The lines between work life and personal life are completely blurred.
If you no longer having defined hours between this is when I do my work and this is when I spend time with my family or relax or do things for the house…
You might be craving what I’ve heard from a lot from women lately:
“I want more balance, more rest, more downtime…more time for play.”
Not taking true relaxation time impacts your:
- Relationships
- Health
- Energy
- Sleep
- Weight
- Performance
That last one, (performance), is funny because you feel like the more you work the better you perform. But the truth is your body needs rest.
Unfortunately, we put a lot of guilt on ourselves.
If we have a day or an hour or even a few moments, the negative voice in our head tells us we’re wasting time.
You berate yourself for not getting enough done.
Here’s how you get out of this self sabotaging behavior.
Plan for unplanned time.
In other words, structure your unstructured time.
This is totally counterintuitive. It’s not something we typically do.
You do plan for dr’s appointment, work calls, meetings, and activities but….
Are you supposed to plan time to sit on the couch and watch The Bachelor?
Yes.
I experienced this first hand a couple of weeks ago.
I spent almost a week with my mom with two goals…to see her and to relax.
Because I made that goal ahead of time I was able to give myself permission to do it.
If I hadn’t created that intention, I can guarantee that:
A) It wouldn’t have happened and
B) The time I was relaxing I would have been riddled with guilt.
If you want more down time, if you want more relaxation time, if you want more family time, if you want more time to be present, you must plan for it.
Make the intention and then put it on your calendar.
It’s more important than ever, to plan your unplanned time, to structure your unstructured time.
You can do anything you want during this time. Take a bath, read, lay on the couch, binge HBO…it doesn’t matter.
But if it’s not planned there’s a good chance it won’t happen and there’s a great chance that when it does, you will feel guilty about it.
You work too hard and you’re too smart to allow that.
Add this time everyday to create a boundary between work and life.
This is incredibly powerful my friend.
This small habit shift will help you live with more joy, be more fulfilled, and feel more successful every dang day.
Are you up for the challenge?
Leave a Reply