Laura Williams, of L J Business Consultancy, on why scheduling time for your wellbeing is as important as all the other tasks in your diary
I recently hosted a free SBL wellbeing support session. Over 40 SBLs attended and it’s fair to say that we had some fun! We shared tips, stories, and wellbeing goals for the future.
When we talk about wellbeing we hear phrases such as ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’ and ‘Put on your own oxygen mask first’; in the session we talked about how, though we have good intentions to do this, we somehow still end up putting ourselves last.
Throughout the session we talked about how important it is to prioritise our own wellbeing and how we can tackle the things we feel are stopping us from doing that, sp here is a strategy to help you put yourself first…
Our calendars are full of ‘commitments’; meetings we plan to attend, deadlines we intend to meet and events we expect to take place – but our calendars also have ‘blank space’ where nothing is scheduled to happen, and nobody is expecting anything from us. It’s this ‘blank space’ that is prone to being hoovered up by other people, distractions, non-urgent issues and…if you’re like me, worrying and procrastinating!
But what if we started adding some commitments to ourselves in our calendars?
- A 30-minute lunch.
- A 10-minute brew.
- A 45-minute exercise class.
- A 60-minute reading session.
- A very long bath.
You get the idea!
We don’t have to schedule every minute of every day, but a calendared slot can serve as a reminder, a trigger to do something, a way to hold ourselves accountable, a way to protect our time; otherwise, we leave it to our subconscious to decide what we should do…which will likely be what someone else wants us to do!
So, this week, look at your diary and schedule some wellbeing commitments to yourself. Even if you start with just one thing! Prioritise yourself because – ‘Priorities create prosperity. It’s how we turn time into wealth; emotional physical and financial’ – Marie Forleo
