Listen To Your Body

I've just returned from my weekly Tai Chi session. We've been practising outdoors for the last couple of weeks which is a different and more inspiring session, with the sounds and sights of nature all around us.

One of the things said tonight is that we spend too much time 'in our heads'. We do have a general tendency to think too much and we're constantly bombarded by audio and visual stimuli from a variety of different directions. A constant stream of conscious thought, babbling self-talk, sorting out the activities of the day, wondering whether you left the iron on, did you lock the door, turning over problems and all the other thoughts that go on.

Sometimes it's good to focus on what the rest of our body is telling us - not just what's going on in our head. I practice both yoga and Tai Chi on a fairly regular basis and have done for many years. It's a great way to switch off. To spend time getting back into our bodies. Feeling the tension in muscles, the imbalance between one side of the body and the other, aches and pains, the little niggles. Taking time to focus on breathing ... properly. Relaxing and really letting go - harder than it sounds when you spend most of the day in a state of tension.

It's good to get a balance between physical and mental exercise. Yoga, Tai Chi and meditation enable you to exercise both the body and mind. Find some time for quiet contemplation in your day. Listen to your body.

Six Months To Go ...

For some reason today - I've had three calls from journalists writing articles on the topic, not surprisingly of time management.

Now as someone pointed out, it may because we're halfway through the year, summer holidays are coming up. People may be more aware of the passing of time, as they try to fit everything in to the time remaining before they go away or they realise there's less than six months until the end of the year.

So what are my top tips for getting the most out of the remaining year?

• Write down what you want to achieve in the next six months. How much, how many and when?

• Spend time planning each and every day and make sure what you're doing fits your plan.

• Set aside time in your life for the important things - not just work.

• Schedule in blocks of time for the things you need to do - not just meetings and appointments but tasks too.

• Learn to say no by setting boundaries around your time and stick to these.

• Be aware of your distractions and interruptions and try to reduce them.

• Do more with less - you can't do everything, so be selective - focus on what matters.
  

What do you plan to achieve in the next six months?

What Distracts You?

Distractions and interruptions can take up a large part of our day and come from many different directions.

• Email interrupts us constantly from the moment we open our computers to the moment we shut them down.

• Phones can interrupt us throughout the day and they're hard to ignore when they do.

• People interrupt us who have their own agendas, deadlines and priorities and don't think about the affect of their interruption.

• The internet can be a great source of distraction. It's too easy to go off at a tangent with so much information available at the click of a mouse.

• Meetings distract us from our work, especially when they're not run efficiently.

• Distractions around you cause you to lose focus - sounds, sights, boredom, stress, too much on your plate.
  

Even though an interruption may only last a few seconds or minutes it still takes a few minutes to get back to the task in hand. That's if you haven't been dragged off onto something new or end up with even more to do

If you get interrupted several times a day even for just a few minutes each time, you could be losing 1-2 hours each day.

Make a note of all the interruptions you receive in the next week. Where do they come from? Does one person or thing interrupt you more than others?

Take steps to reduce those interruptions and take back control of your time.