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

---

Making the Best Use of Your Time

Time - it is the one thing that we are... Read More

Fitting An Education Into A Busy Lifestyle

Fitting an education into a busy lifestyleMany people have aspirations... Read More

Living Life In A Time Starved World

Recently I saw an advertisement for a time management booklet:... Read More

Time Management

Isn't it amazing that some people can produce huge results... Read More

Biggest Time Management Mistake

The biggest time management mistake you can ever make is... Read More

How Are You Viewing Your Time?

In working with and coaching people across the country, one... Read More

Priorities: Dont Dry Your Dishes

Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More

First Things Last

Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More

Scheduling Productive Days - Dont Interrupt, Im Pouring Concrete

Almost everyone in business knows the balancing act between the... Read More

The Rule of Three

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

Will Your Epilogue Be ? I Got All My Emails Done?

Work life balance is the new Holy Grail; that search... Read More

Time Is Everything

Time is wealth;Time is health; Time is power; Time is... Read More

Winning The Fight Between You And The Clock

"Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the... Read More

Managing Worry: Productivity Tips for High Achievers Who Worry

Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and... Read More

Time Management Training - A Necessary Investment or A Waste Of Money?

Many organisations view time management training as something they'll spend... Read More

Perfekt!

Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More

Talkin About Chicken

Yesterday, I'd just gotten comfortable at my favorite table in... Read More

Plan Your Day and Stick to Your Plan

How many times have you remarked to someone that there... Read More

What To Do When Youre Short On Time And Long On Need!

Everyday life can present us with opportunities to make us... Read More

Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

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

Time Management for Sales Pros

According to a Miller Heiman 2003 Sales Effectiveness Study, over... Read More

Sharpen The Saw

Sometime ago, my lovely wife woke me up in the... Read More

Time Management is Cause Control

Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you... Read More

9 Proven Principles for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind

Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase... Read More

Procrastination - Understanding & Overcoming it

Whenever I've worked on 'de-cluttering' my living or working space,... Read More

Is the Goal to Reach the Goal?

In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task... Read More

The Ultimate Virtual Reality

I used to think video game addictions were a joke... Read More

Time Management - Honor Your Time and Energy

Your time and energy are the two most precious gifts... Read More

Time Mastery vs. Time Management - Knowing the Difference

How much time do you spend on Mastering Your Time?... Read More

Time Management: Eliminate Time Killers to Gain More Hours Every Day

There are two types of time killers in everyone's life.... 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

Have You Got a Minute?

Such an innocuous little phrase, yet when you are hard... Read More