Put Yourself First

Are you too busy to put yourself first? If a plane loses oxygen pressure for any reason, oxygen masks will drop down from a small overhead compartment. If the oxygen masks come down in a plane and you have children, you are always advised to put yours on first before helping your children.

Why? Because you are in a better position to help your children put their masks on if you are not struggling for air.

I have noticed that when I am calm and relaxed it is much easier to deal with anything that life throws at me, and to become calm I have often needed to put myself first, often by saying no.

When I am tired or stressed, I am rarely very effective. Time out is vital as it allows us to recharge our batteries. It is similar to running a car without regular service and maintenance - it will inevitably break down one day, usually at the most inconvenient time. If you are tired or stressed, you won't have the patience or the energy to be able to give much to anyone else.

Taking care of ourselves and putting our priorities first may feel selfish to you. But if you are running on empty, what will you have left to give others? If you are burned out, stressed and overloaded, what will be left of you to share? You cannot give away what you don't have. When we put ourselves first and do what we need to do to stay healthy and vibrant, we have more to give to other people and tasks.

Make a list of activities you can do daily that will give your mind and body a break and help to renew your energy. If you need inspiration, magazines and newspapers have ideas almost every week. You may have previously ignored them as you thought you didn't have time, or you were so busy looking after everyone else.

Take a break

If you are doing something that is really frustrating you need to take a break - step away from the situation. The more stressed you are, the less likely you are to be effective in solving a problem. In the past I have often been stuck on something, thinking that I will solve the problem while I am sitting at my desk. I rarely do.

How long is it since you took a break at work? The value of stepping away from work is that you come back more refreshed and see things in a different way. And with a calmer mind you will find it easier to focus, not on 101 things you haven't done, but on one thing, which you can handle. When you return, refocus by asking the question, What do I need to get done in the next hour?

Get walking

I read so many articles telling me how good exercise is for my health - I know that and so do you, I am sure. Exercise is wonderfully distracting; it's actually very difficult to think about your problems while exercising! Just 15 minutes is enough to unfreeze your brain so you gain a different perspective.

Carolyn Matheson is a nationally recognized Coach, Speaker and Author of "Yes to Less Stress."

Carolyn is a Master Certified Coach, and works with executives and their teams across the world. She has pioneered an innovative approach to coaching, combining many years of high performance coaching with a holistic approach to work/life balance and has coached hundreds of leaders and their teams. Her experience as a presenter, both nationally and internationally, spans 20 years, with clients currently in Europe, Australia, the Middle and Far East, and the USA.

Her book, Yes to Less Stress is available online from http://www.areustressed.com

---

Time Management: A Fresh View

Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality... Read More

Are You Always Late?

"Fashionably late" is no longer in fashion. In today's heavily... Read More

TIME, The Undervalued Resource

We are all born equal! We all have the same... Read More

Time Invested Wisely = Your Dreams

This past Friday I was asked to speak with a... Read More

Making Headway on a Slow Day: 9 Ways to Turn Down-Time into Productivity Time

If you work from home, you know the kind of... Read More

How To Better Handle Your Mail

Letters, magazines, bills, flyers, what to do with them all.... Read More

Setting Time Aside For Studying And Homework

When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More

The Rule of Three

It's amazing how many sayings there are in our culture... Read More

Keeping Time

What keeping time really means is...being on time!You know, there... Read More

Expand Your Time

In our time-crazed society, lots of time is what most... Read More

10 Ways to Take Back Your Time

I've divided my tips into two sections - 5 ways... Read More

Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy... Read More

Too Many Unfinished Projects?

Q. I have several projects going at once -- but... Read More

Where Do Your Priorities Fit?

An expert in time management was speaking to a group... Read More

Self Care

What does it mean to practice self care? It's creating... Read More

File It: Boost Your Productivity in Only 15 Minutes Per Week

Despite the best of intentions, most of us don't use... Read More

The WIT to WIN

What are the most important things you should accomplish today?... Read More

Time Management Lessons from a 3 Year Old

Zak is my three-year old godson. He is the apple... Read More

Effective Use of Your Online Time

The Internet is increasingly becoming a major time killer for... Read More

Make Procrastination Wait

Reflect on the rewards of kicking the procrastination habit. They... Read More

Reading -- 10 Ways to Find The Time

Why Read?It's been said that there are three kinds of... Read More

Time and Life, Bit by Bit

Looking out through my picture window during a recent winter... Read More

How Do You Start Your Day

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow... Read More

The Key to High Productivity is Energy Management

One of the issues most often raised by my clients... Read More

How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

"I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

Time Management - How To Get More Done In A Day?

Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that... Read More

Boost Your Productivity with Sixty Minutes A Day

How you spend the first sixty minutes of your day... Read More

Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More

5 Days to A Simpler Life!

Of all the Attraction Principles, the most popular class I... Read More

Shifting Priorities Are The Norm

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed... Read More

6 Time Management Tips for Moms

Many of you have expressed the challenge of not having... Read More

Avoid 7 Time and Life-Robbing Mistakes and See Your Productivity Soar

41 practical and quick ways to get on top of... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More