I know what you are thinking..."What can you tell me that I have not heard before"?
I totally get it.
Maybe this time it's about unlearning something, about letting go of habits that no longer serve you, rather than gaining new knowledge.
I am a little embarrassed about my past, but I am going to share anyway - because I want to help.
People have asked me for years how I manage to get so much done in a day...and I used to thrive on comments like this (face-palm). Yes, that was me - the girl wearing my busy badge of honour, right on my forehead, thinking that I was a badass lady-ninja doing all the things, working circles around people...and I was - at a significant cost: my health and my family. Here's the crazy thing, my health and my family are my two main priorities, but if you were to take a look inside of my life, you would have never known it.
I am pretty uncomfortable with this statement now, but that's okay,discomfort drives change.
It's not easy to come clean, but I know that I'm not alone and we need to talk about this. I hope this really speaks to you if you're in this boat too...okay even if you're swimming in the same lake...no? Do you have a cottage on the lake? Do you have a friend with a cottage on the lake? Are you picking up what I'm laying down, here?!! (I'm jumping up and down)
Sell the boat, sell your swimsuit, sell the cottage, sell your friend (okay, don't do that...) stock the lake with piranhas and get the heck outta there - NOW! Run...like you are on fire, because eventually, you will be and you'll be burning out and burning down. I can't let you do that to yourself. Nope, not on my watch.
I hope that you just laughed out loud and snorted a little because laughter is awesome, but for real, commit to taking this message to heart - ask yourself the hard questions (or...plug...pursue coaching with us and we can help!) and make the changes necessary to keep your number one priorities...well...number ONE!
This mindset SHIFT will change your life, relationships, success and can even change your income, dramatically - so listen up!
Time is your most important non-renewable resource and you don't want to waste it on things that don't matter. Being busy does not make you productive and certainly does not make you more important, like I once believed.
YOU are not what you do.
You also don't want to spend it all (think of it as currency) pleasing other people or saying yes to things out of alignment with your core values. Decide what your main priorities are (I call these your BEST YESes!) and then structure your time around them. This is a whole other topic that deserves its own platform, so for now, let's work on simplifying your life.
Here are some instant, time-saving tips that you can put into practice immediately. Friend, DO NOT entertain any excuses that might come up as you contemplate this list. DECIDE that you are all-in and work toward getting on track so you can free up time to spend on your best YESes and live into alignment with WHO you are.
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Here are 6 easy and effective ways to re-claim your time!
1. Get a planner & make a plan - if you don't have a plan for your time, someone else will! Say this out loud a few times to let it sink in! I spend about 10-15 minutes every Sunday night/ Monday morning going over my schedule, making sure I am doing the things that I need to do and outsourcing (empowering others!) to do the things that I don't need to do. This doesn't have to cost money, be creative - find people to trade with, involve your family, etc.
2. Meal plan & prep! Only hit the grocery store ONE time per week (going more than this costs you extra money AND time). And...only hit the parking lot if possible. If you live in a community where online grocery ordering is available - let go of the control and DO IT! It is awesome!!! Yes, your produce will be great! Yes, you can get organic, Yes, you'll get a refund if something isn't to your standards! Do it, do it, do it! When you get your groceries home, prep the produce, prep meals lunches and even smoothies, I have my kids put crackers, pepperettes, cut produce, etc. into little zip locks/containers for the entire week so it's quick & easy to grab & go in the morning.
3. Have a family meeting. Talk about your collective goals so that you have a united plan, one of them being the fact that you want to be less busy doing everything so you have more time to have date nights with your partner/friends, more time to say YES when the kids ask you to play road hockey or build Lego ice princess castles (at our house, anyway), more time for outings, etc. Divide up the chores/tasks that need to be done. Hammering out a plan together makes everyone feel excited and empowered.
4. Turn off the television. This is NOTÂ quality time with your kids/partner and contrary to popular belief, it's not "down" time for you. It's numbing. Real down time is spent with intention - reading a great book, meditating/prayer, journaling, gardening...things that make you feel purposeful and PRESENT.
5. Stop scrolling - see rationale above for tv :)
6. Get to bed by 10-11pm. You'll experience more restorative sleep and wake more rested. Sleep is more important than we give it credit for. When we are well-rested, we have more patience & concentration, we make less mistakes, we keep weight off easier and have less cravings, we get sick less, we are more sociable...I could go on for days here!
We are all on a journey. Remember, aim for progress, not perfection. Start taking control of your time now and watch what unfolds. Say YES to YOURSELF and know your worth. Aim to find joy and fun and community and meaning!
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