Do you often feel guilty for taking time off?  When you are doing nothing, do you feel like you should be doing something?  Do you feel that you should be tackling that "to do" list?

There seems to be a common thread with my clients lately...funny thing is that I've been recognizing this problem in my own life.  If I don't schedule downtime, then even when I have downtime, I don't feel like I can relax.  My brain keeps running and running about all the things I need to do and I end up feeling guilty for trying to relax.

The Growing To Do List

Let's face it.  We all have never-ending to do lists.  If we are honest with ourselves, we will never be able to complete all of the possible things we could do in this lifetime.  No matter how hard we work and how much we fill our schedules, the list will keep growing and growing and growing and....

We NEED to put time in our schedules to give ourselves permission to be free of the "to do" list.  Permission to let go, to be free of thinking about our responsibilities. 

So today, start feeling liberated!  Because I'm here to tell you that you must have free time, and it must include permission to let go of everything else you "should" be doing!  Do you understand?

How do you do this? 

It is helpful if you schedule in the parameters of your free time.  You need to know when your free time starts and when it will end. This will help you to feel "safe," because when you schedule in free time, you are also scheduling in time to be productive.  So when the taskmaster starts knocking at your thoughts... you can say "Yes. I know I need to do (include task here), and I have scheduled time to think about that at 5:00, after this appointment I have with myself."

Being stressed is not healthy.  Not giving your self a breather is probably just as bad as not eating well.  So if you aren't eating well either, then you really need to do this! :-)  And remember I am not talking about just plain down time, I am talking about really being free during that time!

Be Brave!

Depending on how courageous you are, start with scheduling 1 hour each day, or 1 day each week...  if that's too much for you try 10 minutes a day or 1 day each month.  The important thing is that you make this appointment with yourself a priority. 

And the one rule is that you must not feel guilty for taking it.

Wait!  Where are you going?  Open up your appointment book now! Pencil yourself in.