This Is Your Time
Spoiler Alert. There are only 24 hours in a day. And, I can’t change that. None of us can.
I want you to think about all the things that occupy your time. All the things that want to take top priority. Right now, if you were to plan out your day, I am betting you could find something to fill every time slot.
Actually, go ahead and do that exercise. Write all of your hours in a day and plug in what is happening.
Then go through the list and notice… do any of the activities address mental health? Do any of the activities help you to take care of yourself emotionally? Do any of the activities help you with your physical health?
My husband Mark and I recently did this exercise. And, while we both had things filling up our days, our days looked very different. Mark had more of the traditional “doctor work” responsibilities that day, while I had more of the child care and daily life work responsibilities. Mark had no self-care in his schedule. I had exercise, cooking a healthy meal, and meeting with my coach as 3 activities that I got to look forward to.
Now, every day is not like this.There are some days when the roles are reversed and Mark has more self-care, and I have less. What I will say is that Mark and I are highly intuitive, empathetic people… so we feed off of each other. Meaning, Mark’s lack of self-care affects me, and my lack of self-care affects Mark. In coaching we say that we can’t make anyone feel a certain way, but we can’t overlook that highly intuitive people take on the emotions of others.
How can we help each other? How can we model self-care for our kids? We have to start honoring our own time.
We have to realize that time may be the most precious gift we have. We get to decide how we use it. My cell phone isn’t worthy of my free time, for example. Saying yes to every coffee date will not help with my self-care. Taking on more work - will not help.
We may disappoint others, but we can’t afford to disappoint ourselves anymore.
Take a few minutes this week and take inventory on how your time is being used. Is that good enough for you? Are you snobby with your time? It is yours. You get to decide.
Talk to you soon!
Xo Ali
About Ali Novitsky, MD
Dr. Novitsky, a Physician Coach, specializes in optimal health and sustainable weight loss. She is certified by the Life Coach School, Obesity Board Certified, and is a physician speaker and fitness enthusiast. Ali helps women physicians achieve their optimal health with brain-based science and intuitive principles that work.
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