Imagine having more breathing space. It could mean less chaos, less clutter and most of all, less stress.
Breathing space means less noise and busyness along with open space around you at work and home.
This allows your mind to focus on one thing at a time. Focusing on one thing clearly creates a productive environment with less stress.
Simple ideas to create more breathing space:
· Unplug for at least 30-minutes a day! Then you can try extending it for longer and longer periods of time. See what breathing space shows up! No cheating! Turn off your computer, blackberry, cell phone, everything.Experiment with how long you can go and what you receive in return.
I read a newspaper article where one young man would not go to a summer camp because he would have to unplug for 2 weeks. He could not even imagine it. My question is: “How does he learn to swim, canoe, or ride a bike?” Do the children of today understand what they are giving up by not unplugging for a short while?
· Ask for help. Are you being a “Superwoman” or “Superman”? Do you think if you don’t do it, it won’t get done? Or you might think, it won’t get done the way you do it and you know the best way! How much breathing space could you enjoy if you asked others for help? Big step here. Are you up for the challenge?
· Make yourself a priority. This is often the hardest one for my clients. I notice very often that when people have a huge amount to get done in one day they put their own needs aside. Are you someone who does this? If you took 30-minutes at each end of the day for yourself, that would be a full hour each day of breathing space. It’s as simple as that. Give it a try! When we fill our own cup to over flowing first… only then do we have enough to give to others. I know you want to give.
· De-clutter your office or home. To de-clutter is very powerful. Have you ever noticed when your work space is clear so is your mind? The Chinese proverb: “A cluttered space equals a cluttered mind.” If you had plenty of breathing space what could your mind accomplish? One quick tip is to remove everything from your desk. Polish it and put back only what you need to work on today and file or toss the rest! Don’t you feel lighter?
My wish for all of you is to enjoy more breathing space which will actually make you more productive. Give it a try!
By Judith Geiger
