Posted on April 12, 2022
By Nan Russell
Why is Baby Yoda reading my book: It’s Not About Time? Maybe he agrees with me that how we use 
time reflects who and what we value.
Today’s musings | My favorite thought about time is from Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, who at 43 suffered a fall from a horse, leaving him a paraplegic and reducing his lifespan. “All time is sacred time,” he said. While there are days I need reminding, I do think of time that way, in the sense of cherished and blessed to have. It’s a gift denied many, like the brother-in-law I never knew who died at fifteen. Above a bookcase in my office, a plaque nudges me to consider time’s non-renewable status this way: “Enjoy this moment … for this moment is your life.” And while all moments cannot be enjoyed, it is still the moments, of the good and bad times, that make a life.
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Life, Thoughts about ... |
Tagged: It's Not About Time, moments of time, musings, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, thoughts about time, time as life's currency |
Posted on February 11, 2019
By Nan Russell
In this month of hearts and proclamations of love, something that happened a decade ago, captured like a digital photo with its image held in my memory until called up, was triggered for me by an observation on a recent wintry weekend.
While waiting for our lunch order to arrive, I noticed a mother and teen daughter, seated at an adjacent table, attempting a conversation. The daughter started to tell her mother about school, but with each holding a cell phone and responding to incoming sounds and vibrations, the conversation was frequently paused. Eventually their attempt at conversing stopped, replaced with phone immersion by both as they quietly ate their salads
That brief encounter triggered a memory I didn’t know was stored, about me and my mother at our breakfast table. At the time, we were living in Montana and my mother, then in her late 80s, spent summers with us. Like a movie trailer, the memory offered a glimpse of me cajoling, enticing, encouraging, and coaxing her to take her pills so I could get to my “real work.” Lyrics from a Stephen Stills song, performed by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, “love the one you’re with,” played with a different take in my mind from the song’s intended theme.
The snapshot is clear that I wasn’t particularly engaged, nor loving. I was annoyed at (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, It's Not About Time, Life |
Tagged: being with people, connections, In the Scheme of Things, life, love, memories, Nan Russell, perspective, showing up, time, what matters |
Posted on April 30, 2018
By Nan Russell
The reality is, effective people are highly productive. Part of that stems from enhanced self-managing skills, but a significant contributor is the way these people think about and use their time. They’re judicious and thoughtful about its use.
As Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better puts it, “‘Productivity’ means different things to different people, but at it’s core, it’s about thinking a little more deeply about the choices we make every day.”
To that end, here are some time management and productivity tips to spark your thinking about your own time-use. One of my tips happens to be #18.
26 Helpful Time Management Tips and Techniques
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Tips |
Tagged: better results, increase productivity, increased productivity, It's Not About Time, more productive days, Nan S. Russell, time management tips, tips to increase results |
Posted on April 6, 2018
By Nan Russell
It’s a great time to give yourself the gift of time. Download a free chapter of my book here. [Yes, it has a new cover]; Or, buy it on Amazon here.
Posted in: It's Not About Time |
Posted on February 14, 2018
By Nan Russell
When we arrived, I found three familiar bent heads focused on the remaining pieces spread around the not-yet-finished jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table. In time, those pieces evolved into a whimsical cat picture, the process of which absorbed a variety of extended family members, from 8 to mid 70s, over a snowy holiday weekend. Various family came to linger in the living room, trying their hand at puzzle creation; searching for a likely piece, placing it in their imagined spot, and then returning it to the table once their attempt failed.
We’ve all seen or been engrossed by such endeavors. But this one caught my attention. It hindered a quick finish with its limited color differentiations, causing drop outs unwilling to invest more time without clear progress. After all, there were other family engagement options during our days together, from “Just Dance” video game challenges to pie making.
By our second day, two puzzle-players remained. Determined to finish, they rarely moved from their homesteaded-spots on the couch and adjacent chair. By evening, the puzzle was as done as it would ever be — complete but not completed. With one piece missing, technically, the picture would never be “finished.”
I’ve thought about that weekend several times since, with its intensity of effort, missing piece frustration, and then acceptance of the puzzle’s imperfection. Lost. Missing. Never received? Who knows why the piece wasn’t there. It didn’t matter; it was still fun.
But the experience got me thinking. We all have a missing piece or two at times in ourselves or in our lives; pieces like (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, It's Not About Time, Life |
Tagged: In the Scheme of Things, love the journey, missing from our life, missing piece, Nan Russell, play without all the pieces, puzzle |
Posted on January 23, 2018
By Nan Russell
After the completion of Walt Disney World, the story goes that someone went up to Mike Vance, Creative Director for Walt Disney Studios and said, “Isn’t it too bad Walt Disney didn’t live to see this?” Without pausing, he replied, “But he did see it, that’s why it’s here.”
If any outside figure influenced my life early on, it was Walt Disney. Maybe it was because when I was five, my favorite uncle took me to a wondrous new place called Disneyland; or because I grew up in Southern California, visiting it every year or two, watching a man’s vision come to life and grow; or because I believed that “when you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are.”
Growing up on the Wonderful World of Disney, I learned how to dream. But as I got older I realized it wasn’t just the dreaming and wishing that made the dreams possible; it was the doing.
Wishing and hoping are poor strategies for making dreams come true, yet that’s (continue reading →)
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Winning at Working |
Tagged: acting and doing, determination, focus, hard work, It's Not About Time, life dreams, making dreams reality, Nan Russell, passion, persistence, time, Winning at Working, wishing and hoping |
Posted on November 25, 2017
By Nan Russell
I’ve always loved books. I think they make great gifts for family, friends, work colleagues, or staff.
They’re great thank yous, too. A signed book is even nicer. So this year, if you’re interested, I arranged
a way for people to get signed copies of any of my books, directly from me, at discounted pricing,
including my latest one, It’s Not About Time. Here’s the link.
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Uncategorized |
Tagged: Hitting Your Stride, Inc., It's Not About Time, Nan Russell books, Nibble Your Way to Success, Signed copies, The Titleless Leader, trust |
Posted on September 28, 2017
By Beth Pelkofsky
I’m a colleague of Nan’s. It’s been several months since I posted on Current Musings. With cooler temperatures and a new school calendar starting; I thought it a perfect time to share what’s on my mind and perhaps yours.
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed this week with a lengthy to-do list, changing schedules and pressing work deadlines. I need to get grounded quickly. So, I picked up Nan’s most recent book, It’s Not About Time – How to Thrive and Get the Results You Want at Work and in Life for some perspective and real-world tips. Skimming the table of contents, Chapter 1 – What Do You Want? and the specific topic of Self-Management grabbed my attention.
What is Self-Management? The Olympic swimmer, author Sarah Connors describes it like this, “Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is (continue reading →)
Posted in: It's Not About Time, Uncategorized |
Tagged: accountable, build strong relationships, grounded, incremental progress, real-world tips, self-management, uncommonly practiced behaviors, what matters |
time reflects who and what we value. 
