Time Saving Strategies (part 2) - Self Care First

Do the important things first? In my last post, I told you not to worry about the most important things. I just want you to start doing ANYTHING and start crossing things off of your list. Working on feeling accomplished and creating momentum is key to getting things done. However, there are some IMPORTANT things you should do first.

Let me define important...

​Important is NOT that project you've been putting off; it's not checking your email to make sure you don't have any fires to put out today. Important is any activity or task that creates energy for you rather than draining it. Energy creating activities include drinking water, taking herbs, stretching, exercising, meditation, making art, journaling, brainstorming, or anything else that raises your vibration. Meeting a colleague or friend for coffee, going for a challenging hike, taking a long hot shower... These are the MOST IMPORTANT things to do first. It just takes a simple shift and a tweak.

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Gathering energy first thing in the morning sets the tone for an exceptional day full of stamina to drive through your to-do list. If you are dreading your workday, worrying over breakfast or coffee hour, and then obsessing all the way to the office, you are setting yourself up for an incredibly unproductive, stressful, low-vibration day. 

One of the reasons we put off our energy creating activities for later is because of urgency attached to the other tasks. Once you get these urgent tasks completed, then (time allowing) you can add the self-care activities somewhere. Not really though. This mindset requires an immediate shift. 

Start thinking of self-care activities as urgent; tasks that MUST be completed first thing in order to do any other task. And not just to do the other tasks, but to do them well. Also, the self-care activities are not just about taking care of yourself, they are huge productivity enhancers and therefore necessities. 

Another reason we put off generating energy is that we think it will take too much time out of the day. The surprising and wonderful thing though, is that when you open up space in your mind and schedule to get all the things done, more productive time appears. 

Also, energy-creating tasks don't need to require much time. If you like to lounge and savor that cup of coffee or tea in the morning, do it, but give yourself a cut off time. Thirty minutes is all you need to get energized from any activity. And the coffee goes cold by then anyway. 

Meditation, benefits are achieved in just 5 minutes. Therefore, you could actually schedule a few energy-creating activities in as little as 45-minutes and significantly change the trajectory of your day. 

So shouldn't you shift your mindset today? I have a challenge for you...

For the next seven days, try this: Schedule just 1 energizing activity first thing each morning. Here's my routine: I do these three things, no matter what. I meditate for 15-minutes, exercise for 30-minutes, and engage in creative-thinking for an additional 15-minutes. 

Please try implementing one or two self-care activities into your morning routine. I know you won't want to stop after seven days. 

Let me know how things are going for you. Barriers? Successes? How has this shift and tweak changed things for you? Leave a comment below!

Let's Illuminate our lives, together,