Do you have the downtime you want?

Lets talk about downtime.  Do you think you can take all the downtime you want?

I know that can feel impossible.  

You might be thinking, “My schedule is already packed full!  I have so many commitments, I can’t have the downtime I want without declining or canceling something!”

And you would be right.

It IS often necessary to say no to something in order to say yes to the downtime you want.  Would it be worth it to you? 

Make today a day of practice.  Block one small bit of time that you normally wouldn’t choose for yourself.  Even if it’s just 15 minutes. Pick one time to call “downtime” today.

• Step away from your computer don’t read email while you enjoy lunch.
• Step outside for 15 minutes to get fresh air between meetings.
• Saying yes to enjoying your coffee without doing work, or looking at your phone.

This simple little thing can change your life right away. It is more worth it than anything else on your to do list this week.  Does it feel hard? If you are out of practice it will. Kinda like working out.

For a long time, I stopped working out because it was so easy to skip it. I would tell myself “I’ll do it tomorrow” and “it doesn’t matter”, and my favorite excuse was “I don’t want to right now”. What happened? I got a whole lot weaker. I got out of breath going up stairs, and lifting simple things like my laptop bag felt very heavy. Life got harder because I was not as strong.

Doing the easy thing, skipping the workout, made life harder. Taking the step of working out is hard in the moment, but it definitely makes life easier.

My dear, claim your downtime. It’s only hard because you are so used to prioritizing other people’s desires, or the urgent in the moment. It probably feels like you will die if you say no to someone else.Yes, the easy thing is to keep doing what you’ve been doing. But how’s that working for you? Today, do this one tiny little hard thing. Block off downtime. Get stronger by saying yes to yourself and no to the urgent