As you can probably guess, I love Oprah and her entire entourage of positively-minded friends and guest speakers. One of them is a British self-improvement coach whose name I can’t remember. Anyway, he spoke about the necessity of getting more green lights in your day to move toward living your best life. He said that every day, every hour, we are engaged in activities that are either “green lights” or “red lights” for us.

Green light activities are things that energize you, and make you feel strong. They are not necessarily things that you are great at. They are just things that make you feel happy while you are doing them.

Conversely, red light activities are things that make you feel drained, tired, and weak. You are relieved when they are over (and it’s quite important to not confuse relief with happiness). You may be very good at doing things that are actually red light activities for you.

He proposed that for a few days, you keep track of each hour of your day, and note what you are doing and if it is a green light or red light activity for you. At the end of several days, you’ll see not only what you spend your time on but also whether the ways you are spending your time are energizing or draining. Even if you don’t take the time to do this exercise, it’s helpful to step back throughout the day and ask, “Is this a red light or green light activity? Do I have to be doing this? Did I sign up for this, and if so how can I make sure I do/don’t do this again?”

He notes that of course there are things in life that may be red lights but have to get done–paying the bills, completing expense reports, etc. However, there are ways to lessen the burden of red light activities, making them ever-so-slightly more enjoyable. For example, driving in traffic is a red light activity for most people. Making a fabulous mixed CD of your favorite songs, having three really juicy books on tape handy at all times in your car, and using your Bluetooth headset to make a short call to Grandma are all small and easy ways to make that drive a yellow light activity.

When I have too many red light activities in my day, it takes a physical and emotional toll on me. I feel exhausted, tense, and sometimes get headaches. Emotionally, I start to feel resentful–like, “When is there time for me to just relax?” Oftentimes, if I stop to think and ask myself a few questions, I realize that I actually volunteered for the red light activity. This is the result of not saying no enough, but also of not having a clear distinction between things I am good at and things that I enjoy doing. Sometimes I’m not even good at the red light activities I sign up for–and then everyone’s losing in that situation.

Give yourself the gift of many green lights throughout your day. Set aside time to relish in green light activities. Don’t treat them as secondary to all the red light stuff you have to do. The red light obligations will always be there. You have to get enough green lights in your day, week, month, and life to make all the red light stuff even worth it. I look forward to working more green lights into my days and making those red lights a little less glaring.

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