No Extra Time

"I don't have the time"; "I've got enough on my plate as it is"; "I'm always busy" ... Sound familiar?? Same here, because that used to be me! Always tired, a very full schedule, and always "busy" doing something - I had No Extra Time! Then I came across the NET concept (no extra time). It's been such a great tool for me in learning how to balance everything in my life, so I wanted to share it with you too! The concept of No Extra Time is all about changing habits, and adding things into your day, without compromising your already full schedule. Because let's face it, most of us have no extra time! The joys of adulting is that we leave home, start full time work, and take on all the responsibilities of life within a very short time frame! We lose most structured routine and habits that we grew up with, when there's all of a sudden no parent there enforcing it; we are suddenly working 8-10 (Or more!) hours per day, in a job that is often not our dream job; and we have bills to pay, a house to clean, and ourselves to feed! Is it any wonder a lot of us flounder and struggle to find our feet, and when we do, it's at the expense of the activities that made us most happy as a kid, because we "don't have time"!? And then, if our job doesn't make us happy, and let's be honest, all we're doing is working and surviving, is it any wonder mental health declines as well!? This was exactly where I found myself a little over 18months ago; all of a sudden my job wasn't fulfilling me any more, I didn't feel valued - I actually felt trapped, and so lost! I knew that something had to give, but I also had very little spare time to actually do anything about it... but that's where No Extra Time comes in! The concept of No Extra Time means that you can upgrade your current activities and habits, and stack things in order to accomplish more, without spending any extra precious time! (This is not multitasking!! Check out my next blog for more on that!) When it comes to personal growth, there is so many upgrades we can do in what we're allowing into our lives each day! So for example, my days mostly looked like; wake up, scroll social media while I got ready for work - go to work all day, listen to a fiction audio book at work if the tasks allowed - come home from work and scroll social media while I do my afternoon jobs - cook dinner with an episode of a tv show, or my audio book playing, go to bed, rinse repeat... Not very healthy right!? I was already stacking things, just maybe not the most productive things! Now, when I wake up, I don't touch my phone for the first hour; I journal and read instead! When I'm at work now, I mostly listen to inspiring podcasts (but I still do love a good novel - it's about balance!). When I come home from work, I use my stolen moments to catch up on my online business, or stay off social media altogether! And when I'm cooking dinner I pop on some kind of training or motivational talk, instead of brain numbing content (but again, it's about balance! Sometimes you just need to tune out to a funny episode for a while). And I try to go to bed early enough to read some more before I go to sleep! I haven't needed to add any more time to my day in order to be more productive, I've just needed to switch up my habits and make better ones! It's amazing how you feel like you have more time in the day when you're intentional with your time. It's way too easy to loose a couple hours in the scroll hole; in fact the average person spends at least 2 hours on social media every day! (I do too, but I converted my mindless scrolling to activities that actually get me paid in my online business!) Maybe you can already see how you could change some things up in your life!? If you go for a walk in the mornings, listen to a podcast, or just switch off and enjoy nature! If you watch a tv show at night, instead of sitting on the couch, maybe do some yoga or stretching before bed while it's playing! If you like to listen to something while you cook, clean, or work, make it something that nourishes your mindset rather than poisons it! When you're driving, instead of listening to the radio, and allowing all that drama into your head, choose something inspiring instead! There are so many ways we can develop and grow as humans, little by little every day. Simply making healthier, more conscious choices in the content we consume, and where we spend our time, can really reduce that overwhelm and that "busy" feeling. I hope that this has inspired you to create a new habit, and to choose something for yourself that will help you forward on your journey! Please reach out if you want to chat more about NET time, or check out episode 14 of the Empowered Women's Project podcast for more ideas on how you can achieve more in your day!