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What Dogs Teach Us About Time Management

8/24/2016

13 Comments

 
In honor of National Dog Day, I thought I would share a few things my experiences with the canine crowd have taught me. They are experts at living life to the fullest, and when properly loved by their humans, model excellent examples of navigating the 24 hours they are given each day. With all due credit to Lucy, Ringo, and the many fabulous dogs I meet in my line of work, I present five time management lessons we can learn from our pups:

1.  Eat when it’s time to eat, sleep when it’s time to sleep, play when it’s time to play. In human words, stick to a regular schedule. Do the most important things first, and trust that the rest of the day will fall into place.

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Chow time, right on time.
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Too cold for tennis balls. :-(

2.  At the same time, flexibility is key. Things come up, and you need to be ready to put on your patience hat if your routine is disrupted by someone or something outside of your control.


Think about how else you could use that time to your advantage.

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3.  When you’re trying to reach an immediate goal, stay in the moment.  Focus. Don’t take your eye off the prize. And if the prize escapes your grasp, try again.

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Must. Get. Treat.


4.  Procrastination will also lead to prizes getting away. Don’t delay when great opportunities come along.

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Full disclosure: not our Lucy. She won't pose.
Copyright: charnsitr / 123RF Stock Photo

5.  Trust that inner bark.  I have been taught that in dreams, dogs symbolize our instincts. Many of us reject that gut feeling to say no to things we don’t need to mess with, to move away from people we think might waste our time, or avoid things that get us into trouble. 
Although dogs love to please, they usually aren’t fools either. You rarely see dogs volunteering for committees.

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Ringo has his priorities straight.

To learn more about National Dog Day, including cool ways to celebrate, visit http://www.nationaldogday.com/.

13 Comments
Sabrina Quairoli link
9/5/2016 01:04:33 pm

What a fun post! We can learn so much from our pets. If only we take the time and see the lessons. Thanks for sharing what you learned.

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Sara Skillen
9/5/2016 07:31:17 pm

Thanks for the comment, Sabrina. Spending more time with my pups always gives me some great perspective.

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Autumn link
9/5/2016 01:58:29 pm

Very cute! Love the staying in the moment rule!~I have a hard time with that. I literally have to talk myself into not moving sometimes!

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Sara Skillen link
9/5/2016 07:32:20 pm

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Sara Skillen
9/5/2016 07:39:38 pm

Not sure why my original comment didn't post, but I definitely have trouble "staying in the moment" at times. Mindfulness is tough when you have more on your mind than treats. ;-)

Andi Willis link
9/5/2016 02:48:40 pm

What a great post! I learn so much from my dog, especially patience and the need for unconditional love. She inspired me to write a blog post when we adopted her 5 years ago. http://goodlifeorganizing.net/how-20-pounds-changed-my-life-instantly/

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Sara Skillen
9/5/2016 07:36:24 pm

Thanks, Andi! And thanks for sharing your post - she looks like a very sweet pup!

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Seana Turner link
9/5/2016 04:10:27 pm

So cute! I love that idea of keeping your eye on the prize. Dogs really do that... they don't give up until they have what they want. Tenacity on display:)

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Sara Skillen
9/5/2016 07:37:51 pm

Yes, I think tenacity is my yellow lab's middle name. He is very "food motivated"! Thanks for the comment.

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Sarah Soboleski link
9/6/2016 06:54:16 pm

I love that last point about trusting your gut. Dogs are all about survival instincts and we should do a better job of listening to our inner voice more often. I read The Gift of Fear by Gavin DeBecker last year and it was really eye opening about what our gut knows before our brain does!

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Sara Skillen
9/7/2016 08:32:01 am

Thanks, Sarah. I have had The Gift of Fear on my "to-read" list for a while now, and it sounds like I need to move it up!

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Linda Samuels link
9/7/2016 08:10:02 am

Your post made me miss our black lab, "Norton." I agree with you completely that our pets are great teachers. Norton was clear on his priorities. People first, food next. He knew how to just be and was also at the ready to have fun. He had the ability to hyper focus, especially when food was involved. Let's just say that for him, food was his great motivator. Norton inspired me every day...so much so that he provided the creative spark for my "Norton" cartoon series and book, "The Other Side of Organized."

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Sara Skillen
9/7/2016 08:33:31 am

Yes, our Ringo is very food motivated as well. Norton sounds like a wonderful inspiration - thank you for sharing!

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    Sara Skillen - Certified Professional Organizer®, Certified Organizer Coach®, wife, mom, dog-lover, author.  Learning to trust my intuition more every day. Shall we work together?

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