Deb Hartman
As a lifelong Oregonian I learned to treasure the often rare patches of blue sky and precious sunny days in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. My family was small – my pharmacist father and registered nurse mother ran a tight ship. My younger sister and I were expected to participate fully in chores and take personal responsibility from our youngest days. When I was 12, I hung out my babysitting shingle, which gave me an early gift of planning my own time.
By 2003 I was a married full-time sales executive with two sons, a vacation home, a boatload of hobbies and a calendar that ran on adrenaline. I held it together with “The Franklin Planner” system. Over the years I tried all the sizes of binders – the Classic, the Compact, and the deluxe “Monarch” size with the leather briefcase. I was keeping two calendar systems by then – the planners and my digital calendars. Pride goeth before a fall.
In 2004, newly divorced with my own house, the same demanding job and a new family schedules I left paper planners behind and went to 100% digital calendars. My cell phones got better with every upgrade, but I occasionally confused my calendar and missed appointments. I felt pressured and always behind, although I never let it show.
Digital marketing became my passion, and I went back to school for new certifications. I landed a job in my new field, remarried, and after a year I opened my own digital marketing business, working from my home office with Lonzo, my rescue cat. Along the way I discovered a love of teaching.
I found the work of Executive Function teacher Marydee Sklar and completing her course Seeing My Time® changed me. I learned to respect and value my own Executive Function (EF) strengths, and to identify my weaknesses. The discovery of tools, tips and tactics for planning my time, and working to support my unique brain spurred me to help others with this training. I also learned to respect these strengths and weaknesses in others, and welcomed my kindness into my outlook.
I enjoy training work teams, nonprofit groups and individual adults and teens challenged by time management. As we face a new kind of time – “Covid Time” – all of us are struggling to re-order our lives in ways we never imagined. Let’s be kind to our future selves by taking new skills to heart, and supporting our unique brains.
Meet me in this video on Channel OWHN
Email: [email protected]
Call or text me at 503-805-2302