True confession: I have a challenge with time.  I’m pretty sure I was born without the wiring in my brain that allows people to gracefully keep track of it.  This particular form of organization utterly baffles me, and is guaranteed to be the major point of contention in any quarrel with my husband, who seems to have both an internal clock and compass that keeps him in the right place at the right time, always. Which I do not. Sigh.

Did I mention I’m geographically dyslexic?

For reals.

Yes, I assure you there is such a thing, but I digress.

In my early days of college I would show up to classes (even ones I LOVED, which was most of them) 5 minutes late.

A professor suggested I turn my watch back 5 minutes to rectify the situation.  Which I did, but then I knew it was 5 minutes late and had the same problem.

So my frustrated professor suggested that I turn it back more.

Which I did, until my watch was 20 minutes early.  At which point I figured it  was pretty much useless and I cast it aside to do my own thing…and I still showed up late.

But this is actually a hero’s journey, not a tale of woe.

In case you think me incorrigibly irresponsible or just plain stubborn, please note that I am DEEPLY respectful (while being irreverent, if you can wrap your head around THAT!), and I absolutely love being in the moment. 

The moment that has nothing to do with time boundaries.

I do this with my clients every day, and it is why I love my work.

It is also why my clients typically have to help keep me on schedule because I will joyfully continue our work until one of us has to pee so badly we must break session (be forewarned: I almost never give in first!).

You see, in the midst of one-to-one alchemy, there is magic, flow and beauty. And within this, what I really care about is long-lasting results, not how long it takes to get there….(which makes insurance billing a bit of a nightmare, because honest to goodness, how can anyone keep to a 50 minute hour and do right by their clients?!?  But I digress. Again.).

So one of my ultimate challenges is to figure out how to show up in life to play with YOU in ways that are consistent, dependable and joyful for both of us.  Right now, this means wrestling a crazy notion called an editorial calendar, a device in which I am supposed to preplan a YEAR’S WORTH of fabulous content with seasonal, monthly and weekly interaction on a SCHEDULE.

Seriously?

Try to imagine the horror I felt upon learning it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (read: nearly mandatory) that I develop such a thing, and that I develop it, not next year, but NOW!

I will spare you the hot tirade that swept through my mind, but it was…..COLORFUL.  How DARE people suggest harnessing the writing muse in any way.  Especially a year at a time. Especially in the middle of this uninspiring December darkness. I was certain this could only result in stifling my natural joie de vivre and unnecessarily inhibiting my flow.

Except for the irritating fact that these incredibly successful, soulful, passionate women** who are thriving online actually know what they’re talking about.  Including this cockamamie notion that scheduling writing in this way can actually FREE UP my creativity and help ensure my work gets out to people who will actually READ IT!

And if they are truth-telling (which they pretty much do always do, no matter how messy it is) then I need to pay attention.

Which led to more fussing, more “but they don’t know how my brain works and they’re not wired like me and I don’t know how to do this!!” Followed by more COLORFUL words all strung together in super immature, creative ways.

And that is how the alchemy occurred and I realized precisely what I needed to do.

There is only one thing that has ever worked for me to get my unconscious mind to show up and play ball with a schedule, and that is COLOR!  My google calendar is color coded.  My closet is color coded, for that matter.  Not because I’m a neat freak, just because it’s the only way I can reliably find things.

Color works for me.  It’s inspiring.  It’s fun.  And it most definitely doesn’t scream “Grown Up.”  Hey! I can color code my calendar!

I played with this until I established – GASP – the next six months of content organized by seasonal, monthly and weekly themes, with twice a week posts pre-planned.  Crazy, right?  All made possible by COLOR. Which means I can spend my time writing deliciousness to share with you instead of wondering what DAY it is.

Problem solved.

And I wouldn’t have believed it myself until 5 days ago.

So remember,  no matter WHAT challenges your brain may have simultaneously gifted and cursed you with, you can absolutely, positively KNOW there are ways to work with your unique talents and liabilities.  All you need to do is find out what DOES work, extrapolate and be willing to experiment.  Play a little in the field of ideas and give space for unexpected solutions to arise.  It also doesn’t hurt to find support from people who can appreciate you in all your beautifully imperfect glory!

**Here are two of the amazing women I’ve been blessed to work with:

www.AnnaKunnecke.com – Alchemist at Declare Dominion

www.JennyShih.com – Coaching & Consulting for Creative Entrepreneurs

I promise to share the exact step-by-step ways that are guaranteed to work to transform your experience with the most challenging tasks in your life in Part Two of Finding Creative Solutions.

What have YOU found works for your unique way of being?  It will make my day to hear about your journey to finding creative solutions to transform your world!