Using a Coach Approach in Your Life to Create More Free Time aka ME Time!
Earlier I spoke about the importance of free time. Call it what you will: down time, free time, personal time, non-work time…whatever you like.
First let’s distinguish between free time and ME time. Free time is that time you carve out for things that you are not getting to, such as strategic planning, writing, projects, and, yes let’s say it, coaching.
Think of ME time as the proverbial icing on the cake. The time you make or take for NON-work things like family, friends and YOU! Time for you to rest, recharge, relax. Do you remember when you were away from work possibly on a vacation and after a while you forgot about work? That’s ME time to the extreme. But you can have mini ME-time vacations any time you want.
Time to do something for yourself. Self-care if you will. What would you do with an hour of free time? For me it’s easy: Take a nap! My brain needs a recharge and the best way to “rest” my brain is to set a timer for 30-40 minutes, put on my noise canceling headphones with no music, and crash somewhere. I remember when I was a teenager living on a farm. I would open the screen to the front door (rarely used but open in the summer for a breeze), drop to the floor with feet handing outside because I didn’t have time to remove my work boots, and just nap. Out like a light. A short while later, I would rise and head back to the work of the farm.
Fast forward to now. As a coach, it’s good practice to engage in self-care. I’m not my best self if I’m tired or overworked or overwhelmed. I continue the nap idea, as I know it works for me. Afterwards I’m fresh as a daisy. This is my version. What is yours? How would you work with a client whom seems to need self-care? How would you identify it? How would you present it? Would you be in integrity if you did not exercise self-care yourself?
I know that these are not necessarily the exact questions you might ask a client, but I’m hoping you see the intention. Maybe you see the client in overwhelm and ask, “What are you doing to relieve the overwhelm?” I recently asked one of my clients who regularly is in overwhelm this. We talked about it in the context of work/life harmony. He is definitely heavy on the work side and knows it.
I ask you to start at the bottom of the pyramid. You. The source of your life. What is self-care for you and what is the coach approach you would use with yourself and others? Do me a huge favor: Block an hour of your time in the next 10 days. Think about what you would do in that hour. Put that in the event on your calendar. Then guard it as if it were the most important client on the planet, and it is, it’s you! Leave a comment to let me know how it goes.
Garry Schleifer, PCC
Garry Schleifer, PCC, is a seasoned businessman bringing over 30 years of experience to his coaching. His “walk the talk” credentials draw from experience as the visionary behind several multimillion-dollar corporations. He is the owner and publisher of choice, the magazine of professional coaching (an ICF Media Partner); a past president of the ICF Toronto Chapter and a former ICF Global Board vice president. Garry has also served on several community-based boards. He lives with his husband Patrick in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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