Taking time for me!

Finding time for myself has never come easy to me, in the past when I was ever asked “what I do to relax” my response was always “exercise”, the usual response was “that’s not relaxing!”.  It was for me when I was employed.  Now that I am a business owner relaxing is even harder, there is always something to do; in delivery be this teaching Pilates, analysis food diaries, client nutrition consultations, pre paring and sending consultation notes, meal planning, then marketing my business, networking is my main source to create curiosity for the nutrition work I do with individuals and the in-the-workplace talks I do, marketing via networking, specifically being a BNI member is wonderful with a funnel of referrals and wonderful people to help move forward in whatever way they are stuck; menopausal symptoms, post heart attack, wanting to reverse Type 2 diabetes and identifying food intolerances, nurturing networking takes time and 1:1 meetings, accounts and administration task…”I have no time”.

…and continued professional development, working with my clients’ bodies, Pilates, or nutrition there is always professional development to keep on top of, the nutrition world doesn’t stop still.  Recently two clients not presently able to do mat Pilates required me to create a chair assisted and seated Pilates exercise plan.  Being a wife and mum to Lady Penelope the pug, and Poppy and Bo the cats…who seem to constantly require feeding and fussing…so where does the time for me come into this?  A wonderful mentor of mine Anna Goodwin of Heart Centred Business held her hands to her head last November when I talked her through my week, I realised the next day this was my life and not taking time to relax it’s cool.  I learnt that having a day off a week is vital and I have Sunday off.  Walking Lady Penelope, or should I say watching her sniff and run is one of the ways I switch off, but still not sitting and relaxing!

In comes my friend Liz Champion.  She attended an online networking meeting where I mentioned my online Pilates classes, Liz soon became a client.  I was gifted her first book Cake Anyone by another friend and added it to my bookshelf “I’m too busy to read!”.  Mum and I went to a spa for my 50th birthday in June, “I need to take a book! people in spa’s always have a book, I’ll take Cake Anyone it’s short real-life stories and mum and I can pass the book between us, it’ll be so much fun”! And it was mum, and I laughed at the stories and mum dreamt of cake!.  I came home and ordered Liz’s second book Midlife without a road map.  I now sit still for 8 minutes with a coffee, feet up and read one story at a time.  I finally can take time for me, starting with 8-minutes this is a huge improvement and as I say to my clients “making small changes can make the massive improvements you dream of”.  https://lizchampion.co.uk/