My Best Advice For Building Your Intuition When You’re Short On Time

May 27

In an ideal world, we would all have a regular daily guidance practice. Imagine a glorious hour every morning, journaling and pulling oracle cards, or meditating…but, we don’t all have that luxury, or at least not every day.

Part of living intuitively is to lean in to who you really are, where you are at this point in your life, to approach change with self-love and self-compassion. Sometimes we know we should make time for meditation and mindfulness… but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.

If you’re trying to create a consistent self care routine, one focused on connecting with your inner and higher guidance, please don’t fight against your current reality. This may be defeating the very point of the practice!

The more time, energy and awareness you can give to yourself, your intuition and your spiritual routine, the easier things will become… but for those of you short on time, or in a season of your life where time is more precious than usual, this article is for you.

Work with the season you’re in

Pre-children, I did have the luxury of slow, guided mornings that would often undulate into longer and longer hours. As soon as my kids arrived, my guidance practice disappeared, along with any spare time and sleep!

Of course, there are other times when our routine is more full than unusual. A particularly busy period at work, you’ve signed on for extra study or have extra responsibilities land in your lap. No matter what’s pulling your focus, it’s important to remember that at the heart of any spiritual practice is often the core truths of love, acceptance and compassion.

Even in the absence of a regular practice, you are still learning these spiritual lessons. If you’re in a season of life where you can’t afford a lot of time or commitment, bring love, acceptance and compassion to yourself. In this way, the absence of a spiritual practice IS the practice.

Of course, I’ll add the caveat that the issue is a true seasonal issue and not just avoidance of the practice… in which case, the avoidance is the guidance, and I’d encourage you to curiously dive into why you’re avoiding the practice of spiritual self care.

Whatever season you’re in, accept it to be true for now and that this too will pass. Bring your practice into your days, weeks and months in a less structured way. And, when the season changes so can your practice.

You can build your intuition in 10 minutes a day

I do believe it’s possible to build your intuition in just a few minutes every day. If you’ve ever started a meditation practice, you know how exactly long 10 minutes can feel! But it’s not just meditating you can use that 10 minutes for – 10 minutes is long enough to be mindful, to focus on your breathing, to pull an oracle card or two, or to quickly journal a few dot points. You may like to download my 10 Tips to Build Your Intuition in Just 10 Minutes a Day, which includes some examples of tools and practices you can try.

“Spending even just 10 minutes a day connecting to yourself, your intuition, your Spiritual Support Team or any other inner or higher guidance, you’re doing better than if you did nothing. ”

Even with meditation, it’s not the 10 minutes you spend meditating that matters as much as what you do in minute 11. And eventually, naturally, your practice will expand – not just when you’re in the act of your practice, but as you take it into your day – the ultimate goal of any spiritual practice.

Setting an intention for that time will be important. 10 minutes in guidance practice is enough to ask an open-ended question of your inner and higher guidance, and one that would have a relatively simple answer. Perhaps, try working with “What do I need to know today” or ask for guidance on something specific for the immediate day ahead.

You can build your intuition in just 30 minutes a week

If you’re paying close attention, you’ll realise I first suggested 10 minutes a day, and now only 30 minutes a week… but, it doesn’t add up! That’s because you don’t need to do both (although, I suggest we could work up to this)!

There are some seasons that may make that 10 minutes a day even hard (those early newborn days come to mind). Or you may just have a routine that works better across a week than every day. For you – compound the time. Rather than short, frequent bursts, you may prefer to work in longer, less frequent bursts.

Sitting in a practice for 30 minutes a week is still better than nothing, and if it works better for you, wonderful! Lean into your natural tendencies, intuitively.

If you opt for the longer, less frequent sessions, I would suggest you work with slightly different topics. Sure, you can still ask for guidance on immediate questions, but this pocket of time can allow for more complex questions – or questions that may have more complex answers!

Work with your routine, not against it

I will never forget attending an event a few years back where an audience member asked the speaker how to make time for her own self-care. This woman had an infant, and was managing to fit in exercise even if it meant waking earlier… and yet, this speaker suggested all she had to do was get up even earlier. You could almost hear the sigh of every other mother in the room… and needless to say that speaker wasn’t a mother at the time.

I don’t want to be like that speaker… this isn’t about waking up earlier, or making huge unrealistic adjustments that will just never stick. Instead, take what is already in your routine and make it work for you. Meditate while in the shower. Practise gratitude as you eat your lunch. Focus on your breathing while you stand in line at the grocery store.

And if you are the mother of newborn, and you are managing to wake early to exercise, know that is enough!

You’ll intuitively know when it’s time to adjust

No season lasts forever. And, if you are feeling called to work with a guidance practice more, ask for guidance on how to make it happen, how to make it easier or how to get the supports you need to balance everything you need to.

If you can start to include both the 10 minutes a day AND a weekly 30 minute practice, you can start layering the types of guidance you receive, from shorter daily intuitive instructions to some of the bigger direction pieces in a longer session.

Once you’ve got a regular daily practice, and a regular longer weekly practice, you then can turn one of the weekly sessions into a monthly sessions. So, now, you have a daily, weekly and monthly focus… and you can start to notice real changes in yourself, your guidance and the actions you’re taking towards living more intuitively. Eventually, you’ll add in a quarterly and even yearly practice.

And, once you start to reap the benefits of such a practice, you may just want to extend the time from 10 minutes a day to 10 minutes each morning and each evening… or whatever you are intuitively guided to do. After all, the point of the practice is to know and trust yourself and your choices more than what you think you’re meant to be doing.