When you’re busy, with a mile-long to-do list, and you’re giving to everyone but yourself -- your job, your kids, your home -- it’s hard to make time for yourself. So, how do you find more time in the day to schedule what really matters to you? That’s what I’m answering on today’s Lovecast episode.
Chunking - Breaking off blocks of time into 15-minute increments and finding opportunities to prioritize yourself and prioritize what is most important to you. This is simply being intentional with your time.
- Use a weekly calendar that actually has a time attached to it in 15-minute increments. I want you to start thinking of your life in 15-minutes chunks of time. Everything you do is going to take a minimum of 15-minutes. If you have an activity that actually takes only three or four minutes, bonus, you've just won yourself a little bit of break time. However think of your life as set into 15 minute chunks time.
- Depending on what you have going on during the day, you will have 15-, 20-, 30-minute increments that you don't have anything scheduled. These are your golden opportunities to be very intentional with your time and add in your absolute biggest priorities.
Stacking - Adding in multiple activities into that one block of time - one chunk. This technique is used specifically with the Self Love Tools which are the foundation for mental wellness. Examples include:
- Within a 15-minute chunk of time, spend 5 minutes writing your goals, affirmation, and expressions of gratitude in my Vision Journal. In the additional 10-minutes of time, meditate on your vision and affirmations. You''ve been intentional within the 15-minute chunk of time.
- Within a 30-minute chunk of time, take a walk in nature while popping in your earbuds and listen to motivational media (self=help book, TED Talk, or your favorite podcast). Or, spend 15-minutes with motivational media and 15 minutes talking to a friend. In a 30-minute chunk of time, you will have completed three Self Love Tools.
Other Considerations:
- When you're chunking and stacking you're only doing what is most important to you. Your self-care and the self-love tools is also very important because these are the eight foundational principles of mental health. There are many other self-care things that you can do like wrap yourself in a blanket and watch a Netflix movie. That's not part of the self-love foundation but it is self care. You would want to schedule that time in.
- Schedule in spontaneous time.
- Schedule in your "down" time.
