A Conscious Life Requires Reflection Time

Photo by Laurenz Kleinheider on Unsplash

A client mentioned this, and I’m guessing some of you can relate:

On a daily basis, I go from task to task, event to event, responding to the world’s demands, reacting to urgencies, emails, and deadlines. I don’t have any “thinking time”… to reflect, to reconnect to my deeper purpose & motivation.

If that describes you, then this post is for you…

Schedule Self-Care First

When I schedule my calendar, self-care comes first.

• Every 1.5–2 hours of my working day, I take a 60–90 minute break, which includes a snack if I’m hungry, a dog walk if needed, and a 15–25 minute nap. These breaks allow me to mentally process how I’ve spent my day thus far, and briefly consider the next thing I’m doing. I never work for more than a 2-hour chunk of time.
• Frequent stretch breaks while I’m working, at least every half hour. Moving the body moves the brain. It gives me a chance to do my energy reboot and return to the task more refreshed, often with a clearer perspective.
• 4 times a year I travel to see family (taking a few days off). I schedule no work meetings nor required tasks during those trips. This allows some idle-mind time. Even the traveling itself (commute to airport, the plane ride) is uniquely beneficial for…