Quick .. Quick

I have thoroughly enjoyed (and yes, admittedly been challenged on occasion) by the fantastic My 15 Minutes program that I jumped into ~ out of shear desperation at the pile of things I wanted to get done before the end of 2013.  And I did achieve a lot, but not everything .. so I am planning to go over the whole program again in the New Year.

But now the girls have gifted us all with a 12 Days of Christmas program.

And its FREE!

A FREE 12-days of Christmas MINI COURSE designed to deliver some super-quick doses of self-care, love and organisation to boost you through the last few days of the year. This is ALL fun stuff (because you don't have time right now to do anything too complicated). Think of it as a small, daily gift to yourself - right when you most need it. 

AND, DRUM ROLL… Every day, for the next twelve days, they will be announcing one winner of a free place in the My 15 Minutes program, which kicks off again on 6 January. That's over $1000 in prizes to give away over the next twelve days!

SIGN UP HERE for the FREE MINI COURSE

My 15 Program and girls weekend escape

This weekend I was down the coast on a well deserved 'Girls weekend'.

 

Early on Saturday morning us long-term girlfriends escaped family, commitments and routines, armed with latte and muffins in the car, and headed off merrily down the highway to find the ocean!  Once in sight of that blue endless Australian coast we found a winery on the peninsula.  Lunch.  Wine.  Loads of laughter.  Escape.

Next morning my Day 28 email from the 'My 15 Minutes' program arrived.  I had woken with the local bird community and meditated for my usual 20minutes totally enthralled by the deep silence of rural coastal life on an early Sunday morning; and then I read my task for the day.

Day 28 - Where to Next?

"A change is as good as a holiday, but a holiday is also good!

And you can make a great start on planning your next one in 15minutes or less, particularly if you dash through the 'to do' list below without over thinking!"

A thoroughly enjoyable and easy challenge, funnily timed for actually being away on one of those quickly arranged escapes - and with a group of girlfriends that have embraced countless holidays and weekend escapes together. 

We are always discussing future 'when' and 'where' opportunities, and I could easily roll off a list of a dozen different islands, countries and rural hideaways that we have discussed and dreamed about over the years. 

My dream for 2014 is Bali (for a big milestone birthday) and India (or a long planned and longed for journey of the heart and spirit) and our own Australian coast for any/every weekend we can cobble together this coming Summer.

It is with immense gratitude and love that I know my friends would join me - in a second.

LAST OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN MY 15 MINUTES

 

Registrations in the current round of My 15 Minutes will close this Friday 4th October at midnight. 

 

Make big changes in your life in baby steps between now and Christmas - for $97.

 

"Audrey and Emma really understand that feeling of overwhelm and being swamped by the little things, and sometimes the big things, and that ever present feeling that you'll never catch up no matter how hard you try. It doesn't matter what went wrong, or why, but My 15 Minutes will take you on a journey to spend 15 minutes each day, making small changes to help get back on top of your game."

 

"I'm participating in a brilliant personal development program called My 15 Minutes. I am really loving it — it's helping me rise above that suffocating feeling, get stuff done and it's great fun too."

Get it done!

Self-improvement doesn't have to be as sweeping and overwhelming as you might imagine...

The premise of the 'My 15 Minutes' program is that baby steps taken now, and taken consistently, can genuinely transform our lives.

This is a program that I am delighted to fully support.  We ALL have projects that we want to finish/start, and dreams that we want to get happening!  And I am hoping that many of you will have

STARTING MEDITATION

as one of your goals.

Meditation is an ancient life skill that I believe everyone should learn .. and it doesn't require a dash to a mountain ashram, dietary changes or long, boring hours on the cushion.

Starting a regular meditation practice can begin with an investment of just 1/100th of your day OR

15 MINUTES!

And so .. if you have a few things on the MUST DO list then you should join up for the 90day 'My 15 Minutes' program which starts 2 SEPTEMBER

and you can sign up here:

What is this coveted thing .. 'Work Life Balance'

When I left the corporate world .. god, it was such a relief!

 

Now I would have ten additional hours in my day to do the good stuff.  Enjoy the sunshine, catch up on sleep, do some regular exercise and cook amazingly healthy meals ~ and finally get some of that damn work-life balance!

 

As a single mum juggling studies, teaching meditation at night, setting up my own business and (desperately) wanting to spend more time with family ..

this was my chance to attain BALANCE

And I got a little. For a little while.

 

There were some weeks when I ‘lunched’, took an afternoon nap, cleaned out a cupboard or helped out at my child’s school. But pretty quickly my new life .. my new business, my dreams and passion .. took over everything. And I found I had exchanged one ‘busy, overwhelming, juggling life’ for another.

 

I don't believe that work-life balance is a ‘thing’ you can acquire.  BALANCE is an elusive quality that revolves around a constantly changing field of choices and possibilities, and is better found when we understand that the puzzle is one that needs to unfold over the longer term. 

 

This morning my social media feed seemed to be revolving around finding ‘work life balance’ .. a little amusing as I had just finished a text conversation with a friend who was on the train hurtling towards her corporate day job (no doubt wishing she had more time at home), after I had just finished getting a child off to school before diving into an early morning client interview: still in my pj’s not having had time to change (wishing a little that I had an office to go to).  We are all juggling stuff. Finding our way.

 

Ultimately if we seek balance in our life then we need to commit to MAKING IT SO

My meditation practice totally supports my sense of balance.  Even with a busy, over committed and hectic life, I relish that I have an opportunity each day to sit in stillness and draw from that deeper, solid, unwavering peacefulness and calmness that resides within. 

Meditation can be the doorway to finding that elusive work-life balance

Meditation Tip: Just five minutes a day can start your meditation journey.  To meditate all you need is the intention to be still, a place to sit comfortably, to close your eyes and watch your breath. When you breath in, know that you are breathing in .. and when you breath out, know that you are breathing out. Watching your breath as if it is the most exciting and mesmerising event in your world in this moment. Doing this practice for just 5-10minutes each day will give you a little ‘balance’ and open the doorway to your intuition/soul/inner voice where you can hear your deepest needs and desires.

 

Life Balance Tip: Check out the amazing new My 15 Minutes program from Emma (WorkLife Bliss) that will provide you with amazing guidance and support over the next three months so that you can achieve some of your dreams and desires ~ starting with an investment of just 15 minutes a day.

Spaciousness ..

Meditation is an important part of my day (non negotiable) .. because I know how important it is for me to sit and rest in that deep inner stillness.  

But sometimes in real life (the day to day operational stuff) I forget the importance of open space and no commitments.  I push aside the fun stuff in the mistaken belief that I have more important 'work' stuff.  Yet sharing my time with family and fun activities, a concert or yoga class or walk with the dog along the beach, is important life balancing stuff.

 

I realised a few weeks ago that TIME was racing past and my daughter growing up.  That if I didn’t make the effort now to enjoy her company .. well, I may well miss the chance. That thought made me so, so sad.

So. I jumped online and booked us tickets to Slava’s Snowshow. It took only a few minutes tand I got great seats.  I was instantly all happy and excited .. and having decided to keep it a secret for the week, only added to my excitement.  When I finally told my daughter .. we both got to share the excitement.  And.  The whole night was brilliant.  But making the arrangements and enjoying the build up and excitement of what was to come .. was priceless (as the ad says).

Remember how I raved about the "My 15 Minutes" program?  Well last week Emma shared a little challenge .. the kind we will enjoy as part of the program (which starts 2 September).

FRIDAY CHALLENGE:

Go through your diary now and block out NINE hours of personal white space (whichever way you wish to cut it, all at once or in chunks) over the next three weeks.

RULES:

- No excuses allowed (eg. "I can't, I'm fully booked, people depend on me, I'm a mum, I work, I have a sick family member...". Each of those excuses applies in my life too, but if I fall over from exhaustion, everything else will topple like dominoes.)

  - Don't squeeze the white space in later than you would normally go to bed or earlier than you would usually get up unless you already get too much sleep.

- If there's 'no time', postpone or cancel something less important that's currently disguised as 'more important'.

- If there's 'nobody else' - find someone. Be brave and ask for help - people are generally good. Cast your 'helpers' net wider than you have before, even if this means learning to let go of some control and increasing trust.

- Look for nooks and crannies of time (eg. now that Offspring has finished, I've just found three hours in the next three weeks already, so that's going to be 'soak in the bath with candles and a book' time. Another example is taking 10 minutes during the working day to sit outside in the sun, breathing, having a cup of tea and people watching in silence.)

- If this feels uncomfortable, it's even more important to do it.

- Once you've scheduled the time, get back to your busy day safe in the knowledge that there's white space on the horizon.

The ‘My 15 Minutes’ program kicks off 

2nd Sept and is ONLY $97 

'MY 15 MINUTES'

Got a list of goals or tasks that you seriously hope to get done before the end of 2013?

Got 15 minutes?

 

This year I met (online for the moment) the amazing Emma Grey from WorkLifeBliss 

Emma is an amazing writer (yes, I am slightly in awe) and I am always nodding and smiling when reading her Facebook page or weekly newsletter.  Emma started WorkLifeBliss after a particularly challenging period in her life, mothering two young children with a full time career, while completing a Masters degree and writing her first book.

Finding this was not ‘work-life balance’.

Now she offers organisations and individuals a range of practical solutions to the modern challenge of ‘having it all’.

SO I AM SUPER EXCITED to share her exciting new online program:

 

The 'My 15 Minutes' guided program is a 90-day ‘Paint by Numbers’ system that leads you though getting your act together .. with achievable daily actions. All of which can be accomplished in 15 minutes or less, designed to improve your life on a practical and emotional level, step-by-step.  The program will provide you with tools, templates, podcasts, videos and a ‘Get Ready Kit’ to boost your success.

 

I am so excited by this new program that I became an Affiliate.  This is the first time I have felt compelled to share and join in the journey.

 

I have a link to the My 15 Minutes program (left hand column of this site) and you simply must JOIN UP so we can share the journey together .. because I have quite a few unfinished little projects that need some nourishment and encouragement (stay tuned).