3 Mindset Shifts That Will Help You Find The TIME For Self-Care

Happy Friday and Happy New Year!

In this post, I share five mindset shifts that you need in order to find the time to be able to self-care and take care of your wellness.

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I personally have a lot of challenges managing my time. I’m a chronic double-booker. And when I think about my wellness routine, I struggle there too.  I try to work out 2-3 times a week, and I am more consistent now. But when I first started back in 2013 I didn’t know how people made time. Even if I only had a dog, and a cat, and a job, I still didn’t see how other people could make the time. I would go after work, but the gym was always packed and if I worked out too late I wouldn’t be able to sleep. So I eventually figured out if I wake up early enough I can work out at the gym in the morning. And if I don’t wake up early enough I use the gym in my apartment complex. And even if I wake up really late, I still do something – 5 min stretch, a plank, a few lunges.

So have contingency plans. It’s limiting to think you can only accomplish a goal at a certain time or a specific way.

Let’s talk about these five mindset shifts that will create more time for your wellness and self-care routine.

1. Think realistically about your time.

If Beyonce has the time, you have the time. If there are 186 hours in the week, 40 hours you are working, 50 hours you are sleeping (maybe less, maybe more), that leaves you with 78 hours of opportunity. Opportunity to focus on your wellbeing, focus on your family, focus on your business. That’s a lot of time. So really, truly think about your time. If you have 78 hours to use for whatever you want, are you using that time wisely? Or are you wasting it?

2. Use your alarm clock in different ways.

Expand the uses of your alarm clock. Get an actual alarm clock. Not your phone. Set your alarm for when it’s time to get ready for bed. And start your bedtime routine. And then set your alarm for when you wake up. I recommend you not use your phone. Because you will either snooze it immediately, or you grab it and start scrolling. So if you have an actual alarm clock, you’re more likely to get up and get the day started.

3. Set aside time. Set aside Khaleesi time.

I had a coach call it tiger time, you may call it something else. But what it is, is a time specifically for you. Whether that be 5 minutes once a week to take a bath, or once a day. Whatever you want it to be. And everyone in the house knows that is your time. That’s not the same as when you go to the nail salon once a week, and you sit on the phone or answering texts. It’s just you. Read something, close your eyes and relax. And you have to be fierce about that time, even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes, or an hour a week.

4. Break up your time to do things into smaller bites.

This is a really big mindset shift, because you may think you need 2 hours to work out, or you just won’t go. Or you could adjust your mindset to tell yourself if you don’t have that much time, to have a backup plan. And break it up into smaller steps. Make it 30 minutes twice a week, or 20 minutes 3 times a week. Journaling can be for 5 minutes a week. Break it up into smaller bites, because we put these self-inflicted times on ourselves, not anyone else.

5. Don’t do anything drudgingly.

I just learned this one recently. I heard this word recently in a talk, and it stuck with me. So what I mean to say by don’t do anything drudgingly: if it’s not at least an 8 on a range of 1-10, you probably should not do that activity. 10 being “hell yes I’m pumped for this” 1 “hell no, absolutely not”. If it’s not an 8 or above, take it off the to-do list.  So if you say you’re going to do a juice cleanse and drink green smoothies every day, but the thought disgusts you, you’re probably not going to do it. And then you don’t achieve your goal, and then you let yourself down. So find something that you like better, so you are more likely to do them.

Download a FREE Tiny Steps Checklist – A Wellness Kickstarter that will help you, get out of your rut and start living a life you don’t need a vacation from.

To recap all five mindset shifts:

• Think realistically
• Use an alarm clock
• Set aside Khaleesi time
• Break it into smaller bits
• Don’t do anything grudgingly

Now no more excuses! You know how to make the time. Let me know what you think of these shifts in the comments below.