by Aprille Janes
Making time for ourselves is often one of the biggest hurdles we face. Notice that I don’t say ‘Finding Time.” That implies it’s lost and it’s not. It’s there, right in your hand, ready to be used. The problem is your Time Thieves pluck it away.

What’s a Time Thief? I’ll bet you’re surrounded by them. Email is one of mine. A big hairy one.

I can’t count how often I’ve sat down to write an article or work on a new product and thought “I’ll just check my email first.” Next thing I know it’s two hours later and my own plans to write or work on my business went up in e-smoke. I finally came to the realisation that I was letting my schedule be dictated by others. Now I only check email twice a day after I’ve done what I committed to do for myself.

So what are some of your Time Thieves? Make a list. Add to it whenever you spot a new one. Where do you let yourself get distracted? What is it about that activity that calls to you, seduces you? Could you let it go, at least for a little while? (After all, the kids still need to get fed.)

The point is to become aware of your Time Thieves so they can’t sneak up on you. When you’re taken by surprise it’s hard to fight back. Even with mindfulness you may still fall victim to a Time Thief so don’t beat yourself up about it. Thieves are like that. Sneaky. Just when you think you’ve got one licked, it finds a new disguise and creeps back in. The trick is to be guarding the gate so they can’t just stroll in and clean you out.

In the end, it all boils down to you. No one else will care as much as you about making time for what’s important to you. Especially if it inconveniences them. So stop waiting for someone to give you the time. Stop trying to find it. Take the time you need.

And in case you think you have to protect great swathes of time and that I’m being totally unrealistic, think about this - if you only took fifteen minutes a day for a project that feeds your soul, at the end of a year you will have accumulated 90 hours of quality time.

One of my clients interrupts her regular day to write for just ten minutes, three times a day. It’s a small change but it’s paying big dividends for her. She can feel her priorities shifting. She wouldn’t skip that time anymore than she’d skip a meal and it didn’t require a huge change on her part -just a little mindfulness.

It’s up to you. If you don’t do anything it will still be a year later. Wouldn’t you rather have something to show for it?

Aprille Janes is a certified life coach, author and a champion of women 45+ who long to claim that bigger life they know is waiting! She believes the best way to reclaim the Bolder Chick inside of each of us is by connecting to our irresistible core. You can download her free Ebook “Passion, Purpose and Values” at http://www.aprillejanes.com . It’s a great place to start your own journey.

Article Source: Time Thieves