What a bonus. I am always wishing I had just a little more time. Now that I have it, I can use it to do a variety of things or use it all on one activity. For instance, I can call a friend and we can meet for lunch. I can prepare a special dinner, but that isn’t good because I don’t like to cook. It is also a rainy day which is ideal for curling up and reading one of the books I recently ordered from Amazon.

I know … it is a great day to declutter. I can clean out my closet, the garage or my car. Looking around my office, it is obvious I have not used my time to keep it in order. For the past week I have had a full schedule and also been out of town. Today I will start by putting away files and unpacking props and products from last week’s speaking event and then use the remaining time to reorganize and do some early spring cleaning.

I have turned on some great music and am anxious to get started! What are you going to do today on your Bonus Day?

My first words were, “I am so sorry to keep you waiting. The traffic was heavy due to the rain, I had to stop and get gas, then it took me forever to find a parking space. I just couldn’t get here any sooner.”

Then it dawned on me. She did not have any trouble making it on time. If I had only had my priorities in order and chosen not to respond to that last email and checked my gas gauge the night before, I would have easily arrived on time. This would have shown her that I respected both her and her time.

This reminded me of how easy it is to think that excuses result in forgiveness. Most problems can be resolved if we take ownership for our decisions and our actions by taking the time to plan ahead and prioritize.

Waking up a little earlier than usual (probably due to my subconscious mind at work), my first thought this morning is to hit the road running. After pausing for a moment, I close my eyes, take a deep breath and refocus on following my daily routine of having breakfast, sipping my one cup of coffee and then enjoying my quiet time while sitting in my mama’s old family rocking chair. When I was a little girl, I was often sick and this is where she would rock me for hours at a time. Today I love sitting here and watching the morning sun rise slowly over the treetops, shinning all the way through our breakfast and family rooms before gently warming the side of my face. My thoughts gradually change from an endless list of errands to thinking about all of the “good” things about this day.

I think about how thankful I am to have errands to run for a speaking business I love, for seeing business owners at each of my stops who have become good friends over the past several years and then for meeting a colleague late in the afternoon who is teaching me social media skills.

Recharged, I am ready to follow my “To Do” list with the thought I will return home at the end of this day and once again relax in my rocking chair by the fire.

Why am I making this so hard? Ah, I am a speaker, not a writer by nature, who uses facial expressions to clarify an emotion, my hands and arms to demonstrate characters in my stories and my body to move closer and interact with members of the audience. I feed off of them when I see their faces, watch their body language and, what I enjoy the most, hear them laugh. I don’t experience any of this when I am sitting alone at my computer starring at a blank screen. Someone told me I am making this far too difficult and suggested I just start writing and focus on sharing thoughts based on my experiences.

I can’t believe I have just finished writing my first post. If you have a blog, I would enjoy knowing what inspires you to write?