The Power of an Hour: Take 60 Minutes to Change Your Life

Whether you set aside a lunch break once a week, steal an early-morning hour or split your personal 60 into 10-minute chunks, you can make a major impact in your life in a short amount of time.

“The important thing is to decide to take that time out to revitalize yourself or push your goals forward,” says stress reduction expert Debbie Mandel. “When you’re empowered, you feel like you’re on the road to better choices and more opportunities.”

To make your power hour really count, have a clear plan about how you’ll spend it. This is your time, your life, your hour. Stick with it and see how 60 minutes can change everything.

An hour of daring

Natasha Kogan doesn’t set goals—she dares herself to accomplish tasks and chase dreams outside her comfort zone. “Dares create a sense of adventure and push women to draw on inner strength they might not know they have,” says Kogan, an entrepreneur and author of The Daring Female’s Guide to Ecstatic Living.

By making something a dare, it gives you permission to mess up—after all, it’s just a dare, she says. “And that makes taking a risk less serious and intimidating.”

This week, dare yourself to write the first page of that novel you’ve been thinking about writing. Or dare yourself to take the first step toward pursuing your dream job. Or simply dare yourself to call an old friend you’ve been meaning to keep in touch with, but haven’t.

“The whole point is to start small,” Kogan says. “Once you get started and become excited about something, then you’ll find more time to do it. Start with an hour and see where it takes you.”

Happy hour

You remember happy hour? Usually it stretched into happy hours enjoying drinks and laughs with friends. Those days are probably few and far between now, but why not create a happy hour of your own?

What makes you happiest? Is it watching I Love Lucy or Sex and the City reruns? Or spending a joyful hour with a few close friends? (Pedicures, anyone?) The only happy-hour rule, says Alexandra Watson, author of The Happiness System for Women, is to RSVP to your own party and then stick to it. “If you commit to this, you’ll be happier and your family will be happier too as a result,” she says.

An hour of gratitude

As you race to meet a deadline and pick up the kids, it’s easy to forget to be thankful for all the good things in your life. So why not make an appointment with yourself to reflect on what is working at the moment?

During the week, steal 10 minutes here and there to meditate. For five minutes, focus solely on your breathing, not the thoughts racing through your head. “Imagine your thoughts floating away in a bubble,” says Karen Sherman, Ph.D., a psychologist in Long Island, New York. “Then, return to your breathing.”

Spend the other five minutes writing down several things that you’re grateful for. Doing daily gratitude exercises will enhance your level of alertness, enthusiasm, optimism and energy, according to researchers at Southern Methodist University and the University of California, Davis. It will also reduce depression and stress.

Snapshot hour

As your life speeds by, try to record some of it. For an hour each week, become a journalist covering your own life. Forget the poses and fake smiles. Take candid shots of the kids, your husband, friends, pets—even yourself. You’ll end up with a weekly chronicle of what life was really like during a certain period.

Or, for some inner peace, turn your camera on the world outside. Susan Zimmerman, Ch.F.C., a licensed marriage and family therapist and author of Rays of Hope in Times of Loss, suggests zooming in on nature scenes that you connect with on an emotional level. Snap a picture, then jot down a few thoughts about what you’re seeing. Later, pair the photos with the writing and develop your own collection of inspiring thoughts and images. “The outdoors can be a natural prioritizer,” she says. “It helps you put things in perspective.”

The write hour

An hour of power writing lets you explore your thoughts and helps you define your dreams. And it’s good for you. Recent research found people who wrote about past or anticipated stress had fewer visits to the doctor, took less time off work and had better psychological well-being, says Susan David, a psychologist and researcher at Yale University.

“The important thing is to not get stuck writing about what is wrong,” says David. “Instead of asking, ‘Why did things go wrong?’ ask, ‘How was this important in my life and what did I learn from it?’ To be truly beneficial, your writing should be about moving to a sense of insight.”

Twenty minutes a day, three times a week might be just the right amount of time to reap the benefit of writing, David says. Research shows that daily diary writers who simply recount trials and tribulations don’t enjoy the same benefits as those who write with more of a focus on what they learned from a situation.

Making Time For Yourself: Don’t think you have an hour to spare? Try these tips for carving out 60 minutes. Cut back “If you can’t find a way to make 15 to 20 minutes a day for yourself, then I’m going to say you’re addicted to stress,” says stress reduction expert Debbie Mandel. “At that point something has to be shed, because you’re doing way too much and you’re going to make yourself sick.”

Rise and shine

Pick a day to get to bed early so you can set the alarm an hour earlier. Or get up 10 or 15 minutes early each day to take some time for yourself.

Make a date

Write your hour on the family calendar and treat it with the same importance as a doctor’s appointment.

Enlist family support

Tell your family about your power hour—and why it’s so important to you. Sometimes a simple “you can do it” from a family member releases the guilt and pushes you to fulfill your commitment to yourself.

Power hour

Podcasts on the go- Deborah Shadovitz Age: 49 Home: Los Angeles Profession: Web specialist and trainer

Every week for an hour I accomplish two things at once: Keep up with computer and tech news while getting fresh air and exercise by taking my iPod with me for a walk. Use that walking time to listen to a few select industry-related podcasts, which I download for free.

Italian classes- Stacy-Michelle Reid Age: 30 Home: Philadelphia Profession: Coffee shop manager

Every week for an hour I go to Italian class. It’s something completely different from my normal routine. I don’t study much outside of that hour a week. Usually go to class, daydream a little about running away to Italy, and try to learn a few words. But I do it just for me!"