy. Will doing this bring more light and life into the world? Will it matter to someone’s life? To mine? Is it something that is really someone else’s task? Or is it something that is mine to do?

So many questions need to be asked before filling your days. Be clear about your goals. Get clear on your desires. Be clear about what tasks are really yours to do—and not someone else’s. Have clarity on how you want to spend your time. We each have 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We each have the same number of days in a month and 365 days in a year. No more, no less.

If you haven’t done so already, why not make a list of what you really want to do with your time. How do you want to spend your days? What are your priorities? Once you have a list of things you want to do and have prioritized it, you can make choices about filling your calendar that really feel like choices. Doesn’t that feel energizing and powerful?

Make intentional choices, starting today. You’ll be so glad you did. And I invite you to share comments with us to tell us how that works for you.