Apparently apart from more money and a long lie-in, what most people crave is more time. Lots of us have problems with our work-life balance. It’s a term that is heard more frequently now in relation to our busy lives and to our changing expectations but what if, for you, the work and the life part of that is one and the same – caring for someone else? How do you find balance then?

Sometimes the greatest gift we can give ourselves is a little piece of time just for us. When we devote so much of our time to others and when time is so valuable in our busy, stressed and stretched lives, how can we achieve what seems like the impossible – finding more time just for us? How can we afford not to? The charity Carers UK states that, ‘Research has shown conclusively that caring for others can have a major impact on your health and well being. Carers are significantly more likely to be in poor health – both physical and emotional – than people without caring responsibilities’.

To avoid feelings of resentment and to prevent challenges to our own health, we need to be at our absolute best to care for someone else otherwise we risk becoming burnt out. So we need to develop self-care and we need to make it a habit. We need to bring about some changes.

So something has to change but change can be difficult for people even when change is something we have chosen because we can feel like we have lost our sense of control and control is hugely important for all of us.

Coaching is a resource that is available to people who want to change something in their lives. It helps people to achieve things that they find difficult to achieve alone. It is now widely used in the business world and increasingly so in our personal worlds. It works by helping us find solutions and results. By looking at our current situation and then coming up with options that we could follow, it identifies where we are now, where we would like to be and then helps us see how we could get there. It concentrates on the positive in all situations and thinks about now and the future.

Have a think about these coaching questions:

• What do you need to START doing?

• What do you need to STOP doing?

• What do you need to do LESS of?

• What do you need to do MORE of?

Some of the benefits of coaching

Being back in control of your life

Motivation, enthusiasm and fulfilment

Increased enjoyment and pleasure in life

The ability to take action

Greater confidence

A sense of achievement

The ability to move forward

The realisation of long held dreams and plans.

With coaching we have the opportunity to have our current situation reflected back to us so we can see it for what it really is and see the possibilities that are there for us, because sometimes doing it on our own is just too tough. Having someone there to fight our corner and support us, hold our hand and nudge us forward is what it can take to bring about change. And if we can bring about change we can claim back some precious time for ourselves and use it for self-care. Here are a few simple self-care ideas:

• Have a box or basket next to your bed with hand cream, body lotions, essential oils, remote control, CD’s, favourite books, anything you like that takes just a few minutes before bed.

• Buy yourself some flowers.

• Get out in the open away from noise as much as possible.

• Play your favourite music and dance.

• Make something with your hands – baking for fun, sewing, drawing, colouring, collage.

Coaching can help you find time for you and help you develop ways of self-care. It can bring about valuable change in your life, which will ultimately benefit not just you but the people around you that you care for.

For further information: http://www.aligalecoaching.co.uk/ or call Ali Gale on 07984404033 or mailto:ask@aligalecoaching.co.uk

Explore, discover, change.