Self Care for Conscious Company Employees

By Deni Tato, President - March 2010

I believe it is important to maintain a balance of caring for your mind/body/spirit equally. Having a daily disciplined approach to eating, sleeping, exercise and meditation is imperative to bringing my best self to each day... The commitment must be manageable and sustainable over an extended period of time. If it isn’t manageable you just set yourself up to fail and give yourself another reason to feel like you’ve fallen short.

I have created what I call “20 minute milestones”. I only commit to doing things in 20 minute increments. I can’t ever truly say I don’t have 20 minutes to commit to something that I’ve already said is important. I might not have time to pack a bag and drive to the gym, or schedule an hour massage, but I can wake up 20 minutes earlier and get on the treadmill, take a walk, put in a yoga tape, lift some weights. When I plan my activities the night before and lay out my clothes out next to the bed, I have no excuses. In your self-care, you may commit to 3 days or 5, but the key is to uphold whatever commitment you make no matter what.

I apply the 20 minute milestone to my spiritual growth as well. After I get a little exercise, I go to my office / den, in which I have a sofa and table. I have meditation tapes, spiritual and daily inspiration books, my journal, candles, incense, and my favorite blanket all at my fingertips. I have a sign hanging from the door knob that lets everyone know that if the door is closed, don’t open it. It is my own little place in the world. I feel safe, loved and cared for in that little room and I spend 20 minutes twice a day there. Do you have a nook in your house that you can make your own?

Self care is reflected in my business practices mostly through time management. My goal has always been to work no more than 30-35 hours per week. How I do that is to encourage, empower, and trust in others to do their job. Once we agree to an outcome. I allow them to achieve that outcome through their methods. My ways aren’t better ways, they are simply my ways. I also live in my Genius, and let the rest go. If I don’t do something better than anyone else, I don’t need to do it.


90% of what we worry about never develops into issues. Planning for “what if” is a waste of energy and time. Pareto’s Law speaks to limiting tasks to the important. Pareto’s Law states that 80% of our outputs results from 20% of the inputs.
• 80% of the consequences come from 20% of the causes
• 80% of the results come from 20% of your time and effort
• 80% of company’s profits come from 20% of products and customers
• 80% of stock market gains are realized by 20% of the investors and 20% of an individual portfolio.

Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for completion. This is the magic of the imminent deadline. If I give you 24 hours to complete tasks, the time pressure will force you to focus on execution, and you have on choice but to do the essentials. If I gave you a week to accomplish the same task that gives you 6 days to make a mountain out of a molehill. If given 2 months, god forbid, it becomes a behemoth challenge. This is particularly true for Enneagram Types 1 and 6. The end result of the shorter deadline is almost inevitably an end result of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.

These two laws work in tandem. Limit tasks to only the important ones to shorten work time (80/20 law), and shorten work time to limit tasks to the important ones (Parkinson’s Law).

Two more guidelines that I follow to increase productivity and decrease work time:
• No multi-tasking. It dilutes your attention and therefore your efforts and productivity. Completely focus and give your full attention to one task at a time never jockeying back and forth.

• It is great to love and give to all the people and organizations that you have a responsibility to, but only if you can demonstrate that you love and give to yourself first, because that’s where it all begins.

I am not suggesting that you turn your life inside out, but consider making subtle changes that are sustainable. Be SELF FULL not SELF ISH.

I encourage you to do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Our life is our own, we need to behave and believe that we are in fact a worthy treasure.

References:
Ferriss, T. (2009) The 4-Hour Workweek, Crown.
Ricchiuto, J. (2005) Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization, DesigningLife Books.