Oct 21

Oct 21 30 minutes a day: how a small change can make a big difference

advice, business, Career, how to, insights

Hello! A big welcome to you from wherever you're watching in the world.

I'm Bec Sands. I help you pivot to a successful career that transforms your life, your community and the world, either in a job you love or a business you own.

Today I am talking about how a small change of 30 minutes a day can make a big difference to your career or business by boosting your creativity.

Carving out time and space to pursue activities that we’re passionate about is one of the most rewarding things in life, but many of us put the fun stuff last.

The first thing to fall off the to-do list is so often the stuff that boosts our creativity and sense of fun, such as writing, art, reading fiction, doing a sport that we love… The list is endless and individual.

Sadly, when we deny and switch off this part of ourselves we can lose a sense of passion and fulfillment because it can feel like everything we do is a chore or an action item to be ticked off a list. We forget the joy of doing something just for fun, like we did when we were kids, and instead spend all our time doing the stuff we feel we ‘have’ to do as adults.

The benefits of ‘play’ are huge – I find that when I make time to write fiction, which is one of the things I am passionate about, I am WAY more creative and able to solve problems more easily in other areas of my life.

The act of creating something is hard work, but it’s one of the most rewarding things that we can do.

One of the most common reasons why we don’t pursue our passions is that we tell ourselves we don’t have the time.

So often we believe that we have to spend significant amounts of time on something in order to make progress, but this isn't necessarily true. It’s this limiting belief that is often exactly what’s holding us back from getting started.

I’ve felt like this in the past too – where an activity has blown itself out of proportion in my mind and it stops me from getting started or committing to consistently taking action.

Take writing, for example. As mentioned, I love writing creative fiction and have started about a dozen novels, but I’ve always felt like I need to wait until I’ve got time or clear space in order to actually finish one.

This is absolutely not the case – and if I wait for free time, the day may never come.

Most of us don't have hours of spare time in a day but if you can find 30 minutes and commit to this time CONSISTENTLY you can move forward rapidly with any goal.

All you need is to carve out 30 minutes a day

I know that I’m most productive and creative first thing in the mornings, so what I’ve started doing is setting aside 30 minutes a day of my most productive time, three times per week, to write.

When we commit to making time to pursue things that we love to do, that we feel passionate about, life becomes infinitely more rewarding.

What it takes is two steps:

1. Decision.

Make a decision about what it is that you want to pursue. A lot of people get caught up at this stage because there’s so many options, and if they aren’t clear what they’re passionate about or if they are multi-passionate, the decision can seem overwhelming.

All you need to do is choose something, and get started! If you don’t like it you can always change later.

2. Commitment.

Commit to taking consistent action and showing up. Carve out time in the diary that works for you. If you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier three days per week, it’s worth it! I find that setting a routine helps with the discipline required to consistently show up. For example, if you get up 30 minutes before the rest of the house in the morning, it will become second nature and you won’t even have to think about it!

Most of us waste time because of overwhelm - there's already too much on our to-do lists and we feel defeated before we've even begun, so we procrastinate with social media, Netflix, email or small tasks that take up the majority of our days.

According to the Australian Video Viewing Report by OzTAM, Regional TAM and Nielsen in an article by B&T, Australians watch 74 hours and 58 minutes of broadcast TV each month. That’s 18.75 hours per week, on average, spent watching TV. Can you imagine if we put even a third of that into a hobby that brings us passion and joy?

That's it from me today! Thanks so much for watching and make sure you have subscribed to my free weekly emails for more career pivot tips at becsands.com. have a great day!