AUTHOR, SPEAKER, TALK SHOW HOST, FOUNDER
CTRL– ALT– DEL
(Control – Alt — Delete)
Copyright Mistie Layne
Do you hear “you need to slow down” from the loved ones in your life? Do you oftentimes fill your plate so full of obligations that you find little to no free time left over for yourself? Does your mind race with thoughts your life is spinning out of control? If so, this simple three-step guide to CONTROL your time by ALTERING your priorities and DELETING negativity may help you create space and freedom in your schedule. We may use “busy work” for many different reasons, but the bottom line is we must make time for self-care and relaxation or we tend to resent the things we do. The command Ctrl – Alt – Del is used on our computers to get to our task manager to reset our tasks or reboot our computers, but we can incorporate that same technique in our lives as well. We can learn to utilize Ctrl-Alt-Del as a powerful tool to help gain simplicity, maneuverability, and control in our lives by resetting our tasks.
I have always been a busy bee, constantly filling my plate too full of projects, obligations, and work. My family constantly begs me to slow down and they say they get tired just hearing my schedule. There are many different reasons we tend to book ourselves to the max. Identifying your reason is the first step to creating your freedom from burn-out, sleep-deprivation, and exhaustion. Some people are hyper, go-getter type personalities that need to stay busy in fear of feeling idle or non-productive. Others may use their busy schedule as a veil to cloak having to look at themselves and work on issues in their own lives. Additionally, some thrive on the “recognition” of being the one that gets it all done.
Which excuses are you hiding behind? Is your busy schedule a defense mechanism from having to deal with internal pain points, regrets, or unresolved issues in your life? If we never have time to address our pain, what do you think will eventually happen? The pain does not just magically disappear, we must work through our issues by addressing them and finding closure or resolution to achieve mental wellness. For those of us thriving from the “recognition,” we must evaluate and discern why we feel we need the validation from others. If you are ready to take CONTROL of your life by managing your time more productively and getting off the hamster wheel, this simple three-step guide is your ticket to freedom, both mentally and physically.
CTRL-ALT-DEL your way to a less crowded, more productive lifestyle that allows you to both accomplish the things you achieve and have time left over for yourself. We must gain CONTROL over our lives by ALTering our motives and DELETING the non-productive outcomes. Instead of falling in bed late every night with your mind constantly spinning with things on the never-ending “to-do” list, learn quick and simple habits that will allow daily accomplishments and mental clarity.
First, gain control of your own life by deciding what YOU want and need to accomplish. Make a to-do list every morning by listing things by priority of needs vs. wants. Avoid making your list the night before as this leaves you feeling burdened and anxious about all the things forthcoming.
By making your list in the morning, you have more mental clarity and focus with the refreshed attitude of a new day instead of going to bed feeling overwhelmed and obligated. Control needs to be established in your life and discerning the motive of the task will help decide if it is a want or a need for a better understanding of prioritization. Ask yourself if the item on the to-do list is a MUST do or WANT to do, and then quickly evaluate the motive behind doing it.
For example, you have a deadline at work for a project that you have been procrastinating for one reason or another but now it becomes a MUST and takes high priority on your list because you MUST complete it as part of your job. Meeting a friend for a drink or a movie would go toward the bottom of the list in priority that day. By controlling your list, you can create the space for the wants in your life instead of feeling you never have free time to fit those times in. The last part of this first step is creating a list of all the things you tackled that day so you can go to bed feeling accomplished instead of overwhelmed.
Next, we must ALTer the things we agree to say “yes” to. As previously mentioned, we sometimes pile on tasks out of obligation, the need to be noticed, or because we feel pressured that we should. We must ALTER our thinking and realize we are the only person responsible for taking care of our health and mental wellness. If it doesn’t directly fall into alignment with our motives and goals, we need to pass on over-committing ourselves. Learning to say “no” is not an easy task as we are left feeling guilty that we are letting others down. However, if we burn ourselves out for everyone else and their agendas, what is left over for our own goals? Ask three questions: What is the motive behind doing it? What is the outcome? Who does it help? Examine each task before agreeing to take it on as this will help you make choices on how to prioritize it on your daily list. If we say “yes” to everything, we grow resentful and angry at others instead of realizing we could have been in control of our time. Find your healthy balance between meeting your obligations, your desires, and helping others. Learn to alter your time by managing priorities daily.
Lastly, it is time to DELETE the negativity and non-productive things that consume your time. If you are committed to something that you oftentimes find yourself angry about or resentful of, then DELETE the activity with total transparency instead of harboring those toxic feelings. DELETE the people or at least the number of conversations you have with people in your life that constantly dwell on things that are not going right instead of seeing all the things that are. Remember that misery loves company and for you to free up your time and mental clarity, you need to delete the negativity. What things do you spend time doing that is of no value? Are you wasting time with gossip, social media trolling, or gaming? Examine your life and delete things that are of no benefit to you or others. Finally, let go of bad habits, non-productive tasks, or things that are harmful to your wellbeing. Discover how you want to spend the extra time you have created and use it wisely. Consequently, as you clear your schedule, you become happier, more productive, and free to help others because you become a positive beacon of optimism. Take charge of your own life by resetting it with CTRL-ALT-DEL daily. Discover what is causing you to overbook yourself and then prioritize your day each morning with purpose and intent. Let go of obligations that are not aligning with your agenda, or those obligations that you secretly regret.
Alter your mindset to focus on needs vs wants so you can tackle each task more productively. Delete the negative thoughts, negative people, and non-productive actions in your life to create space for the things you desire to accomplish. This is your life, make sure you are the one navigating it because you only have one life to live and one legacy to leave behind. Do you need to reboot? If so, CTRL-ALT-DEL. ~Mistie Layne
www.mistielayne.com Mistie_Layne @transparencymovement Mistie Layne
Mistie Layne is on a mission to make TRANSPARENCY a game-changer in the world. After going from medical school to prison for killing somebody in a car accident behind a horrific crack cocaine addiction, she used writing to pull herself up and save her own life. Her best-selling book, What Goes Up, was written from behind bars while she faced a forty-year prison sentence. After serving 2.5 years in prison, she returned to society and rebuilt her relationships, life and career. Nine years later, on the exact same day her wreck killed somebody, her first grandchild was born with severe brain damage from a birth injury. Immediately, she blamed herself and thought it was her punishment for her past.
Mistie realized she was letting her past rob her of her future and was tired of hiding behind SHAME and GUILT. She decided to become TRANSPARENT about her experiences in hopes of teaching others about overcoming their worst to live their best and about self-forgiveness. She rewrote her book, changing it from anger and blame to accountability and forgiveness.
Mistie is an award-winning speaker, best-selling author, hosts Dare 2 Share with Mistie Layne talk show, and hosts Write 2 Ignite Women’s Empowerment Retreat where she teaches writing as therapy. She founded the #BethatONE movement which encourages others to step up and share their life experiences with transparency to educate others so we can JUDGE less and MENTOR more. She maintains a Nuclear Medicine career, placed 3rd in the Next Global Impactor competition and serves as VP on the Chemobuddies 4 Life non-profit board.
Write 2 Ignite Women’s Empowerment Retreats at www.mistielayne.com
Contact: Mistielayne@mistielayne.com
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