The 10-Minute Mindshift

By , Cherylanne Skolnicki, nourishyourself.com
As a health coach for busy professionals, I hear a lot about how little time people have. My clients pack their days with meetings and commitments until there is barely room to breathe. But the truth is, no matter who we are, we all have the exact same amount of time--24 hours in each and every day. We can’t choose how much time we get; but we can choose how to spend the time we have. And those choices make all the difference. Redirecting even small amounts of time away from unhealthy activities and toward healthier ones can start a snowball effect that will transform your life!
 
When it comes to health and well-being, it’s so easy to get discouraged. We think, ''How can I find an hour to work out or to make dinner at home? I’m too busy!'' But why must we think in terms of hours? What if you looked for just 10 minutes instead?
 
You get 144 chances at 10-minute windows every single day! What if you took just one of those opportunities and used it to feed your well-being? You’d be one step closer to the healthy life you deserve, and I’ll bet you’d be inspired to find a few more 10-minute windows in the days ahead.
 
Ten minutes can seem long or short depending on how you’re spending it. Need proof? Consider how different it feels to spend 10 minutes waiting in line at airport security versus spending 10 minutes chatting with a friend at Starbucks. As you get started, you’ll want to choose activities that make your 10-minute investment one you’ll joyfully anticipate, not one you’ll dread.
 
Think about the habits you are trying to develop – exercise, cooking at home, meditating, journaling--and look for a way to get started in just 10 minutes.
 
Here are several ideas you might consider:
  • Cut up some fresh fruit and store it at eye level in the fridge
  • Go for a walk
  • Have a cup of herbal tea and enjoy a moment of quiet
  • Do a set of old-fashioned push-ups and sit-ups
  • Fill out your food journal
  • Eat breakfast!
  • Assemble a salad to have with dinner
  • Get outside and soak up some Vitamin D
  • Plan your dinner menus for the upcoming week
  • Lift handweights
  • S-T-R-E-T-C-H
  • Eat a banana
  • Add 10 minutes of sleep
  • Drink a glass of water and chill a pitcher for later
  • Jump on the stationary bike or elliptical trainer
  • Meditate
 
Once you’ve experienced the lift that comes from just 10 of these health-focused minutes, you’ll be on the lookout for more and more windows in your day that you can use to invest in your well-being. It’s easier to find six of them than one uninterrupted hour! And that’s the 10-minute mindshift.

What would you do with your 10 minutes?



Cherylanne Skolnicki is a healthy living expert and the founder and owner of Nourish, a wellness lifestyle brand for professional and executive women. Nourish provides services to help women feed their well-being, including 1:1 health coaching, in-home meal preparation, private cooking instruction, and integrative medical consultations with an experienced M.D. Cherylanne is a former corporate executive turned certified health coach who believes that all women deserve to experience thriving well-being despite the demands of their professional and personal lives. Cherylanne is a dynamic speaker, the author of The Nourish Blog, and the healthy living expert for Cincy Chic and the Fox19 Morning Show. She lives in Cincinnati with her husband and three young children. Outside of work and family, Cherylanne enjoys entertaining, running, yoga, discovering a good book, bright sunny days, and spending time with dear friends.