Pushed for time – maybe take a step back

‘I don’t have time to exercise, or to do the things which are important to me.  There just are not enough hours in the day!’

Now here is a very familiar statement many of us make from time to time – the demands of life, the need to focus on our work, trying to battle the bulge by sitting behind a desk !

In the modern era, everything comes at us one thing after another.  But how about taking a step back, combining all the things you wish to do to make you as productive as possible, without necessarily being aware of it?

Firstly, a couple of points to note :

1. Much of your day, you have at your discretion (unless your work requires you to clock in, clock out or be tied to a specific place).  Many of my readers are of the flexible, creative type, who have some, if not total control over their working hours.
2. Who said that you have to work 9-5?
3. When we focus, only a small part of the brain is being fully used, when we stop focussing, the rest moves into overdrive – this is why, when we cannot remember someone’s name, or a film etc, an hour later, it comes straight back to us – the sub-consciousness is working on our behalf.
4. Creativity frequently comes when we are maximising oxygen to the brain, and when we can just ‘be’
5. Your time can be what you want it to be (with a few exceptions).

Recently working with clients, they had great frustration that they could not exercise as much or as often as they wanted to. Very keen Nordic walkers, and journalists, they felt that they were unable to fulfil what they really wanted to do.  Time would not allow, circumstances conspired against them.  The hours were just not there in the day.

Using a normal 9-5 working day, they felt unable to give themselves the time to shuffle the day around, to do what was important – after all, if you are a journalist writing about walking, surely, you should be walking?  It is obvious, but nevertheless, it is all too easy to get sucked into sitting behind a desk forcing creativity or being tied to normal hours.

With a little tweak, moving just one hour from later in the day, and giving themselves permission to do what is actually an integral part of them, not only were they able to meet their own aspirations and desires, but also, to allow greater creativity to flow.  Daily exercise led to greater creativity, more opportunities and a greater level of satisfaction in life.    The day now gives them space to do what they need to do, free from the restrictions of the ‘normal day’.

In reality, more often than not, we find that our hours are not at restrictive as we really believe.  Another client works very well from 5pm through to 2am  – that’s fine, whatever works – creativity cannot be forced.  A friend who is a composer recently wrote a fanfare for the Queen’s 90th Birthday whilst out cycling.  The absence of constriction allowed him to open his mind, use the whole of the brain – well fuelled with oxygen and spaciousness.

Be it yoga, meditation, running, Nordic walking or cycling, the focus on something else allows the creative brain to flourish – enabling us to move forward in ways unimaginable if sat behind a desk forcing the issue.

Don’t be afraid to be flexible

So..

1. Don’t be afraid to be flexible
2. Get oxygen
3. Focus on all that is around you
4. Don’t force the brain
5. Let the creativity flow

and flourish.

Frequently, it is frustrations such as these which lead to, or have led from financial challenges for our clients at Serenity Financial Planning.  By helping them find greater freedom around their lives and finances, we encourage you to flourish into the person you truly desire.  Our work is far more than just crunching numbers – it is about fulfilling potential.

Together we can bring some Serenity to your life