REFLECTION & ACTION: Have you ever promised those who are important in your life (including yourself) that you’ll have time for them soon? Soon is a nebulous time that never seems to roll around.

Setting targets can shift the balance. Try these approaches: Set one date a week with your partner, plan a special monthly event with each of your youngsters, hold Monday nights for a yoga class (no exceptions), or reserve Friday evenings as veg-out time.

Take the same approach in the professional arena. Don’t let promises to learn that new software program fall by the wayside. Book an appointment with yourself for the first half hour every Thursday and work your way through the tutorial 30 minutes at a time for the next six weeks.

Are you losing touch with colleagues or employees? Make lunch on Friday your plug-in point. Invite a different colleague to join you each week. Use the time to strengthen that relationship.

Choose what works for you. Create your own targets for connection, development, and renewal. Enter your target activities in your calendar and honor them as you would any high-priority commitment.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “When I don’t take the time to figure out what I want, I am sentenced to doing what others want.” – Geoffrey Bellman

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK: If you’re enjoying this summer’s weekly Pause Gems, you’ll find similar messages compiles in my most recent book, Press Pause…Think Again: More Balance & Perspective To Work & Life. For details and orders, see this link to the Pause Shop.

READERS WRITE: Kristal W.M. writes: “I enjoy painting and drawing, but my hobby faltered when I graduated college. I missed the calm and relaxation that doing art provides and could feel my creativity waning. This fall, I enrolled in a Thursday-night art class. I also attend an artist’s workshop every Saturday morning for three hours. I’m proud that I take the time for me. When I’m in my classes, all the worries and pressures of life float away!”

Editor’s Footnote: Since it received such a positive response last year, once again during the months of July and August, your weekly Pause will feature nine messages from the ‘Best Of Pause’. These are readers’ favorite messages from the earliest years of the Pause e-zine.

Featuring these Pause Gems will give me a bit of a breather to regroup, research, and develop some great new material. It will also introduce our more recent subscribers to some of those early ideas. The art from the Pauseworks Studio will continue to include all new images each week.

Whether you are a long time subscriber, or new to the list, I sincerely hope you enjoy these gems. Have a wonderful summer. I’ll be back again in September with your regular Pause format featuring all new info and resources.