Welcome to the TWE 10 Day Challenge

Welcome to the 10 day challenge!  I am so excited that you have taken a step toward a more balanced you!  Below you will find a plan for the next 10 days (as well as 3 more bonus days).  Each day will include options of what you can do during your "me time".  You are only asked to do 1 item per day, feel free to do more.  For Day 1, you will spend a few minutes scheduling your "me time".    Remember that this is new, so your old brain will try and resist this.  Your inner critic will trigger you to resist this change.  Push through this urge and tell yourself, "I am worth it".  If you are still resisting it, take a couple of minutes and write down why, then email it to me at rona.careerandlifecoach@gmail.com.  Enjoy and be in the present moment.

~Coach Rona

Day 1:  

  • Carve out some time each day for "me time" so you can have time for the 10 day challenge.

Day 2:  

  • Breathing Guided Meditation:  http://marc.ucla.edu/mpeg/01_Breathing_Meditation.mp3 [5 minutes]
  • Go for a walk and reflect on all your accomplishments [10 minutes]
  • Check in with your thought founders.  Who is in charge?  The Inner Critic?  Inner Child?  Inner Compass?  Replace the Critic with the Compass and lead your thoughts with compassion and kindness. You can use the Cognitive Distortions document as well as the Daily Mood Log to help you work through your thoughts (Cognitive Distortions document, Daily Mood Log, Daily Mood Log Sample).  [5 minutes]

Day 3: 

  • Review your work schedule and try to build a 10 minute window after your meetings.  This is important so you can have some time to review the follow up actions after each meeting.  So often we have back to back meetings and don't allocate time for follow up action items.  This step will help you take time to at least write down what needs to be done and add it to your calendar rather than doing it all at the end of the day.  The longer you wait the less fresh the information becomes, so you might forget or not recall as successfully. [15 minutes]
  • Add the 10 minutes to your calendar after each meeting, if possible.  If not, try to use this method for future meetings. [10 minutes]

Day 4:

Day 5:

  • When you wake up, take a moment and think about how you want your day to go.  Write a statement about your day.  Example: "There is a positive side to everything.  I will consciously look for it."   Our mind is so malleable, it will follow our thoughts and try to validate them.  So if you say today will not be fun, then your mind will scan the environment to validate that.  You can experience 5 positive things and 1 negative thing that day and your mind will pick up the negative.  What is your statement of the day? [5 minutes]
  • List 4 amazing things about yourself. [5 minutes]

Day 6: 

Day 7: 

  • Check in with your accountability partner.  How are things going?  What are the challenges?  What are the benefits? [5 minutes]
  • Journal your progress. [10 minutes]

Day 8: 

Day 9: 

  • Reconnect with the passion in your work.  Don't focus on what you HAVE to do, rather on what you WANT to do.  Journal this process or create a statement for you to be conscious about throughout the day. [5 minutes]
  • Body Scan Guided Meditation:  http://marc.ucla.edu/mpeg/Body-Scan-Meditation.mp3 [3 minutes]

Day 10:

  • Do a re-write of a past experience you were not happy with.  A rewrite gives you an opportunity to explore a past situation and think about what you would like to have done differently.  It also helps you think about how you would handle it today.  Click here for instructions. [15 minutes]
  • Body Scan Guided Meditation for Sleep:  http://marc.ucla.edu/mpeg/Body-Scan-for-Sleep.mp3 [9 minutes]

Optional

Day 11:

Day 12: I suggest doing both.  You can start with the first, then schedule out time for the second.

  • Review the tasks at home.  What is it that you want to do and what is it that you have to do?  Explore the "have to dos" and journal why YOU have to do these tasks.  Are there alternatives?  Can someone else help with these tasks?  If no, why? [7 minutes]
  • Have a discussion with those who can help you with these tasks. [30 minutes]

Day 13:

  • Circle of Support:  The circle of support is a group of people in your life that help you when you are in need to resolve challenges or just vent.  Think about the people in your life?  Who is in your support circle?  Who can be in your circle of support? [10 minutes]
  • Create a circle of support for yourself.  Reach out to those who support you personally and/or professionally and either schedule a time to meet with one or two of them or write them a thank you note.  If you choose to write them a thank you note, be sure to include why they are important to you and then make time to meet with him/her (you can start by picking one person) and read them your thank you note and give it to them.  This exercise is amazing to both individuals.  Gratitude expands our happiness and it also expands that of the person you give the letter to. [45 minutes]