Reclaiming Time (Or, firing your bully time-keeper)

Time, too often, has felt like a bully, pushing me to hurry up and get stuff done. Rather than enjoying the process, I've so often felt a need to get to the finish line. 

Why?

Many of us (and this means me!) have internalized capitalism. We feel a need to be productive at all costs, rarely allowing ourselves to rest. 

But what is the quality, and the cost, of that productivity? What if you reframe your relationship with that taskmaster?

Reclaim your time.

Pay attention to your inner guide.

You can still be productive, but it can be your OWN definition of productive.

By integrating time management strategies with my passions and personal needs at the center, I’ve managed to shift my relationship with time. I feel grounded and balanced, and I carve out the time I need to get work done. It doesn’t mean stress disappears, but my relationship with deadlines and stress has shifted.

If you have a bully as your time-keeper, what would it look like if you fired that bully? What would your new relationship with time be?

Imagine if you looked at your to-do list and felt calm, knowing you had the tools to manage the tasks of the day. Imagine if you had clarity around your goals and commitments, to yourself and others. 

Imagine taking breaks and feeling refreshed. Imagine taking time to connect in satisfying ways with others during the course of the day.

Our work lives too often control us. Imagine flipping the switch and feeling calm and balanced.

But how?

Reframing your relationship with time means putting yourself, and your needs, at the center. Scheduling breaks. Adding time in the calendar for strategizing and reflection. Creating firm boundaries for yourself. It IS possible.

And it can be a a radical act to carve out time for yourself. But it doesn’t need to be a radical change.

Today, I invite you to carve out at least 30 minutes for yourself. Add it into your calendar before the day begins. This is just a start, of course; you deserve far more than 30 minutes! (And if you’ve already got 30, find 30 more!) When you deepen your relationship with yourself, you are deepening the quality of your time.

Turn your phone off. Walk. Journal. Do some deep breathing exercises. Stretch.

Start here. See how it feels. Savor it. Then tomorrow, after you tell your bully time-keeper to take a hike, do it again.