Five Days (and Four Ways) to Create More Time for Yourself

Day One:

First, figure out what your personal “internal prime time” is–the time when you have the most mental clarity and energy. For many people it’s in the morning; for some, it’s late at night. It’s probably not after lunch. Write it down. Tomorrow we will do something useful with this information.

Day Two:
Now that you’ve determined your personal “internal prime time,” block out an hour or two during that time period one day this week. (Say, 10:00 to 11:30 AM on Thursday.) Mark the time as “personal time,” “my time,” “project time,” or whatever on your calendar. Treat this time like an important appointment with yourself–the way you would a doctor’s appointment, lunch with a client or a business meeting.

At the designated hour, find a quiet place such as the conference room, a coffee shop or your office, turn off your phone, put up a sign (as appropriate)–“I am deep in thought. Please do not disturb until 11:30 AM.” Then begin working on something on which you’ve been procrastinating, or on a project that you’ve been wanting to undertake for a long time. You will find that you can get twice as much work done when you work during your peak energy period without interruptions.

Day Three:

Pick three tasks you can delegate this week and actually delegate them.

Day Four:

Are you sleeping with your smartphone? If so, you probably aren’t getting the best quality sleep possible. Go to CVS or Walgreen’s or go online and buy a real alarm clock. You can get one that’s basic or one that has lots of features. Put your smartphone in another room, set your alarm and have a great night’s sleep. This will do wonders for your productivity.

Day Five:

Author Anne Lamott wrote, “‘No’ is a complete sentence.” Look at your list of obligations/invitations/tasks for the upcoming week. If you really don’t want to go to that event or do that thing, say “no” with love and compassion. This is a great time for self care.