Seasons in Life

In the same way that there are seasons in nature, so too there are seasons in life as a human living on Earth today. As I write this blog post, we’re in between climatic seasons. The days are still warm but not as hot as they were a few weeks ago. Some of the nights have a distinct chill in the air so there are whispers that winter is on its way.

seasons in life - autumn leavesThe season of autumn is on its way!

As I was walking last week I passed a tree which had some leaves that had begun yellow. This sign never fails to trigger a sense of joy and anticipation for me. Until I was in my mid to late twenties and had two young children, I’d always lived in temperate coastal regions. Sure, I’d travelled the country a bit, but had never lived anywhere that experienced all four seasons.

From two seasons to four!

When I moved from Brisbane to the Southern Downs region in southern Queensland on the lands of the Gidhabal people, it was mid winter. There was a thick layer of frost on the ground each morning, sometimes till mid-morning and it was such a thrill to see it and feel it underfoot. I’d never seen thick frost before and this white coating on the ground and the cars and the windows was completely foreign to me. When I looked up close I could see the intricate patterns that combined together to form the frosty coating that gave everything an icy cold look. I simply loved it!

My first autumn was equally as exciting as my senses were captivated by the colours and textures of the leaves changing from green to yellow, red, orange and brown. And then slowly the leaves fell away, covering the ground with a striking layer of shapes that scrunched and crunched underfoot. One of my favourite autumn experiences still is to drive down one of the wide suburban streets in my town as the cold southerly wind funnels along the road, picking up the leaves that are delicately hanging onto the trees, and billowing them up into the air, swirling and whirling in a topsy turvy whirlwind until they slowly settle down onto the road and footpath, then scuttling along in waves as the south wind continues to breathe the first of winter.

All these sights, sounds, smells, textures and movements come back to me every autumn, so you can imagine how my body responded last week when I saw the very first signs of some leaves changing colour.

As my heart beat with excitement, I amused myself thinking about how here in Australia we call the coming season autumn, but in many other countries it’s known as fall. In my childhood I really didn’t ‘get’ it. After all, I wasn’t familiar with the leaf fall at the end of summer.

We all have internal seasons

Last week as I walked, I made a connection in my mind which resonated very strongly with me. We all have seasons in life, just as the climate has seasons.

Recently I’ve been working at letting go of some aspects of my life that I no longer need – projects that have completed, services that are no longer part of my core business, belongings that are unnecessarily taking up space. I’ve been in the season of autumn (or fall) and it feels so much lighter! Allowing things to fall away and making a conscious effort to seek out things I can declutter will give me more time and space to hunker down, conserve energy and focus on what matters most at this time in my life.

In the same way that you can’t really see what’s happening below ground or under the bark of the tree once it’s shed its leaves, I too am working away on projects that may not be obvious to anyone else but me. I know that this behind-the-scenes work is invisible but it’s vital. As I come out of my autumn and winter seasons and move into my season of spring, you’ll finally be able to see the new growth, the fruits I’m creating at the moment.

What season in life are you in?

Seasons are a normal and natural part of the outdoors life no matter where you live – whether you have the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring, or perhaps the wet and dry seasons of the tropical regions, or perhaps you have the light and dark seasons if you live closer to the poles.

I wonder, what season are you living in right now? I mean, literally, what climatic season are you in ………..…..

………. and what season in life you are in?

Nature reminds us that seasons in life come and go

Literally or metaphorically, we all experience seasons in life, and connecting with nature all year round is a good reminder that seasons come and go and they each have a purpose. Where there’s an ending or a completion, there’s also a beginning, a renewal. And that means there’s always the opportunity for hope.

connect with nature - connect to self

Send me an email: I’d love to hear your thoughts about seasons in nature and which season in life you’re in right now. I always love to hear from my readers and podcast listeners!

Listen to the audio version of this post in the Outdoors is my Therapy Podcast Episode 26!

Daisy Spoke logoDiscovering mountain biking as life’s ultimate parallel universe in her middle age, Kathryn Walton shares information and reflections that inform, inspire and empower women to a healthy and active lifestyle.

5 Hacks to Save Time for Busy Women

Stress management skills are invaluable, and for busy women juggling lots of hats at once, they are a necessity. So what does stress management actually look like? As with many things, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to managing stress. It’s different for everyone and everyone is different. But we can dig through the layers of stress that many busy women carry around with them and focus on a few strategies that prevent stress becoming a problem in the first place. Time is one of the most common elements that contribute to stress. Read on to learn about 5 hacks that will save you both time and stress.

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Hack #1 Be self-disciplined

Busy people are constantly on the go, moving from one task to another, often in a reactionary way. Distractions can side-line us into all sorts of things that are neither urgent nor important. Learn to discipline yourself to stay on task (unless there’s an emergency of course!) and to say ‘no’ more often. Whenever you say ‘no’ to someone, something, or yourself, it opens the space for you to say ‘yes’ to the most important things in your life. Ultimately, by avoiding time wasters you’ll save your time for the most important things in your life and feel much less stressed!

Say no so I can say yes

Hack #2 Batch your tasks

I LOVE this hack! Batching can be done in just about every area of life. Here we’re thinking about mostly routine tasks that can save you time when you use a ‘mass production’ or ‘assembly line’ approach. My favourite batching hacks include:

  • Get the ironing done and dusted all at once instead of one item at a time (and usually in the hectic rush of getting ready for the work / school day).
  • Bake multiple batches of muffins at once and freeze heaps of them for next week
  • Cook double quantity meals and either freeze or refrigerate the leftovers for another night (think savoury mince, risotto, lasagne – all delicious and can be reheated, re-purposed or dressed up for another night).
  • Work tasks can often be batched too. For myself this includes blog writing, administration tasks, making videos, and creating social media postings.

In what other ways can you save time and reduce stress by using the batching hack?

Fresh baked pie

Hack #3 Be selective

Time is a commodity that we trade for something else like money, leisure, work, travel, sleep and so on. Is there room for you to be more selective about how you trade your time? Are you unnecessarily busy? Are you trading your time for something of inferior value? If so, you can begin saving time by taking up the habit of asking yourself “Is MY time worth trading for THIS?”

time management clock

Hack #4 Delegate, let go of full control

Ouch, easier said than done! Yes I KNOW! The struggle is real when I want things done ‘the proper way’ and it seems I’m the only one who CAN or WILL do it that way. Sigh ….. let’s get real here though. When you delegate tasks you’re also giving the other person the chance to learn a skill and develop confidence in themselves. Think of the underlying message of competence vs incompetence that you send out when you’re always the one taking charge. We need our children and employees to grow skills, to become independent, responsible, competent and confident. That won’t happen if we hold onto control all the time. Think of it as an investment. The time you spend teaching them now, will have amazing payoffs in the future and definitely save you time and stress in the long term. Keep in mind the famous saying Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Letting go

Hack #5 Set your priorities

Busy people can easily get their priorities all mixed up in the hectic chaos that is life. And it becomes a vicious cycle. Set your priorities for the day and let everything else fit in around it – if it can! Stress builds up when we fight to fit things into our day (or our life) when we simply don’t have enough time for it all. And once time has gone, we can’t get it back. Be sure to fit the most important things into your day first, and anything else that stacks in is simply an added bonus!

Let's sum up!

Time management is a proactive way of managing stress. The 5 hacks outlined here will save you precious time and reduce your stress when practised regularly and habitually. Here they are again!

  1. Be self-disciplined
  2. Batch your tasks
  3. Be selective
  4. Delegate, let go of full control
  5. Set your priorities

What are your biggest time wasters and your best time saving hacks?

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Discovering mountain biking as life’s ultimate parallel universe in her middle age, Daisy Spoke aka Kathryn Walton logoKathryn Walton shares information and reflections in Daisy Spoke that connect, inspire and self-empower women to make healthy choices for themselves. She integrates her love of physical exercise, family, nature, gardening and creative arts with her professional background in mental health social work to facilitate change with individuals, groups and communities of women who are committed to living life to the full. 

Stress Management: The Bucket of Life

Managing stress is something we all need to give attention to. In this article I’ll share with you one of the techniques which many people find useful for managing stress. It’s a technique that I often demonstrate at workshops, seminars and with my individual clients. It can be used by anyone at any time, and in fact I often use it myself to review my priorities when I’m feeling stressed. It helps me to adjust my thinking and change my actions so that I focus on the most important things in my life. I hope you find it useful too!

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Life is a Bucket of Rocks

Life is like a bucket filled with rocks of all shapes, sizes, colours and weights. And just like that bucket, life can sometimes feel overloaded, lop-sided or empty. We notice our stress levels rising. When this happens, it can be helpful to have a look at what rocks you are carrying around in your bucket of life.

The Big Rocks

Think of the MOST IMPORTANT things in your life. Write them down in a list. It’s a very personal thing, so be sure to list whatever is most important to YOU. These things are the BIG ROCKS in your life. They are your priority. You need to make sure you have time, space and energy for them. For example, some of my big rocks are daily exercise and meditation, being home after school hours, home cooked food, mountain bike riding on weekends, getting to medical appointments, spending time connecting with family, spending time alone, and developing new and exciting work projects.

The Medium-Sized Rocks

Now it’s time to think of the other things in your life that are FAIRLY IMPORTANT to you, but not quite as important as the big rocks. They are special, but not as critical to your happiness and satisfaction in life as the big rocks. These are your MEDIUM-SIZED ROCKS. Write them down in a separate list. Some examples of my medium-sized rocks (at this point in time) are socialising with friends, housework, sewing, weekends away camping, completing training courses, and replacing the curtains in my office.

The Little Rocks

The LITTLE ROCKS, or pebbles, in your life are those things that have some significance, but they are NOT AS HIGH PRIORITY as the medium-sized or big rocks. They are the things that you can ‘give or take’ somewhat. It wouldn’t overly worry you if you put these things off to deal with another day. You like having them in your life, but when it comes to the crunch, they simply don’t rate as high in importance. Write your little rocks in a separate list. Some of my little rocks include going to evening meetings, going to concerts, and washing the car.

The Grains of Sand

The next list you create is of all the things that have LESS IMPORTANCE AND MEANING in your life, but they need some attention and time. There are usually lots and lots of these, and sometimes we get them mixed up with the bigger rocks without even realising! These are your GRAINS OF SAND. Some of my grains of sand include tidying the coffee table, doing the ironing, going to the post office, and selling my old tent.

Place Your Rocks in Your Bucket

Now it’s time to put your rocks into your bucket of life. It’s really important you do it in the right order because if you get it back-to-front you’ll end up with a lop-sided, top-heavy, or overflowing bucket. You’ll feel overwhelmed, stressed and pressured. You won’t have enough time and energy for the important things in your life, and you’ll find yourself racing around or stressing over the things that really don’t matter so much.

PebblesSo first of all, make sure you GET THE BIG ROCKS IN YOUR LIFE FIRST. They are your priorities so take steps to make sure you allow plenty of time and energy for them. Next put in your medium-sized rocks. Your small rocks go in after that and will be able to settle into the spaces between the bigger rocks. You can be more flexible with how they fit into your life. Next comes the sand. These things will be able to flow into the spaces that you have left. If there isn’t time and energy for them right now, that doesn’t matter. When things settle, they’ll have a place in your bucket once again.

Check Your Bucket Now and Again

You might even find that by doing this exercise there are things consuming your time and energy that you can let go of completely – some rocks that you choose not to put back into your bucket. Perhaps you found big rocks that are actually small rocks, or maybe you’ve discovered some small rocks that you’d like to become bigger rocks in your life. Have fun experimenting to see what works for you. And don’t forget that at any time you can dig down to see what you’re carrying around, and rearrange it so that the big rocks always go into your bucket of life first!  It’s one of the most important actions you can take to manage your stresses effectively. 

Take a Minute for Your Mind

Take a Minute for Your Mind LogoHAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR MY FREE 7 DAY CHALLENGE “TAKE A MINUTE FOR YOUR MIND”? For more information and to register, go to the OFFERS tab on my website!

 

 

Discovering mountain biking as life’s ultimate parallel universe in her middle age, Daisy Spoke aka Kathryn Walton logoKathryn Walton shares information and reflections in Daisy Spoke that connect, inspire and self-empower women to make healthy choices for themselves. She integrates her love of physical exercise, family, nature, gardening and creative arts with her professional background in mental health social work to facilitate change with individuals, groups and communities of women who are committed to living life to the full.