Each day we can get so caught up in our hectic lives. We get distracted by so much that goes on and we can lose focus. Life seems to happen at break neck speed some days. We have forgotten how important it is to take time to sit still.

To be our most productive we need this stillness. A time to pause and reflect, to clear our thoughts and decide what is the next best course of action. In those moments we can get clear about what we can let go of. What we can control or change. What we can say no or yes to and what we can delete.

This stillness allows us to adapt to our reality and to spot the hidden obstacles. It is as important as planning. The best thing of all is that it doesn’t take long to pause and stay still.  Just pause and take a few deeper breaths perhaps between tasks or while waiting on a kettle to boil. Or stare out the window and daydream for a minute or two. Not long at all really to gain the stillness you need.

But what if we could carve out a little more time for ourselves to be alone, how could that benefit us?

The Benefits Of Having Some Time Alone During The Week.

Research shows we need about twenty minutes of alone time each day, a little longer on the weekends. Having more time alone during the week can be of huge benefit to us both personally and professionally. For as long as we use that time wisely we can gain many insights into our life, our nature and our connection to our self.

We Gain Some Much Needed Thinking Time.

When we take some time for solitude we gain some time to think about what we want. We get to ask and get some answers from our inner voice to those important questions we have. We also gain some time to allow ideas to rise, so that we can be more proactive rather than reactive to what is happening on a day to day basis.

We Build Self-Knowledge And Clarity.

Time alone allows us to observe our lives more, to find that inner voice and discover what we truly want. We can then distinguish between the false, the less important and what is by far the most important to us.

The space will allow us to gain more clarity. What is working and not working for us whether in our business or personal life. We can often feel pulled by the influence of others. Then we can feel that we cannot see the problems clear enough to make the best decision for us. When we step away from the influence others and allow that inner voice time to speak we can move forward in better tune with ourselves.

We Learn To Accept And Love Ourselves.

Time alone allows us to let go of what others think we should or shouldn’t be doing. We can learn to accept ourselves more in these moments and forgive ourselves also. Learning to love and accept ourselves more fully is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves. It allows us to slay that negative critic in our head, set healthy boundaries and experience the joy of life more fully.

We Learn To Be More Creative And Increase Our Productivity.

Creativity is a very important to productivity. When we are surrounded by others we can find that our creativity is stifled. So by stepping back we allow our ideas, inspirations and creativity to come up more freely. This is because we are not as self-conscious of other’s opinions.

When we spend time alone we can use the time to increase ways to allow our creativity to rise. It isn’t all about doing something arty either. We can use our time in a proactive manner. Why not build in time for meditation, visualization, journaling, music, etc? All will help to maximise our creativity which in turn will increase our productivity.

We Get To Refuel And Rest.

Stepping off the hamster wheel and allowing yourself to rest will help you to become more energized. When we let go, even for a few minutes, of the complications of life we can reconnect and be present in the moment more. This alone time helps us feel refueled and refreshed enough that we can begin to tackle whatever life throws at us without risking burnout.

We Process Our Emotions, Feelings And Behaviours.

Taking some time alone can also allows us to review and release our emotions. Yes we can do the same thing surrounded by our positive support system and talk things through. We can sometimes hold our emotions and feelings back around others though. But we can also use our alone time to let out those emotions and hold nothing back.

We can also do the same with our feelings and behaviour. We can process how we feel about different situations and people in our lives. We can decide then who or what is a booster or a buster to our self-esteem, stress, anxiety and overall support.

Time alone also allows us to reflect on our behaviour, this is sometime we do have control over. How we react to other people and situations we encounter is very much within our control. How we react to ourselves is also within our control. The time we spend by ourselves allows us time to recognize this.

We Learn To Be More Grateful.

In giving our self some space and as we allow our minds to slow we start to see what we have to appreciate in our lives. All the hectic aspects of our life can begin to fade away and we can grow in gratitude as we become much clearer on what and who we have in our lives. We begin to appreciate the small things more and see what we can begin to delete in order to build our connections to those that matter most.

We Gain Some Self-Confidence.

Taking this time alone gives us one final thing. It allows us a way to build our self-confidence. How does it do that? By this simply act we are saying to ourselves that we are worthy of our own time. We are now honouring our self as valuable enough to spend some time with. We spend so much of our time on others we can forget that we need time for ourselves too. We need to connect with our self, taking care of our basic self-care needs and in spending time alone we can do just that.

Work With Me.

Remember you are allowed to ask for support. No one is an island. If you need extra support then you can also work with me. We all struggle with stress and overwhelm from time to time. If you find this has become a problem for you and you’d like some support then schedule an appointment with me.