How to make the most of the rest of 2021
There are less than 3 months left of the year, more precisely 85 days. If hearing that makes you feel uncomfortable then great, that means there's something for you to dig deeper into.
Chances are, by the time December comes around you'll be thinking: "Where did 2021 go?!" You might find yourself reflecting over the things you wanted to do this year but didn't get to or asking yourself if you really made the most of the 365 days you were gifted last January.
In that exact moment you might find yourself thinking "If only I would have known how fast time was going to go by, maybe I wouldn't have postponed that thing I really wanted to do." Well, see this moment right now as your second chance.
Right now the chance is yours to decide that the last 3 months of the year will not pass you by. That you will squeeze the lemons of life and make the tastiest lemonade you've ever had out of these 85 remaining days.
How can we make these last 3 months count? Here are 5 easy, implementable strategies to master your time:
Set daily intention. One of the reasons time flies us by is because we live our days on autopilot. We don't consciously engage in the activities we take part it - instead we simply go through the motions without thinking. When we set daily intentions, we set a direction for ourselves. We decide how we want to react in certain situations, the kind of energy we was to spread around us or who we want to be. Not sure where to start with daily intention setting? Listen to this short podcast episode all about it.
Celebrating the little wins. Have you ever heard the quote: "Sometimes life is so subtle we hardly notice ourselves walk through the doors we once prayed would open"? We tend to focus so much on what we're working for, always thinking about the next, that we rarely celebrate what we've accomplished. By celebrating the little wins, by taking even just a split second to smile to ourselves and notice the milestones as the pass by, we become much more conscious of the passing of time and can actually slow down time in the process.
Reflect over the month. Do you remember March? How about April? ...June? The months can so easily slip through our fingers without us even noticing. When we take some time at the end of each month to truly reflect over the previous month, we anchor in those little moments that made us smile, those lessons we learned along the way and the times that challenged us before they slip in the back of our mind. You become then much more likely to remember them. One way of doing this is putting together a little photo compilation like this one or sitting down to do a written reflection. Not sure how to go about doing a monthly reflection? Try using this free journaling guide.
Find moments of presence. As I said in point #1 we often fall into autopilot and live our day without truly being conscious of what we're doing. While we shower, make coffee even maybe do our yoga, our mind is probably floating into the future or reliving the past. When we become incredibly conscious of the present moment, every little detail of it, we manage to truly slow down time. Start by thinking about one specific activity you do daily that you could do with more consciousness and presence. Maybe you can shower while being incredibly aware of the temperature the water, the smell of the soap, the tiles under your feet... If you're not sure how to approach this, listen to this short podcast episode.
Challenge yourself. I bet your first yoga class felt like it lasted an absolute eternity. When we challenge ourselves to do something new we slow down time. Of course in that moment we can hardly think about anything else other that what we are doing. When's the last time you dared to do something new, something that maybe feels out of your comfort zone or something that feels challenging? What could you do in October to challenge yourself?