Time for Yourself: The Why’s, What’s & How’s to Make it Happen NOW
In our leadership coaching programs, we often run into questions about the value of taking time for oneself. Even though many executives collectively agree on the value of this practice, the execution of it is a whole different matter. It seems like a luxury in our busy days! This month we’ve set out to demystify this concept and share concrete tips on how to make it happen. How to start: we encourage you to take the next few minutes to read this basic guide and look for ways to apply the information today.
What Do We Mean by “Time for Yourself”?
Time for yourself, or self-care isn’t as much of a foreign concept today as it was pre-covid. In fact, it’s quickly become one of the largest topics in clinical mental health circles. Regardless of the specific label, this concept goes far beyond bubble baths or golf outings. Time for yourself is the practice of taking a purposeful pause from business and personal obligations to recharge and reconnect.
Why it Matters
Simply stated: We’re not designed to run 24/7.
Truly great leaders know that they don’t operate at their best when the efforts come from a place of depletion. Taking time away from your routine can spark creativity. It can give you a new perspective. Just this week, a client shared that he knew he was “running on empty” and that he couldn’t lead from “a place of being depleted”. Yes! The solution he adopted: taking an afternoon off. Now - an entire afternoon might not be realistic as you look at your calendar this week, but certainly you could find 10 or 15 minutes each day, right?
Not only is it important for you, but as a leader, you’re responsible for setting a standard of health and excellence for your team. If you truly want your team to thrive, you have to role model taking time off. You are the one who sets the standard for prioritizing non-work time as needed. If your team sees you making time for yourself, it gives them the latitude to do the same.
Prioritizing While Under Pressure
A recent Forbes article recommended that part of making quality time for yourself a priority includes eliminating the “shoulds.” (Or, as a former yoga instructor advised, “don’t should all over yourself”.) Thriving executives have learned how to flip the internal conversation: instead of feeling shame or guilt over unnecessary, apparent obligations, make reasonable substitutions. Learning to say no graciously is a related tactic, and you can read more about what Kathleen and other Forbes Coaches Council members say about that here.
Start small. As noted above, even 15 or 30 minutes of you-time a day can make a huge difference. Here are a few other tips to prioritize making time for yourself:
Reward impact and results rather than hours worked - for yourself and your team
Sit in silence - get a change of frame - a colleague of ours often reminds us that “miracles happen in the white space”
Tackle the “big rocks” first - and help your team prioritize
Read a book - and if you need inspiration, check out some of our favorite business reads
Take a walk: nature rejuvenates!
Journal: putting your thoughts down on paper can - literally - get them out of your head and clear space for innovation and creativity
Remember: You’re Not in This Alone
Finally, as you move towards reshaping your perspective to prioritize time for yourself, we want to encourage you to consider the community of support you have access to. This is more than just leveraging or managing your network. We’re talking about something bigger. This is about taking time to grow together. Harvard Business Review shared the importance of community in a recent article:
“Creating a community means getting participants to think and act collectively, to set aside (or find ways to align) their own interests in favor of a common purpose, and to accept a degree of accountability.”
At Nova Leadership, we wholeheartedly agree. In fact, we are diving deep into this very concept right now as we’re currently leading a leadership destination retreat in Florence Italy. Talk about investing in yourself!! In each of our destination retreats, we bring women together to explore what’s next. Through guided exploration, powerful questions and leveraging our Insights and Inquiry framework, we help women get clear on what matters most.
If this sounds like something you’ve been missing in your life, we’ll be back in Italy next fall and we’d love to have you join us. Make the commitment to yourself for some deeply purposeful YOU TIME – join our 2023 retreat waitlist today.
Leadership Coaching Programs
When you’re the leader, who’s there to help YOU balance the personal and professional complexity that is life? That’s where Nova comes in. Our goal? To help our clients live their lives and lead with intention. Our executive coaching programs and leadership destination retreats can help you find the way for values, purpose and integrity to coexist with the business world.Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.