Have you noticed that time seems to be speeding up these days? and the“to do??? list appears to be getting bigger and bigger. Maybe there is a feeling that there are not enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done. As a result there may be a tendency to put things off that you enjoy in favour of getting “things done”.
Life can be incredibly busy, and it is easy to fall into a feeling of overwhelm. When that happens creativity slows down or stops completely. Therefore, as a result, feelings of pressure, stress and overwhelm can creep up quickly.
Wake up and enjoy the day!
It is a great feeling to wake up and look forward to enjoying the day ahead. If this isn’t happening, then it’s time to find out why.
As a Wellbeing Consultant, Founder of Flourish Beyond 40, and Author of The Insightful Way journal, the subject of time comes up with clients all the time.
Clients want to know how they can enjoy their life more. Furthermore, they are all looking for more balance within their lives. Consequently, this led me to create The Insightful Way Journal to help lead people to create powerful positive changes in their lives.
Personal Choice
First of all, we have 24 hours a day and a personal choice on how to use and enjoy our free time. Given the gadgets available, shouldn’t there be more free time available? Dishes are placed in the dishwasher, laundry is placed into the washing machine. While in effect this should be creating more time, the opposite is true.
Maybe work takes up the largest part of the day. Dinner needs to be cooked, chores need to be completed. No wonder flopping on the sofa and watching TV at the end of the day is so tempting. So, how can can you enjoy life more?
Here are three ways to create time to do more of what you love and enjoy.
Finding Balance
It is easy to fall out of balance. Sometimes work and career commitments take priority over enjoyment of free time.
A mother may be pulled in many directions. An employee may have deadlines to meet. A business owner may have heavy responsibilities. There are also people who are constantly busy ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’.
Whatever the circumstances, here are three ways to create time.
Finding Clarity
Do you remember what your hobbies and interests are? When was the last time you painted/ sewed/sang/danced/learned a new language?
When was the last time you switched off completely and lost yourself doing something you love?
What did you enjoy before you became a wife, mother, busy, or started to climb the career ladder? Write it down. Look at your list.
Highlight the ones on your list that evoke the biggest feelings of excitement or maybe a ripple of inspiration.
Reflection Time
Take some quiet time to reflect on the reasons why you are not creating enough time to do the things that you love and enjoy.
Write these down and take a good honest look at your list.
Are there workaholic tendencies on board?
While it may be natural to say to yes to others, do you also consider your own wants, needs and desires?
Quite often clients say they feel a sense of guilt when they spend time doing something they enjoy. Is this true for you?
There may be many reasons why you are not creating time to do what you love and enjoy. Furthermore, if money is tight you may also have to put in extra hours to meet monthly bills and commitments. As a result finding time for yourself will probably be even more challenging.
Time Stands Still When You are Doing What you Love
Time seems to stand still when you do what you love. Whether that be while you are engrossed in a great book, painting a picture or creating something because you are doing something you actually enjoy.
This is a good thing as you are in a more peaceful, calm, balanced state of being. The mind and body needs this “down time??? to recharge itself and move away from stress.
Time Assessment allows you to enjoy your life more
Maybe it is time for you to decide whether you would rather spend less time in certain activities while spending more time in other areas doing what you enjoy.
A time assessment of your day can be a really useful exercise, furthermore it highlights areas of potential change. Writing down what you do each day, and how how much time you spend doing it is very enlightening.
Start with the following
- exercise
- scrolling Facebook newsfeed
- Other social media
- Work
- Duties at home
- Chatting on the phone with friends on a daily basis
- Watching TV
- Reading magazines
- Other time wasting activities
Make the Change
The results of the time assessment clarifies the amount of time spent in each area. As a result, this information will probably prompt you towards change because now you know!
While changes are not always easy, they are incredibly empowering because you have made a conscious choice to improve your life.
Is it possible for you to spend less time on Social Media? Is it possible that you could watch less TV? Once you have identified which areas you can create extra time in, go ahead and make the change.
Enjoy Creating Positive Vibes
Start each morning with a positivity ritual. On waking, spend a few moments thinking of all the things you feel grateful for today. Write this in your journal.
Also, at the end of the day write down all the good things that happened to you during the day and read it before going to sleep.
Place coloured post it stickers on the mirror, in your car, on your desk as visual reminders to do the things you love and enjoy. As a result you will feel feel more motivated to create the changes you need and want, because of these gentle visual nudges.
In conclusion, life will probably feel more calm, peaceful and balanced when you create more time in your life do what you love. Therefore maybe the changes you make will impact your life in a bigger way than you realise.
If you enjoyed this Blog, please feel free to check out many others on the site too, or join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/flourishbeyond40
We also have a great community of like minded women in a closed group over at flourishing beyond 40 women. See you there and have a wonderful day!
