What Dogs Teach Us About Time Management

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.

Chow time, right on time.

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.

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.

Must. Get. Treat.

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

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.

Ringo has his priorities straight.

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