Normally, I don't like to tell anyone that they “should” do anything. The word should in my household is a four-letter word. We try not to “should” on one another. 😉

But I've been doing an experiment over the last three years that I think you'll find useful, especially if you never seem to have enough time.

The experiment has been on my relationship with time and my belief that I don’t have enough of it.

For most of my adult life I have busted my ass to get things done. I'd always had the mindset that being successful required working long hours and lots of them, with vacations and days off few and far between.

My first career in hairstyling affirmed this belief. I apprenticed for two years before officially “going on the floor” and taking my own clients. During this time I watched the successful hairstylists take back to back clients, from early in the morning to late in the evenings, with very few breaks.

As an apprentice, my schedule mirrored the stylists that I worked with. And it was this “self discipline” of long hours and short breaks that I carried into my own hairstyling career.

I believed my own self-care needs, such as getting my hair done, taking a Pilates class, or going to the grocery store so I could cook a healthy meal were luxuries that I certainly didn’t have time or money for.

I carried this story about time forward into just about every aspect of my life, even after I stopped doing hair.

I've been an entrepreneur since 2001 and have two children now. Running a business and having two children at home compounded my belief in not having enough time and then multiplied it by ten.

At one time I worked six days a week, still sticking to the early morning and late evening schedules. I didn’t take breaks. I didn't cook. I didn't hang out with friends. I worked and raised my kids.

About three years ago a mentor of mine began to impress upon me the power of a morning practice every day. Of course, my auto- response was, “I don't have time for that.”

She encouraged me to question the belief that I didn't have enough time. And since I was so tired of living a life that felt like a rat race I took her suggestion.

I wasn't enjoying my life and felt like I was completely missing the joy of my young children because I was so wrapped up in this idea that success had to look like a lot of hard work and if it didn't I wasn't doing it right.

I actually became addicted to the feeling of not having enough time. I would reach points where I could feel breathing room and could see glimmers of free time on the horizon, and you know what I would do? I’d make more work for myself. I could tell you ridiculous stories of work that I manifested to keep myself on the hamster-wheel race to nowhere.

So, I decided to take my mentor's advice and question my scarcity mindset around time, starting with my mornings.

I was used to waking up in the morning and, before my feet even hit the floor, my mind would be running with all I had to do that day. My default wake-up response was stuck on the hurry-up-and-rush cycle.

When you have children at home to get ready in the mornings, they don’t respond well to being rushed. The more I would rush them, the slower they would move and the more frustrated I got when I looked at the clock.

Mornings were when my experiment with time began.

I started waking up just five to ten minutes earlier, and instead of going into rush mode, I started going to my Pilates mat where I would sit and breathe for a minimum of three minutes.

I'd focus on my breath, while slowing my inhales and exhales down. And I would watch my thoughts as they came into my mind. It was pretty eye opening to see just how many thoughts actually popped up. Especially thoughts like, “You're wasting time right now!”, or “Why aren't you getting ready?”

I stopped allowing myself to get hung up on these thoughts and began to let them pass through my mind instead of into my mind where they would stay and bring their friends.

After my morning practice, I would move on to getting myself and the kids ready for the day. The difference I felt after my morning practice, compared to just getting up and going full speed, was amazing and the changes I noticed were instantaneous.

The other thing I started to do was catch myself when I’d have thoughts like we need to hurry up, or I don’t have enough time for this. I began to question these time-scarcity thoughts and change them to time-prosperity thoughts like, I have just the right amount of time, or there's a lot we can do in five minutes and be out the door.

Essentially, I began to head off the visceral response I would feel in my body that accompanied the thoughts of not having enough time.

As awareness of my time-scarcity thoughts grew, I was amazed by how frequently they popped up. I had hardwired a time-scarcity mentality into my mind. Very soon I was ready to rewire myself. 🙂

Just as my awareness of the imbalances in my body allowed me to change my body, the awareness of my time-scarcity thoughts allowed me to change my mind and stop aligning with the negative thoughts.

Mornings in my household are so much more peaceful and easy going than they were. I'm by no means saying things are perfect now, but they are a vast improvement over what they once were.

Things aren't better because I have more time than I did before. I still have the same twenty-four hours in each day. What I've discovered with my time experiment is that when I believe I have enough time, I do. And when I don't believe I have enough time, I don't.

My morning practice time has grown into a non-negotiable item in my day. It’s the first thing I do each and every day. Sometimes it’s five minutes and other days it's an hour. But it happens every single day.

My time experiment has spilled into other areas of my life too. I grocery shop and cook now, two things I used to believe I never had time to do.

I'm amazed by how much time I have now that I stopped believing I don’t have enough time! What's really fascinating is that I actually get more done now, and I feel a heck of a lot better while I'm doing it.

How about you? Do you ever find yourself saying that you don’t have enough time; especially when it comes to taking care of yourself?

Are you ready for a time experiment? If so, go for it! You’ve got nothing to lose. I’ll be here cheering you on!

See you in the studio,
Sydney