Most of my coaching and workshop clients are time poor.  They never have time operationally and many of the more people-centred areas of their jobs such as one to one check ins, even regular team meetings can quickly go by the wayside.  I’m sure that sounds familiar.  So when I ask them to take time out, put a pause into their day to focus on their needs, their initial response is I don’t have time.  The cost of lost time talking to a coach or attending a training course never seems to be positively balanced on the returns yielded.  Or that’s what they think.

The reality for the majority of my coaching and training clients is that they never knew how much they needed this me time, until they got it, then they start anticipating the next time.

It’s a good reminder for those of us who feel we don’t have any time to put our personal or work interests first average, that on average we are awake for 16 hours day, that’s just under 1000 minutes in a day.  Put like that, surely, we can find time during our hectic personal and work time for 10 to 15 minutes of me time, or 1 to 1.5% of your time, focused purely on you.

Can we – can you?
Do you want to?
And are you worth that tiny investment of your time for you? 

Like many of my clients, they don’t know how much they need it until they try.  So how do you find that elusive 10 to 15 minutes just for you?

Here are some of the ways myself and my clients have discovered that works for us:

  • Get up earlier (ideally before the family emerges) and create a ‘you’ routine whether that’s mindfulness, journaling, exercise or positive affirmations.
  • Before getting out of bed take 2 minutes to start your day positively by thinking of 3 things you are grateful for (nothing can beat a cosy bed on a wet Monday morning!).
  • Turn off the TV / electronic surfing and instead turn on a fitness channel, positive podcast, or go for a walk outside.
  • Set a timer for your 10 to 15 minutes and read a motivational book personal or professional work-related book. Find a ‘reading corner’ and leave your book there for the next day.
  • Have a power shower and instead of working through your to-do list for the day, instead focus on the feelings of the water and the smell of your soap, and concentrate on your senses and not the internal chatter.
  • Find a buddy to commit to the same thing as you do, whether that’s an exercise class or just getting up early in the morning. You’re more likely to carry on if you have an accountability partner to not let down.
  • Always be prepared by having your book, journal, notebook with you so that at times when there is imposed quiet (kids drop off, waiting for a client etc.) you can focus on you for a few minutes.
  • Tack on mindful moments before or after meetings or task, giving yourself a 30 second to 2-minute mental pause onto something you’re already doing.
  • Sign up to a paid class virtually or in person that you’ve got to commit not only time but also money.  Free stuff is great, but there is no sense of loss when we don’t show up for it.
  • Go to bed earlier and set up a self-care routine that is more than just brushing your teeth, and includes a bit of body pampering, reflections on 3 things that you loved about the day or consider what’s been your learning from that day.

For many of us, putting ourselves first ins’t always easy.  And hopefully our list of ‘me time’ suggestions may inspire you to at least once this week spend some quality time on the most important person in your life – you!

Want to invest more in you, then why not sign up to our online 5 Day Mental Fitness HIIT sessions, where I talk you through how to add a 1 minute and a 10 minute mindful moment into your day.  Sign up here – or try before you buy with this free session.