“Take it easy… it’s summertime,” says the right half of my brain.  “Time’s a wasting… get moving,” is the reply from the left.  How does one find balance?  We  know that it is critical to find time to exercise, time to spend with the family, to read, to learn, to meditate and to relax as well but the demands upon us are never ending.  Our careers and businesses seem to never sleep.  I now have days when I receive in excess of 100 emails and most of them are relevant and many need a quick response. Simply managing our time is time consuming in itself.  So, here is what I do and what I suggest to others:

Take a “time out.”  Sit in a quiet place with a fresh yellow scratch pad.  Breathe slowly and let go of all the insanity.  Ask yourself a few questions:

1)      What is most important to me at this moment in time, right now?  What is next most important?  These can be work related, health, family or whatever you feel is important.

Make a list of no more than half a dozen items.  Maybe it’s a follow-up letter you have been meaning to write… or a call you have been putting off. Maybe, it’s a face to face meeting with an employee or an associate that is confrontational and unpleasant so it keeps falling to the bottom of the list.  If it is a really “big” something, break it into pieces and just list the first piece (remember you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time… OK, who wants to eat an elephant?).  After you have your list give each item an estimated amount of time that you think it will take to complete it. 

Next, add up the total time to complete your priorities.  You may be surprised to discover that the total time needed is far less than you would have thought.  Pull out your calendar, Blackberry or iPhone and schedule an appointment with yourself to get the work done.

Repeat, rinse, and recycle!  It really works.