Tag: enjoyment

High Energy Happiness Self Care and Self Love

Start your day right – Part 2

Post author By Support Elf
Post date April 18, 2017
No Comments on Start your day right – Part 2

This week, we are continuing on with how to start your day off on the right foot so you can make time for self-care and ease into your day instead of hitting the ground running.

4. Get grateful before your feet even hit the floor

This is such a good tip for bringing more ease and lightness to your morning. When you press snooze on your alarm* start listing things in your life you are grateful for. Happy moments from the previous day. Just start listing them and developing this as a habit. You will probably snooze back off, but this at least gets your brain with the programme that we are choosing to start the day on a positive note. You will be surprised how quickly this becomes a habit.

ALARM>>>BEEP. Ohhh…okay…what was good about yesterday? What were my happy moments? What am I grateful for?

It breaks the bad habit of waking up and within seconds being on the anxiety train of “oh God…I’ve got to get XXXX done today, and then YYYYY is probably going to….”

While you are still between the sheets, break the habit by establishing a new, far more empowered habit of starting your thoughts each morning with appreciation.
*Unless you are some kind of human unicorn who bounces out of bed before their alarm trilling, “I’m a mmmmmmmmmorning person!!!! Hello, world!!! ” In which case, you need no help, you’ve got it covered.

5. What would I like to go RIGHT today?

One of the reasons we sometimes have a bad day is because we self-create it by expecting to have a bad day. We wake up and our mind automatically starts off on a train of thought about how underprepared we are about that meeting. And that we are going to be really pushed to get to the dentist and back. And I bet the traffic will be really bad too because it’s raining. And if Tom doesn’t sort that thing out like he promised then….and so on. It’s a really easy train of thought to follow – we start with one thing that might not go that well, and then it links seamlessly to another…and another…so before we know it, we are stressed out about our day before we have even got out of our pyjamas.

You can change this by consciously directing your thoughts. We humans can have a real tendency to gravitate towards the negative without us even realising it – so help yourself turn that around by popping a post-it note on the bathroom mirror where you clean your teeth – and as you brush ask yourself the very deliberate question – What could go RIGHT today? And then link that to something else that could go well, or that you can think of an ideal outcome for. Start deliberately challenging your focus towards the positive.

What are 3 things that could go right today? What would be an ideal outcome?

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
2.____________________________________________________________________________________________
3.____________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Stop looking at technology first thing

I know I know, I go on about this a lot. Technology is our friend, and fantastic in so many ways. But honestly, if you are looking for a day that’s calm, focused and full of fun/achievement/peace of mind – whatever it is you are after – then checking your email and social media when you are still in bed or still shuffling about in your PJ’s is not going to serve that.

1. Unless you are a heart surgeon on call or similar, no email you have is that important/time sensitive that it cannot wait for 15 – 30 minutes while you ease yourself into your morning in a calm way that works for you.

2. When you check your tech, you are immediately taking yourself out of your own agenda and headspace, and immediately putting it into someone else’s. Reading that email about the problem with production splits your mental focus before the day even begins.

It takes the focus off you, and what you (and your family) need to set you up optimally for the day, and puts a large percentage of it in the office/school/someone else’s stuff. Start the day doing your own stuff. If you want to be calm, happier, more successful in whatever it is you are into – have those few moments at the start of the day focused on what you want, not the 19 other people’s agendas in your inbox. It will allow you to start the day with clarity and perspective.

I commit to not checking my tech, and staying in my own stuff til………am.

Tags challenging beliefs, decision making, destress, enjoyment, Mornings, Start Your Day Right

High Energy Happiness Live Happy Inspiration Self Care and Self Love

4 Tricks for Keeping Up the Healthy Lifestyle Momentum

Post author By Support Elf
Post date March 21, 2017
No Comments on 4 Tricks for Keeping Up the Healthy Lifestyle Momentum

Starting “getting healthy” is easy. The rush at the beginning of a detox or cleanse: exciting! The signing up the gym or yoga membership: exciting! Buying the new workout gear or kit: exciting! When we start out on a Get Healthy endeavour the beginning is the easy bit. The vision of the slimmer, fitter, more toned, bikini-ready version of ourselves dangling before us. It’s easy to take action. And it feels good.

The thing is, as many of us know, after a few weeks that initial rush of enthusiasm has waned and the Get Healthy practice we were initially so inspired by has become a chore, a grind, and a pain in the ass. Gradually the “yoga every day” commitment becomes every other day, then twice a week until the yoga mat just sits gathering dust in the back of the car. The juicer whispering the promise of kick-starting each day with green juice made from kale and carrots becomes a white elephant taking up space on the kitchen worktop, a continual reminder we have not kept our promise to ourselves.

So: how do we beat this common phenomenon? How do we make Getting Healthy a happy habit we actually keep?

1. Replace a bad habit with a good habit, one at a time.

It’s easier to stick at a new healthy habit if you replace a bad habit with a good one, rather than just trying to stop a bad one. By substituting a more positive habit rather than just depriving yourself of something you like, you are far more likely to keep the habit up. So, stop having that glass of wine when you come in from work by driving home a different way and have a walk on the beach on the way. Make the post-work walk the new habit.

Give up the traditional Thursday Takeout Bingefest by instituting a Healthy Night once a week where you and your partner take it in turns to cook a new healthy recipe.

Or break the habit of reaching straight for the cheese and crackers by making that the time you Facetime people you never have time to catch up with. Creating positive healthy rituals that crowd out bad habits is much more successful than just trying to stop doing something you secretly actually get a lot of pleasure from.

2. Make it a happy habit not an effort of willpower

Willpower is a finite resource. Sooner or later it will run out. Fact! So if you are relying only on willpower to get you to the gym or to drag out the juicer then eventually you are bound to fall off the wagon. Far better to focus on what naturally pulls you forward rather than what you have to force yourself to do. That means choosing exercise that you genuinely LOVE. Food that you actually ENJOY. The less effort required the better, and the key to that is choosing what really feels sincerely delicious and fun for you.

3. Find an accountability system that works for you

Accountability is great. Different strokes for different folks however, and one person’s inspiration is another individual’s nightmare. So do what works for you. Maybe it’s committing to compete in a sports event. Maybe it’s joining a team challenge at the gym where your results are aggregated so you don’t want to let anyone else down. Maybe it’s getting three colleagues to commit to a walk around the block at lunchtime three days a week. You are smart: figure out a structure that keeps you accountable and motivated when the days are dark and summer seems a long way off.

4. Reconnect regularly with your WHY

Your “Why” is your Spiritual Fuel that powers you towards your goal. Reconnecting with why you chose to commit to this Get Healthy journey at the beginning when it was all shiny and exciting will help you to stay on track when the going gets tough and the shine has faded. Was it to feel good in your jeans? Or to have the energy to run around with your kids? Or to do a sub-4 hour marathon? Or to have toned arms? Or to be peaceful and calm and sleep well? Reconnect with why you started in the first place. And ask yourself:

What habit do I wish I had started a year ago?

Drinking more water? Running? A weekly yoga class? A daily green juice? Ask yourself what will you wish you had stuck at a year from now? Reconnect with your WHY and stay the course.

Making Getting Healthy a happy habit that sticks is totally possible; start small, be consistent and work with what pulls you forward with love not force is the key.

Tags Accountability, enjoyment, Getting healthy, Habits, Happiness

Relationships

Sooooooo Busy!

“So sorry I haven’t seen you, we must catch up. I’ve just been sooooo busy! Let’s catch up soon!” – how many times will you have that conversation in the next few weeks? The end of the year can suddenly bring into sharp relief the relationships where we somehow have not caught up all year long.

Here’s the thing. Life has never been busier. But if a relationship is truly important and of value, we will find a way to make time and make it work. Whether we catch up with someone or not says significantly less about the amount of entries in our diary and much more about the inherent value we are placing on spending time with that person.

”I’ve just been so busy!” is the exact same equivalent of “I can’t afford it”.

I can’t afford it means “I’ve chosen to prioritise that spend on the mortgage rather than the shoes”. On the petrol rather than the gig tickets. Or the weekend away rather than the garden supplies. We understand that there is a certain amount of money available and we need to make choices. We say “I can’t afford it”, whereas actually, the truth is a far more empowering “I’ve chosen to prioritise the money in a different way”.

And so it is with our time. We can smooth things behind “I’m just so busy”, but actually the truth is a more empowering, “I’ve chosen to spend my time with other people on other things”. It’s just that that is not as socially acceptable to convey! “I’ve been so busy” is the handy social nicety that covers up our true priorities.

Having a look at the amount of times you say “I’d love to catch up, I’ve just been so busy!”. It is a wonderful self-awareness exercise. It might be that your balance is really strong and that you have prioritised your time on the activities and relationships that truly matter to you in a way you feel really good about. Or, you may find you have been saying it far more than you would like and to the wrong people. In which case, some important relationships may have fallen by the wayside because you have prioritised other people and tasks that, on reflection, actually mean less to you. That’s an excellent marker to readjust the balance for future times, so you are saying “I’ve just been so busy” far less to the people of most value in your life.

You can also have a think about how often “I’d love to, but I’ve just been so busy” is said to you! If someone is persistently “too busy” for us, it says far more about the value they place on our relationship than on their schedule. Good to know!

When something is important we generally find a way – whether that’s the unbudgeted money to enable that school trip that little Johnny has his heart set on, or to get the car repaired so we can get to work. We will figure out how to make the dollars work when it’s of high value to us. It’s the same with our time – if it’s really important we will find a way, whether that is calling in the car on the way to the airport at midnight or combining a catch up with a can’t miss it gym session before work or chatting while batch cooking for the week. We can’t do it all, and neither should we try!

There isn’t time for all things and all people, all the time. We do have to choose. We do need to prioritise.

And be comfortable owning those priorities. Some people and things are less important, and that’s okay. We are never really too busy for who and what is truly of high value to us. We will always find a way.

Tags decision making, enjoyment, Happy People

Dream and Goals High Energy Happiness Live Happy Inspiration

How to make NY resolutions that LAST: Part 1

Post author By Support Elf
Post date January 2, 2017
No Comments on How to make NY resolutions that LAST: Part 1

I lovelovelove New Year! It’s probably my favourite time of the year – the sensation of a new chapter opening. An entirely unsullied virgin canvas. The delicious thought that we can consign our regrets and disappointments to history and turn the page embracing a shiny brand spanking new 12 months to start over. As a personal development junkie, I love the annual ritual of a nation swept up in a tide of self-improvement, the contagious aroma of change in the air.

So, how are those New Year’s resolutions going? It’s the 4th January today – so plenty of time for them to be underway already (Yay! Go you!)…or…maybe to have already fallen by the wayside…

If you have already fallen off the wagon, don’t be too hard on yourself. Every day is a new opportunity to start fresh. Every Day. Any day. Like today.

One classic reason New Year’s Resolutions fail is because we set the bar too high.

“Go to the gym every day for at least 90 minutes” is a classic example. It doesn’t allow for any “life happens” slack and so if we miss one day, we instantly feel like a failure and fall off the horse quickly. It’s far better to get on the Yes Train and have a much lower bar where you are stringing Yeses together day after day…something like “I will move my body in some way, every day, for 20 minutes”. Then playing footie with the kids counts (tick!). The beach walk after lunch counts (tick!). And the days where life is all unfolding according to plan you are far more likely to make the extended gym session bolstered and encouraged by your string of yeses… “yes, I am a person who exercises daily! I’m off to the gym….again!”

Another classic way we can set ourselves up to fail is to try and take on too many resolutions at once.

Like we have to solve every crappy thing in our lives, all at once, all on January 1st!

Now, it is a powerful day for sure, but it’s just a day. Too many resolutions at once can be incredibly overwhelming. And again very easy to diminish motivation because we might have eaten well, BUT we didn’t have screen-free time or whatever we have also resolved, and so a yes can be cancelled out with a no – and with it, our momentum and enthusiasm for change.

Far better to start with a reduced (one is fine!) number of resolutions and Make It Happen. With a smaller number not only is our focus greater but again it’s far easier to keep ourselves positive and on track with a chain of yeses. We can get that new habit established and integrated, and then introduce another new resolution in say three months time. The temptation to solve all the ills of the whole of 2016 in one go in January 2017 is almost guaranteed to derail the best of intentions.

Want to make resolutions that last in 2017? Make less. Lower the bar. And get super clear on your “why I want to” before you get stuck into the how to do it (more on that next week). Own in full why you want what you want, and how it will feel when you get it

Will this year be different? Make it so. You can start again today. It’s a brand new day.

Tags decision making, enjoyment, flexible thinking, Goalsetting, Happiness, New Years Resolutions

High Energy Happiness Live Happy Inspiration Self Care and Self Love

Human Duracell Bunny

We take care of our smartphones better than we take care of ourselves

The inimitable Arianna Huffington was speaking in New Zealand last year. Founder of The Huffington Post and listed as the 52nd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, to say I was excited is an understatement.

Arianna has always fascinated me. Not only is she a media and political heavyweight, what appeals to me most is that she has shouted loud about the bottom line value of wellbeing in big business. That we have a personal and corporate responsibility to take care of our wellbeing. Her bestselling book “Thrive” documents her journey from collapse from fatigue back to wellness. There are so many parallels with what I write about here, and my book “The Busy Woman’s Guide to High Energy Happiness” about my own journey from collapse from fatigue back to wellness. I couldn’t wait to hear her speak.

She did not disappoint. She was radiant and spoke with real power.

I’m going to share my favourite analogy from her speech as it resonated so strongly:

“We are taking care of our smartphones better than we are taking care of ourselves”.

She has a point.

You know how it is, when you notice the battery on your phone is running down: oh my God, I’ve only got 12% battery left! It’s an almost panicky feeling. I know I am not alone in asking a café to recharge my phone, or being at a meeting and charging it mid-meeting. ONLY TWELVE FREAKING PERCENT BATTERY LEFT?!! What will I do? Must charge that phone. Immediately!

However, the day I collapsed at work from extreme fatigue, never to return, I was down to, what, 3% of my body’s battery? But I had never stopped and prioritised recharging it. I just assumed my personal battery was infinitely recharging. Like I am a one woman Duracell Bunny.

Stupid, right?

We check and look at our phone battery life all the time. We get it charged if it’s running low. That’s important goddamit! Can’t be without our phone.

How often do we check in and look at the level of our own body’s battery? Nowhere near as often.

I think we have our priorities a little bit messed up.

Arianna is right.

“We are taking care of our smartphones better than we are taking care of ourselves”.

So, stop. Right now. RIGHT NOW! What does your personal battery readout say? Are you at 80% or 45% or 12% of vitality, energy and wellbeing?

Scan your body and find out. Put a percentage on it.

If it needs charging, then do what you would do with your phone. Charge it up.

We need a high charge to power through life and attend to what is important to us with ease and grace.

This is an easy new habit to commit to. Check in with your personal battery level each time you check your phone charge. If it’s running low, give it a quick boost with a walk round the block. A chat with a friend. Five minutes’ quiet time. Going to bed early. Ditching the coffee for a peppermint tea. Little recharging pit stops that keep your battery topped up.

Take care of yourself better than your smartphone.

There is only one of you. You are far less easy to replace.

Tags destress, enjoyment, Happiness, high energy, positive thinking

Live Happy Inspiration Uncategorized

How Do You Get More Love And Fun In Your Life?

Post author By Support Elf
Post date June 23, 2015
No Comments on How Do You Get More Love And Fun In Your Life?

I have a challenge for you today.

I want you to have MORE of what you want in your life.

Whatever that may be.

More love. More friendship. More health. More fun. More ease. More abundance. More challenge.

Whatever it is you want – it’s more than okay to want it – but it’s even better to actually GET IT.

Often however we can find that we are “ticking along” in a bit of a rut – at home, at work, in our relationships, in our living space, our body and health.

We will often put this lack of progress down to “not enough time” or “too busy”. Which actually just keeps us stuck.

The main reason we get stuck is because it’s very easy to end up with so many open doors in our life that our energy, time and attention is dissipated all over the place – leaving no time to progress the new areas we want to grow.

There is only so much time, energy and attention to go round.

So to get more of what you want I want you to CLOSE SOME DOORS TODAY.

I want you to close some doors so that you can make space for some new stuff in your life, that serves you and that takes you where you want to go.

Close the door on a relationship that is no longer serving you.

Close the door on an obligation that you wish you had never agreed to.

Close the door on looking in the mirror and hating on yourself.

Close the door on going the extra mile for someone or something where there is no reciprocity and you feel resentful.

Close the door on something that was once important but it’s time, for you, is done.

By doing this you will open up the space for what you NOW want in your life to enter.

You will have the time, energy and focus to move past “ticking along’ and to actively focus on improving your hearts desire.

If you want more love. More friendship. More health. More fun. More ease. More abundance. More challenge. You need to make SPACE for it.

Space in your head. Your life. Your heart. Your diary.

Make space for the good stuff.

Close some doors today. You know which ones.

Tags anxiety, challenging beliefs, enjoyment, feeling states

Positive Thought Strategy Reduce Stress

How to worry less, and enjoy the moment more …

Post author By Support Elf
Post date May 27, 2014
4 Comments on How to worry less, and enjoy the moment more …

Our worries often seem so real it’s as if they have happened already.

The client has cancelled.

The kid got hurt.

The car broke down.

You missed the park.

The money ran out.

The boss shouted.

The anxiety we feel about these things as we sit watching the children play on the swings, or in a tense boardroom, or on the way to our destination in town, we can feel as anxious as if these things are already real. It feels bad. We feel worried and anxious. And how many times does the thing we have worried about Not happen? All. THE. TIME. A huge amount of stress for nothing.

Here’s the thing. When you get on a plane to a sunny tropical destination do you know how the plane stays up in the air? Like really? Hats off if you have a first in aeronautical engineering but I am willing to bet 99% of us don’t really. Could you actually explain it? Nah! No, you just know it does, and that’s more than good enough. You trust in the process. You can’t see it, or define it, but you know it’s all happening and the plane is going to make it to Club Tropicana. Or how about when you get home from work and flick the telly on. Do you know how the electricity works? Like, really? Could you actually explain it? No, you just know it does, and that’s more than good enough. You trust in the process. You can’t see it, or define it, but you know it’s all happening. And it does.

All day every day we are putting our trust in things we can’t see. We can’t define. We are trusting in intangibles. We have a huge amount of faith in stuff we can’t see and we can’t explain. It’s an awesome capacity, really helpful. It helps us to glide through life, get things done, stay calm, take stuff for granted. It can be a very positive force for good.

Endless worrying is like using this force in reverse. By worrying about some future event that may or may not happen we are asking ourselves to once again have faith in something we can’t see, but something that makes us actively anxious guaranteed.

Feeling relaxed or feeling anxious a lot of the time comes down to the ability to believe something unseen. It comes down to faith versus fear essentially. Faith in the fact something good is going to happen (the plane stays up, the telly goes on) or fear that something bad will (the job gets lost, there will never be a car park in this rain). Either way you have to believe in something you can’t see: faith or fear. Fear or faith.

We can choose to believe in an unseen outcome that’s good and relaxing, or one that’s not so good and anxiety inducing. It’s a choice, not a certainty. Trust and faith require we believe we are big enough, brave enough, strong enough to handle it whatever the outcome. Which you ARE. Worry is a fear of events unseen. It robs us of joy in the present and actually makes us less able to handle what comes up. If we are going to believe in something we can’t see or know for sure, choose faith over fear every time.

Tags decision making, destress, enjoyment, feeling states, flexible thinking

Live Happy Inspiration Reduce Stress Self Care and Self Love Sick & Tired of feeling Sick & Tired Simplicity and Time Management

Wasted Time or Play Time?

Post author By Support Elf
Post date February 11, 2014
No Comments on Wasted Time or Play Time?

There is a common complaint that I notice with many of my coaching clients, especially those who are tired (or suffering from Adrenal Fatigue / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or working through Life/Work Balance issues. They have a real thing about any kind of down time being ‘wasted time’. It’s a concept that comes up again and again. And I think it’s a new and growing phenomenon that’s leading to a whole heap of stress. I must confess to being susceptible to this Cult Of Productivity myself: I notice it when I am stuck in traffic, or when the computer isn’t working as perfectly as I would like it to, or ordering something is taking longer than I thought it would. This stressful thought keeps rearing its ugly head: ‘this is such a waste of time’, usually accompanied by its good friend ‘this should be quicker/easier/more efficient’.

These thoughts lead directly to a place of stress. Bad for the head, bad for the body.

It’s occurred to me that I didn’t use to feel this way. When I was younger I didn’t put this pressure on myself for every thing to have an outcome. Just enjoying or doing something for its own sake was enough. At school and university my friends and I elevated wasting time to an art form in its own right! And those are the bits I look back on with the most fondness. The endless games of cards and pissing about (car surfing anyone?!) And yet I, and so many of my clients, seem to now feel so uncomfortable with even the most limited moments of unproductivity. What is that about?

As the world has become increasingly immediate and increasingly measureable I think it’s encouraged us to lead our lives in the same way. An expectation that all time and every effort invested should show some sort of meaningful outcome. But, should it?

I think the stress that the concept of ‘wasted time’ generates is due to a perception that time is inherently limited. That leads to a perception that all time needs to count with an outcome. Which generates stress. Is the point of time well spent to get things accomplished, or is it to have fun and experience the maximum amount of joy? As adults in this increasingly technologically enabled, measurable and immediate world I think we have lost the ability to play. Or to see play as an important part of what makes life fun and ourselves happy.

Look at how children play. When children play its as a means to an end in itself, because they see time as unlimited and therefore no outcome is required. So how can it possibly be wasted if it’s unlimited?

I think there is a lot we can learn from that attitude. This is what I have learned around the concept of ‘wasted time’:

Just because it produces some sort of outcome doesn’t mean that it’s important.
Just because its quantifiable doesn’t mean I should do it
If the only joy in the doing is the crossing off on the list when it’s done then I should consider not doing it or getting someone else to do it for me
Some of the best most fun and memorable time in my life had no definable outcome.
Unproductive time is a fact of life. We are not built to be ON all the time.
Unproductive time is thinking and daydreaming and processing time. That is productive in itself.
Play and fun are important.
Resting and chilling ARE an activity in their own right. The outcome is being chilled. That’s something the body requires for health. It’s really important time.
Enjoyment is just as valid a goal as achievement.
I need to play more.

So I am challenging myself to reconnect with play for the sake of itself: I have joined a mosaic class one morning a week. I am really enjoying it; there is something very satisfying about fitting all the tiny chards of ceramic together for no reason at all other than the simple pleasure of doing it. It’s a bit fiddly and a bit messy. I like that, and the quiet companionship of the other women in the class. Sometimes I feel guilty about all the work I ‘should’ be doing and that it’s ‘wasted time’ then I remember, I’m a life coach, I teach people about life/work balance…this is me Living It to Give It and I relax and focus on the little fiddly tiles again and the couple of hours simply flies by! It’s been good for the mind and the soul.

If you find yourself running mental loops about wasting time it’s my bet that you could do with reintroducing a bit of play to your life too. Try using the time stuck at the grocery checkout and in traffic to daydream about your next holiday or the best one you ever had. It won’t wake the queue go faster but it will make it a more pleasant and positive experience. Think back to something you loved to do as a child to play (baking, playing footie, making things, etc) and try and introduce a related aspect of PLAY into your week with no aspect of outcome attached. Play for it’s own sake, and see that if we are in the moment and enjoying ourselves then no time is ever really wasted.

Tags decision making, destress, enjoyment, joy, Life work balance, wasted time

Uncategorized

Wasted Time or Play Time?

Post author By Support Elf
Post date May 30, 2011
No Comments on Wasted Time or Play Time?

There is a common complaint that I notice with many of my coaching clients, especially those who are tired or working through Life/Work Balance issues. They have a real thing about any kind of down time being ‘wasted time’. It’s a concept that comes up again and again. And I think it’s a new and growing phenomenon that’s leading to a whole heap of stress. I must confess to being susceptible to this Cult Of Productivity myself: I notice it when I am stuck in traffic, or when the computer isn’t working as perfectly as I would like it to, or ordering something is taking longer than I thought it would. This stressful thought keeps rearing its ugly head: ‘this is such a waste of time’, usually accompanied by it’s good friend ‘this should be quicker/easier/more efficient’.

These thoughts lead directly to a place of stress. Bad for the head, bad for the body.

I think there is a lot we can learn from that attitude. This is what I have learned around the concept of ‘wasted time’:

1. Just because it produces some sort of outcome doesn’t mean that it’s important.

2. Just because its quantifiable doesn’t mean I should do it

3. If the only joy in the doing is the crossing off on the list when it’s done then I should consider not doing it or getting someone else to do it for me

4. Some of the best most fun and memorable time in my life had no definable outcome.

5. Unproductive time is a fact of life. We are not built to be ON all the time.

6. Unproductive time is thinking and daydreaming and processing time. That is productive in itself.

7. Play and fun are important.

8. Resting and chilling ARE an activity in their own right. The outcome is being chilled. That’s something the body requires for health. It’s really important time.

9. Enjoyment is just as valid a goal as an achievement.

10. I need to play more.

So I am challenging myself to reconnect with play for the sake of itself: I have joined a mosaic class one morning a week. I am really enjoying it; there is something very satisfying about fitting all the tiny chards of ceramic together for no reason at all other than the simple pleasure of doing it. It’s a bit fiddly and a bit messy. I like that, and the quiet companionship of the other women in the class. Sometimes I feel guilty about all the work I ‘should’ be doing and that it’s ‘wasted time’ then I remember, I’m a life coach, I teach people about life/work balance…this is me Living It To Give It and I relax and focus on the little fiddly tiles again and the couple of hours simply flies by! It’s been good for the mind and the soul.

Tags achievement, cult of productivity, enjoyment, Life work balance, play, play time, Stress Management, stress relief, time limited, wasted time

ABOUT

ACADEMY

PROGRAMMES

BLOG

CONTACT

Don't forget to signup for your freebies!

Don't forget!...

Worth $27