First Things First, or Time For Self

Before you can begin the physical changes necessary in your daily routine, you need to analyze and possibly adjust your attitude about the time available to you.  Decide RIGHT NOW that you are in control.  You have the same 24 hours that everyone else has, but you are going to take complete responsibility for how the events in your day are distributed.  You will handle your schedule efficiently because you will be well prepared for all contingencies.

Starting tonight, you need to give yourself a 10-minute "time-out".  This is 10-minutes when no one is allowed to talk to you or bug you in any way --just 10 minutes of peace and quiet to sit and think about your feelings about the day you just spent, review the positive steps you took, and think also about the day ahead of you in a very general way--remember, you want to stay relaxed!!  This is the time to start giving yourself what Shad Helmstetter, author of What To Say When You Talk To Yourself calls "positive aphorisms."  A positive aphorism is a statement you repeat to help yourself achieve a goal.  Positive aphorisms are positive statements which make you feel good about what you are accomplishing--in fact, this practice will make you accomplish even more.  Tell yourself how capable and efficient you are.  Look in the mirror and be glad you had this day.

You will also want to spend another 10 minutes at the beginning of each day, meditating and looking forward to the activities ahead of you. Think about the things which are expected of you this day in general terms, and imagine the frame of mind you want to carry with you in your dealings with others.  This process will free your emotions for positive feelings, and not let you continue any negative feelings you might be carrying around.  Give yourself these precious few moments of peace to fortify your spirit so you stay calm and ready for each day's events.

You might notice that these times fit right into a regular pattern of purposeful prayer. It might be hard at first, to get used to 10 minutes of quiet.  Your family might think it is strange but gently remind them, that no one is allowed to disturb you for 10 whole minutes and then you will be happy to deal with their concerns.  It is as important to devote time to yourself as it is to squeeze more time out of the day.

Stress Expert Larry Dossey says that humans are hitting their biological speed limit and studies show that when people have time to relax they actually able to achieve more.

If 10 whole minutes seems like 10 seconds, then it is time to re-set your biological clock.  As a whole, we seem to have accelerated sense of time because of the pressure to get things done. Our bodies are on a 60-second clock, not a computer nanosecond!  You need to find  small ways to get back in touch with the natural flow of things.  Liz Lefkin suggests several ways to achieve this:

• Ditch the digital watch.  It is better to watch time pass and keep track of the minutes than to have it just "happen."

• Get outdoors as much as possible.  When you're feeling bogged down, take a walk around the block.

• Exercise for the joy of it, not to achieve any set goal or in competition with someone else.

• Cut down on caffeine.  When you take in too much you are operating on a false sense of energy.

• Take the time to linger.  As the old cliché goes: "take time to smell the roses."

• Finally, don't feel guilty about grabbing each free moment that comes your way and doing something enjoyable.

 If you have children, then you probably already understand the need to grab spare moment for yourself.  Savvy mothers are not way-laid by obstacles because they have learned that the best approach to time management is an active one--they carefully plan their day and how they will spend each block of time, and whenever a break in the action occurs, they seize the time for themselves as a bonus.

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