I think about Oprah and her best friend Gayle King. They talk everyday. They take the time to share the nitty-gritty of life with each other. Sometimes it's a quick minute; other times hours. No matter the amount of time spent, it is clear to the other person that they value the friendship.

With so much of our lives being caught up with getting things done and our modes of communication being done via email and voice mail, I can easily see how we neglect our friends. More than that, we have neglected our own need for quality human interaction. In several articles I read recently, the authors suggest that a person can reduce their stress by simply making time for more face-to-face communications and other real-life interactions. It can even add years to your life.

So to reduce your stress, here are a few ideas for adding more human moments into your life:

• Pick up the phone more often; email less.
• Speak in person to a co-worker.
• Make time to eat meals or exercise with a friend.
• Do all you can to create a trusting, connected work environment.
• Plan a trip to see an old friend.
• Schedule quality time with your spouse, especially if you have children.
• Schedule quality time with each child, if you have more than one.
• When driving somewhere and you have at least 20 minutes before reaching your destination, consider using your hands-free cell phone to keep in touch with a friend.

If you are looking for a good book on the topic, I suggest Edward Hallowell’s “Human Moments: How to Find Meaning and Love in Your Everyday Life.”

These are the main types of paper-based systems and the situations where each is most useful:

• Wall calendars – For you if you work in one place; you have a simple schedule with only a couple of appointments each day; other people need to see your schedule; you have another system to manage your tasks and “to do’s”. Typically show one month at a time.
• Desk calendars – For you if you work in one place; you need to keep track of a variety of appointments and tasks. Formats available to show a day, week or month at a glance.
• Planners (e.g. Filofax, Day-Timer) – This is the best bet for most people. For you if you work from different places and need to have your calendar with you; you need to keep track of a variety of appointments, tasks and other information. Formats available to show a day, week or month at a glance; ring-binder or bound formats.

After you’ve decided on the type of calendar that will suit your needs, you must pick the specific model you will use. There are dozens of options available; avoid the three most common mistakes:

• Choosing a calendar/planner that is too small. You should be able to easily write everything you need to do in the space available for each day. For busy people, this usually means a one or two page per day format in a size that’s at least 3”x5”. If you can’t see what you’ve written or you run out of space to record information you need, your calendar won’t work for you.
• Choosing a calendar/planner that is too big. If your planner is too big to comfortably carry with you, you won’t. And you’ll forget that phone call you need to make when you’re out at a client’s. You can lighten the load of a ring-binder planner by only keeping the pages for current month (and perhaps the previous and next month) in the binder.
• Using more than one calendar/planner. It’s difficult to ensure that every appointment is recorded in more than one place, making it too easy to double- book your time or to miss something.

A few more tips to ensure that you get the most from your calendar:

We are excited to announce the next dates and locations for Rev It Up Reading, our new public workshop that helps busy people get up to speed with what they read. As we come to the end of the first year offering this workshop to the public, participants report a high level of satisfaction with the program, encouraging us to offer more!
The schedule for 2007 includes:

• Hartford, CT - February 9
• Westbrook, CT - March 30
• Basking Ridge, NJ - April 27
• Leominster, MA - May 18
• Waltham, MA - June 15
• Hartford, CT - July 13
• and more to be scheduled soon!

Register early for our Early Bird Discounts or always get 10% off if you bring a friend (both receive the discount). Thank you in advance for sharing this information with your family, friends and colleagues!

If you can't attend a public workshop, Rev It Up Reading can be scheduled in-house for your organization or association meeting. Contact us with your interest.