As an entrepreneur, finding extra time in your day to do nothing but think is a must.

Honestly, I think it’s necessary for anyone’s happiness, but for entrepreneurs, it’s a matter of life or death.

That extra head space is where you plan ahead, it’s where you get inspired, deal with issues in your business, your relationships and more.

Having no extra headspace or time to think distraction free will leave you in a reactive mode. Meaning survival mode

Survival mode VS. Active mode

You know what survival mode is. You’ve been,

You wake up every morning, you face the routine, answer the emails, put down fires in your business, growing slowly (or actually even staying in the same place), stuff don’t work but you don’t really fix them just kind of handle them. You’re never really happy. might not be depressed, but you’re not happy.

Things happen to you and you react mostly.

Active mode on the other hand is when you usually feel as if you’re in control of the situation. I wouldn’t say you’re stress free, but you are in control, you feel like you can plan ahead, make smart decisions, really work towards your goals.

Going from one mode to another can require no more than 30-60 mins a day.

It’s not about place – it’s about time and what you do

A lot of people believe that to get that “time to plan” you have to take a special vacation, or save time over the weekend.

While sometime it’s better if you can get away for a  couple of days (like when planning your yearly goals) it’s basically about securing up  to 60 minutes of your day. You can also do pretty well with 30-60 mins.

You need to secure some time in the day when you’re not going to sit next to your computer answering emails, not playing / watching over your kid, not answering your employees answers.

It’s all about you.

It’s about clearing your head enough to deal with you need to deal with and reach a level where you can actually see the bigger picture.

How I used to do it

I used to have a morning routine where I would wake up, drink water, do some stretches and then do a short workout and a 30 min session meditation.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I think meditating is the best way to spend the time you have.

If you are new to meditation you can try using an app like Headspace or any kind of guided meditation app.

I actually use Tara Brach guided meditation podcast and meditate using her episodes on the show.

 

The reason I’d suggest spending most of that time meditating and not just writing endlessly, is because I believe meditation can take you from a crowded mind to empty clear sky within 30 minutes or so. So if you have 45 minutes and 60 minutes overall, that remaining time will be put to good use and not just you fighting to clear your thoughts.

Admittedly, since Emily (my 7 months old daughter) was born, I wasn’t able to hold my morning routing and lost that quiet time.

7 months later, and I feel the need for it badly.

That’s how I learn to appreciate that time so much and find harming impact of not having.

As part of my 2016 goals is to set up a new routing that can cope with the new family status.

The way it seems right now – I will either use the nighttime or dedicate a room in our office for it.

Are you setting time apart for your self to think daily? When do you do it on your day?