When.....
Through out my yoga life I have been taught and heard and even teach myself about focusing on the "what" and the "why" and letting go of the "how" and the "when". While that works very well when trying to visualize the life you want or something you want to manifest, the other side of the spectrum is learning about when in your day you are most effective and how to maximize that.
I am in the middle of listening to a new book on audible by Daniel H. Pink called When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing. Not only do you get the digital book, but you get a 68 page PDF that helps you determine your ideal times of the day to be most effective depending on what you are doing. He talks about also taking breaks during the day, getting exercise, getting outside, taking social breaks. It has been such a great listen/read so far.
As I continue to try to do everything in a day that I want to do and not lose my mind or forget what the hell I am doing, I am working on several different ways of managing my time. So far I haven't hit on just the exact right set up yet, but I am enjoying trying things out and seeing what works and what doesn't. I am finally getting some consistent better sleep and that is helping more than anything. I have a lot of moving parts in my day and I want to be most effective at planning when best to tackle any one of those moving parts.
As I move deeper into building this community out for others who are seeking community and the support for living a full, unapologetic and authentic life, I will be sharing some of what I feel is the best, where I have tweaked to make it work best for me and giving others options to find their own best path. I look at this time management as some of the best self care that we can do for ourselves. Yes there will be days when our schedule will be shot to shit, but if we set ourselves up to be supported by a plan that we try to move with each day, it creates a space with more room for those unexpected little glitches that come along. It also means that we can weather those schedule bumps with a little less stress and think creatively instead of having a come apart.
What I do know is that movement is a huge part of this. Especially for those that sit most of the day at a desk and/or computer. Taking time for even a 5 minute walk can boost your effective productivity and clear your mind so that you can focus better on the task at hand. Taking a walk outside or around the office but out of your personal space, meeting a friend or co-worker for coffee and talking about anything BUT work! A regular daily exercise practice goes with this, but these shorter walks and breaks are key to keeping you present and on task.
So as I continue to work on my side hustle, teach yoga and work the day job, I have quite a task to figure out just when and how to be my most effective. I find the better I take care of myself, the better I do with my schedule and feeling successful. More on this later, but try seeing if you can schedule some time blocks in your day. Maybe 60-90 minutes of work time and a 10 minute break. Studies show that anything more than 90 minutes and we really are no longer effective and attentive to what we are doing. Do some deep breathing throughout the day, taking your eyes off of your screen, closing them and inhaling to the count of four and exhale to the count of five, repeat up to five times and see how you feel. Leave me a comment below to let me know how you are doing!
XO
Titanium