Whatever you’re doing, be it school, Uni, looking after your family, traveling or working, the end of year tends to mean a rush to get things done. Posting Christmas gifts, completing projects before you take a break, finishing exams and assignments, leaving school (finally!), preparing for Christmas, social functions and planning holidays while you continue with everyday life. It’s a lot to juggle and sometimes the rush can get a bit too much and it can take away from the enjoyment of summer and all the fun times that come with it. Some of the following thoughts might just help keep the stress levels down and the fun levels up.

As Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises said, “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you’re keeping all of these in the air at the same time.  You will soon understand that work is a RUBBER ball.  If you drop it, it will bounce back.  But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit - are made of glass.  If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered.  They will never be the same.  You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”

This isn’t to say that one should lessen the importance you place on work or school etc, its more about keeping everything in perspective. Touch base with your values every so often and check in with yourself – is your life reflecting these values? Are you still heading True North? You can put in some strategies for yourself to ensure you have time regularly to look after each area of your life – in a way that leaves you feeling relaxed and in control of your life.

Do you ever find yourself jumping from one thing in your life to another, with almost no gap in between?  Transition zones can help smooth the change, making it less drastic, and allow more complete mental attitude shifts.

Hard, quick transitions are unsettling.  Smoother transitions flow much easier.  Think of a television newscast.  In those newscasts, there are gradual transitions between segments such as news, weather, and sports. The news announcer and story organisers are usually very good at finding a way to smooth the transition to the next section with a related story or comment.

Transition zones are great places to mentally tie up loose ends from a previous place, either physically or mentally. 

• Transition from work to home. 
  Think of your travel time as a transition zone to mentally close down work related thoughts and begin thinking of home-related thoughts.  By the time you reach home, try to have completed your orderly work-home mental shift.
  
  
• Build transition zones between meetings. 
  Times when meetings flow immediately from one to another generate a harried state.  Try to find time between meetings to collect and bookend your thoughts about the previous meeting, then begin preparing for the next meeting. You could make time for coffee and cake with yourself, or walk to your next meeting – helps clear your head, as well as re-energising yourself with some fresh air for good measure.
  
  
• Adding reflective quiet time to your day.
  Sometimes just five minutes of quiet time can help you mentally pull yourself together.  Take a deep breath, slow down your fast running, stressful mind, and prepare to perform in the next scene of your life play.
  
  
• Find some creative ways to add transitions to your day. 
  Sprinkle them in during different places.  Try out different things. 

See which transition zones are most effective for you. Try them out as you go from work to a social function or from one family function to the next.

                                  

Our lives consist of many varied events and most of us wear many hats. Sometimes transition zones aren't possible, but when they are, they are great tools that can be used to help us increase our personal performance.

“Do you divide your day into work, rest, and play? Is work something you do out of obligation? Is rest something you do because you are exhausted? Is play something you do to forget about work? It is not a pleasant cycle. Life is life. Life is now, not after work. Life is every minute of every day.
How well are you managing your life? How well are you managing your time? Time management is not about a list of things in order of priorities that must be completed by a deadline. (How apt that we call it a deadline.) Time management is about life management. The issue is not what you do, but where your soul is at.”         
                                        Jonar Nader  ‘How to Lose friends and Infuriate People’

As you transition from reading this newsletter to your next activity, please pause and consider how transition zones can help you be more effective with your life!

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