by Amy Barnes
OK the first quarter results are in for your business and also your life and your relationships. How did you do? Are you patting yourself on the back or ready to make changes?
As a coach I support people in making changes in their lives that help them thrive in all areas of their lives. As a gardener, I love seeing all my plants thrive. Yesterday, I cut back my butterfly bushes. It is hard for me to cut back the bushes when there is new growth on them. Yet as any gardener 
knows the bushes will only thrive if I prune them.
What needs pruning in your life? Spring is a great time for letting go of what is no longer working and putting into practice new strategies, new ideas and new structure. It is also time to take stock of what is working. The old phrase ‘don’t through the baby out with the bath water” sounds so absurd but we tend to either keep on track keeping everything the same or we go the opposite direction and in frustration throw everything out and start over again.
What is working for you? What are the structures or routines or rituals that are working for you and that you most enjoy? What helps pull you along in a delightful way to thrive both at work and at home while enjoying life to the fullest?
I find making regular dates with myself and keeping them just like I would keep appointments with clients is a great help. Planning becomes a very positive and proactive word. Before the business of the day starts, I take time to spend on what is most important to me. If I start the day with a project or conversation with a friend that is in the long run most beneficial to me and my business, I feel energized all day long.
On the other hand if I start my day by checking my email, fighting fires and doing whatever pops up, I never seem to get to what is most important. I feel drained all day. Merely allowing myself an hour or even a half hour at the beginning of each day for big projects or important conversations has made a tremendous difference in what I can accomplish and get done and how I feel about myself.
What about you? What routines or rituals or structures are most important to you? Is they anything you could change that would give you more energy or more time or more business?
Until next time,
Amy Barnes, MBA MA LMHC and Life Coach