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One of the most necessary, as well as beneficial practices a woman can have is to take fifteen minutes to an hour each day and devote the time to sizing things up, planning the day’s work for tomorrow, reviewing the accomplishments of the day, reviewing larger goals, and having a bit of silence for thinking.

The benefits of sizing up things in solitude are so great that it is a wonder more has not been written on the subject.

Plants grow in darkness, yet the common understanding is they grow in sunshine. The sunshine is absolutely necessary for the growth of the plant, but the real growth is done in the quiet darkness.

A woman’s brain develops in solitude, yet bustle, crowds and business activity are as necessary to the woman as sunshine is to the plant.

The real brain and moral growth takes place in solitude.

Here again, we must remember the law of compensation (you pay for what you get or you get what you pay for), if a plant had all sunshine and no shadow, and if a woman had all hustle and bustle and no solitude, it would be like a machine without an operator; the woman and the plant would run so fast that something would have to give way.

On the other hand, compensation says that if a woman is too much in solitude, or the plant too much in darkness, they will wither and die.

There are two kinds of bird, the kind that lives in a flock, like the blackbird and the wild duck, and the kind that lives by itself, like the eagle. Amongst birds, the eagle is chosen as an emblem for the flag, and never the blackbird.

There are two kinds of woman, the kind that lives in the herd, and the kind that has strong individuality and needs room to grow. The herd woman exists in infinitely greater numbers than the individual woman.

The woman who lives in a herd, who is ever present where the lights are bright, where gaiety abounds, where excitement reigns, where feasting is present, soon gets herself into the habit of cultivating this excitement. She is never happy when alone, and she is always talking.

The brain never sleeps and something must occupy it.

The herd woman is great because she fills her brain with stimuli, she seeks constant excitement and she brings light to the world around her.

The woman with the individuality is great because she has always spent plenty of time by herself, sizing up things in solitude. She has gained perspective and can see the good in all of her sisters.

Every woman, before retiring at night or even during the day, can take a few minutes to herself and carefully analyse the doings of the day.

She can weigh the positive and negative acts, the good and the bad, the wise and the foolish, the right and the wrong impulses, the gain and loss in achievement. She can strike a balance, and if she sees that the bad, deterrent and backward things in the lead she can resolve to fix the problems she faces.

The woman who goes along without this reflection in solitude is like the merchant who keeps no record, who pays her bills from the cash drawer and takes what is left for profit. She will still be running a little shop in twenty years, while her competitor who sized things up each day will be in the wholesale business or will have retired with a competency.

Try this practice of reviewing your day, planning the next day and reflecting on your goals for two weeks, and the benefits you will receive will be so magnificent, it will need no further suggestion to make you keep up the practice.

What do you do to take time out and think about your goals? Share with us below!

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  • I like to read at the end of the day after the little one has gone to sleep for the night or do some yoga or a crossword puzzle.

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  • I tend to either wake early before the household is awake and plan my day, what I’m wearing, jobs to be done, people to visit or phone, etc. before the bustle starts. Alternatively it will be the last thing I will do prior to nodding off to sleep at night as I’m always the last person to go to bed.

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  • I usually wake in the morning and work out what I need to do for the day. Just thinking about it is overwhelming

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  • Before children, I sometimes used to keep a diary. This helped me to reflect and process my thoughts and move forward with clarity.

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  • My alone time is about 10 minutes before hubby comes home from work. I think about our plans for tomorrow. Sometimes I wish I could have more time to my self but its just not possible at the moment.

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  • Yes, some quiet time is important. I often go outside for a moment and sit in the sun while overthinking things.

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  • I take what I can. Eating breakfast quietly on my own while I read the paper before my teen son emerges, sets me up for the day. Sitting in the car reading my book at school pick-up is ‘my time’. Yoga once a week is my time. It recharges me. Whilst this is all me time, it’s also these quiet times where my brain relaxes and I think about other things. Longer weekend showers plus drying my hair is when I often have great, creative and wonderful ideas for life and the family. And my morning walks (that I need to get back to) freed my mind to think through things and plan.

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  • yeah just have a break and feel guilt free :) coffee time!

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  • Great article – I always love quiet time to plan but I never thought about reflecting then as well – thank you for sharing.

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  • We all need time-out to organize our lives!

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  • I often grab a piece of paper and pen and jot down things to do. This helps me organise my day/week, and because I feel organised I stay calm.

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