Book ‘Em

Give a book to someone out of the blue. Consider their interests and buy them a book. Recently, one of my friends said she wanted to cook more at home instead of eating out most nights. I got her two cookbooks on one-pot meals and slow cooker recipes. Much to my surprise and delight, she’s been sharing some delicious soups and stews she discovered in her reading, and sharing these makes for truly high-quality time together.

Make Time to Make Memories

“Tis the season to...spend more time with those you love! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or browsing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!

Host a Holiday Potluck

Since you might not get to see your close friends much in the next few days due to family gatherings, shopping for gifts, and getting over colds, invite them over for a holiday potluck. Spending time with friends is a great pick-me-up and now is a good time to show your gratitude for the people in your life. To make it even more fun, choose a theme for your party, such as tacky Christmas sweaters. 

An Extra Hour to Do Lots of Good

When you turn your clocks back one hour for daylight savings, make sure to spend that extra hour doing something productive. This is like a second chance at tackling the day. What did you need to get done yesterday that you didn’t? Here is one great way to spend that hour: cruise over to myphilanthropedia.org to find your perfect match of an organization to donate to or volunteer with. I learned about this website from a TED Talk and discovered this vital service. Philanthropedia rates verified, financially responsible charities according to how much great work they’re doing. Today, 3,121 experts have participated in Philanthropedia’s research, providing reviews on 767 top nonprofits across 36 causes. I have bookmarked this on my desktop and check in often.

Make Time for What Matters

Been meaning to spend more time with your family? Are you putting off errands? Is there not enough time to volunteer, go for a walk, or make dinner? Make time. Once you commit to something and begin to make a habit of it, you will be more likely to continue instead of saying, “ I would like to, but I don’t have enough time.” You have the time; you just need to find it.

Add a Half Hour to Your Day

    One of the most brilliantly simple pieces of advice I ever heard was from Peter Shankman at a publishing conference. He said it had transformed his life and it is simply this: get up a half hour earlier and use that to reach out to people. He said it can be as easy as wishing a happy birthday to your Facebook contacts, one meaningful phone call first thing in the morning, or writing a personal note to someone you have been meaning to be in contact with. I remember listening to him and thinking I really didn’t want to get up any earlier. My days were long enough (see July 14 on letting go-clearly I needed to do some right then!) and that did not sound appealing. But his sincerity and enthusiasm somehow broke through my “baditude” and I pondered the idea as I walked back to my car and drove across the Bay Bridge back to my office. I decided to try it and I can tell you, he is right.

    The extra half hour of every morning has been one of the best investments I have ever made, and so much so that I added an hour. It completely changed my life for the better. Try it!

Love the Ones You’re With

    I have seen this excellent exercise put into practice at work, family reunions, and dinner parties. It never fails to bring a group of people closer, and it brings out the best in anyone. Call everyone to attention and say you want to acknowledge your appreciation for the group. Time your moment well-whenever there is a lull in conversation would be best and never at the beginning of a get-together.

Scatter Joy All Around

    Think about how you can create little moments of happiness for others. Help a friend plant her garden, send a gift card to a coworker for their favorite coffee shop, pay the toll for the car behind you on the bridge, and even have a movie night with the family with extra buttered popcorn. All those little things can add up to big joy.

Make Time to Make Memories

Tis the season to...spend more time with those you love! Restrictions are being lifted and people are starting to travel to reunite with friends and family for the holidays, so if you've been nice for the past two years, it's time to get back into the yuletide spirit to the fullest! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or browsing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!

Be a Hospice Volunteer

Jollytologist Allen Klein shares this beautiful story:

  When I was a hospice volunteer, one of the patients I was assigned to look after was an elderly woman who loved classical music. For many years, she, her son, and her daughter had season symphony tickets. But she was way too ill to use them now. Her prognosis was only a few weeks left to live.

  I discussed the situation with the hospice team and how we might get her to a concert. Perhaps we could put her in a wheelchair or even on a gurney and have her at the back of the theater. But in her condition, we realized that that would not work.

  Then I had an idea. I called the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, one of the leading schools in the country, and asked if they had a student who might volunteer to play something for a dying woman. A few days later, they sent over a very talented young woman, a violinist, who gave a private performance for the patient and her family.

  I wasn’t at the apartment at the time but from what the daughter told me the next day, it was glorious. She said that after the intimate living room recital, her mother told her, “In all my years of going to the symphony, that was the best concert I have ever attended.”

An Extra Hour to Do Lots of Good

    When you turn your clocks back one hour for daylight savings, make sure to spend that extra hour doing something productive. This is like a second chance at tackling the day. What did you need to get done yesterday that you didn’t? Here is one great way to spend that hour: cruise over to myphilanthropedia.org to find your perfect match of an organization to donate to or volunteer with. I learned about this website from a TED Talk and discovered this vital service. Philanthropedia rates verified, financially responsible charities according to how much great work they’re doing. Today, 3,121 experts have participated in Philanthropedia’s research, providing reviews on 767 top nonprofits across 36 causes. I have bookmarked this on my desktop and check in often.

Remember, It’s Not All About You

    Be punctual. Arrive on time to events. It’s polite and professional, and you don’t want to keep others waiting for you.

Turn Off Your TV and Your Brain Back On

    Nowadays, children have computers and chat rooms, mobile phones, and a TV in their room with hundreds of channels in glorious color. Children can be techno-wizards- but TV is a time filler and time killer. It both encourages and normalizes violence, in both behavior and attitude. TV makes children lazy, and sluggish in thought and action. 

    If you feel your children are watching too much television and it’s having a negative impact:

• Have all cable disconnected.
• Remove all TV’s except one from the house.
• Limit TV viewing to set hours, such as only after homework is finished; and no TV during meals and no morning TV.
• Limit channels watched
• Have family evenings that are fun. Encourage new hobbies.
• Don’t rely on the TV for entertainment. Make your own. Talk to your family, and have them talk to you.
  

Be a Kid For a Day

    Remember the good ol’ days when you had more art projects than responsibilities? You can still embrace your inner child by spending the day with a young relative or your own child while playing games, making crafts, and encouraging activity.  You may reawaken talents and interests you had long since forgotten and introduce your child to new ones along the way. Paint a picture together, read storybooks aloud, play dress up and talk with them. This will create a stronger bond between you two that will last a lifetime and make for great memories. Time is the most precious resource and spending it with a young person will have lasting, positive results on their life.

Earth Hour Day

    Participate in Earth Hour Day today, beginning at 8:30 pm in the United States, and turn off all the lights in your home for one hour. Earth Hour (earth hour.org) unites millions of people around the world and gives them the hope that together we can make a difference. Take this hour to sit with your significant other or invite some pals over for a socially-distant and masked-up candlelit evening of togetherness. Just be. Together.

Share Your Skills

     Teach someone a craft or skill you are good at. Sharing your talent with someone else may allow them to discover their own potential. Whether it's cooking, archery, or photography, spend some time doing what you love with another. Teaching people how to do something new will help you maintain your interest and establish a connection with the person you are with. No doubt you will learn just as much from being a teacher.

Have a Gratitude Circle

     Instead of just another holiday party, have friends over and state what you are grateful for in the world and about each other. Take note!

Make Time to Make Memories

 

    Tis the season to... spend more time with those you love! Instead of sequestering yourselves in separate rooms watching television, playing video games, or growing the Internet, call all family members into the same room and do something together. Play a board game, watch a movie, have everyone contribute to making dinner, then roast marshmallows in the fireplace. Or maybe chestnuts. Ho ho!

Add a Half Hour to Your Day

One of the most brilliantly simple pieces of advice that I ever heard was from Peter Shankman at a publishing conference. He said it had transformed his life and it is simply this: get up half an hour earlier and use that to reach out to people. He said it can be as easy as wishing a happy birthday to your Facebook contacts, one meaningful phone call first thing in the morning, or writing a personal note to someone you have been meaning to be in contact with. I remember listening to him and thinking I didn't want to get up any earlier. My days were long enough (see July 14 on letting go- clearly I needed to do some right then!) and that did not sound appealing. But his sincerity and enthusiasm broke through my "badititude" and I pondered the idea as I walked back to my car and drove across the Bay Bridge back to my office. I decided to try it and I can tell you, he is right. 



The extra half hour of every morning has been one of the best investments I have ever made, and so much that I added an hour. It completely changed my life for the better. Try it!

Book Em'

Give a book to someone out of the blue. Consider their interests and buy them a book.



Recently, one of my friends said she wanted to cook more at home instead of eating out most nights. I got her two cookbooks one on one-pot meals and slow cooker recipes. Much to my surprise and delight, she's been sharing some delicious soups and stews she discovered in her reading, and sharing these makes for truly high-quality time together.