Take Time for Your Life

by Cheryl Richardson

America's #1 personal coach offers an inspiring, practical, seven-step program to help you create the life you want.

Step 1: If you think "selfish" is a dirty word, learn to practice extreme self-care--put yourself at the top of the list and everyone else will benefit!

Step 2: If your schedule doesn't reflect your priorities, stop reacting to life and take control of what gets your time and attention.

Step 3: Identify the things that drain you and eliminate them--people, places, and things--once and for all.

Step 4: If you feel trapped by money, investing in your financial health will stop making you feel like a victim.

Step 5: Kick the adrenaline habit! Identify the things that fuel you and discover healthy, new sources of energy.

Step 6: If you feel lonely or isolated, learn how to surround yourself with high-quality relationships that support, challenge, and encourage you to be your best.

Step 7: Don't let life get in the way of your spiritual well-being--connect to your inner wisdom and create a personal practice.

Packed with useful exercises, checklists, personal stories, and a wealth of resources, Cheryl Richardson's program will show you how to step back, regain control, and make conscious decisions about the future you'd like to create. Take time for your life--and begin living a life that you love.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Personal Growth, Spirituality, Philosophy

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Cheryl Richardson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of several books including: Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers, Stand Up for Your Life, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace, The Art of Extreme Self Care, You Can Create an Exceptional Life (with Louise Hay), and her new book, Waking Up in Winter: In Search of What Really Matters at Midlife. Her work has been covered widely in the media including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, New York Times, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, and O Magazine. Cheryl was also the team leader for the Lifestyle Makeover Series on the Oprah Winfrey Show and she accompanied Ms. Winfrey on the "Live Your Best Life" nationwide tour. You can visit her at CherylRichardson.com as well as on Facebook at: Facebook.com/cherylrichardson, and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram under the user name: coachoncall.

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hitting the big 40, I decided to try to really tackle my weaknesses and read something that would have some 'homework' and help me change a few things in my life that I have struggled with for years: taking time to do the things I really want to do, to know myself better, and to really hear myself. Anyway, this book is outstanding! I have tons of quotes marked and enjoy the chance to get in tune with myself and with God. It has a religious undertone which I like.

[Heather Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all honesty, I would rather rate this a 3 1/2. However, Goodreads does not allow that option and I am leaning more towards the 4 mark. While the main principles Richardson uses to guide the readers into taking care of themselves are basic, they are practical none the less.

The biggest thing that helped me was identifying my energy drains and setting my "must do list." With a world in which faster is better and quantity often beats quality, it is nice to reaffirm yourself that you do not need to do/have it all. Taking stock and setting your priorities allow you to get the most out of life without stressing yourself to the point that you cannot enjoy it.

I recommend this book for people who feel that there life is moving to fast and have a difficult time juggling everything all at once. Set all of those balls you are juggling down, grab your spouse/partner/child/friend, and focus on them. Your relationships will give you a satisfaction that cannot be obtained by material objects (yes, I mean money too!)

[Ola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! I've read most of Cheryl Richardson's books and everyone of them has been helpful and great to read. This contains some great information, particularly on getting priorities straight, staying in action, practicing and living extreme self-care, celebrating small wins, honoring and protecting one's OWN priorities, keeping your "Absolute Yes" list and of course, the corresponding "Absolute No" list. This author is wonderful about getting the reader to look at what matters most (to the reader), and showing the reader just how to LIVE that way, rather than just going through our days like a hamster on a wheel, pretty much taking care of what other people want us to do, rather than focusing on what is important to us. She captures this in a way no one else has done. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this area. It's a not-to-be-missed read!

[Fatemah Almussalmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take time for your life- and begin living a life that you love

what a great book !
It's a coaching program that covers all aspects needed to live a balanced life.
by sharing her client's experience, providing exercises and giving plenty of examples, her ideas became well understood and her advice became more efficiant.

this book has to be read once yearly in order to reach its maximum benifit.

[Rachell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in the mid-beginning of this book and it is already an eye opener..I enjoy learning new tools to help myself so that I may help others. I suggest picking this book up and reading it if a person wants to truly help themselves.....

[Noura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an inspiring book! I love it!

[Lora · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author has a negative bias cleverly packaged up as self-help. I've listened to her lecture at Hay House events and it seems her advice is geared toward presuming that everyone who initiates an interaction with you is secretly plotting to disrupt your inner peace, interfere with your schedule, undermine your happiness, and otherwise infect your life experience with undesirable experiences. Nefarious until proven otherwise, anyone who is Not You or who is Not Cheryl Richardson is fundamentally suspect and must be guarded against by a technique the author calls Self Care. The author describes Self Care as a stance that is hypervigilant for the slightest clue that someone who is Not You wants something from you. Self Care also requires that you either actively discourage others from even daring to approach you, or if they are so bold, to inflict your own brand of reactivity such that the offender is promptly and permanently unwilling to ever engage with you again. Ultimately those who practice Self Care may become as genuinely unlikeable and unapproachable as Ms. Richardson is in person, as she practices her smack down techniques on unwitting fans at book signings and Hay House events.

[Lorilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheryl Richardson's balanced, "whole" life approach derives from a holistic perspective: awareness, then action, then balance defines a life that works. When our busy, hectic lives put us at odds with our needed "extraordinary self-care", our body, mind, and spirit runs dry. Learning to pay close attention to our whole selves and giving our life the effort it requires to run at its most efficient capacity reaps huge benefits. It creates space for a calmer mind, allowing us to make good decisions in each and every moment. I like Richardson's no-nonsense approach in which she reminds us that our own thoughts and actions determine our lives. Extraordinary honesty with ourselves followed by the goal of total self-responsibility sets us on the right course and keeps us moving forward in a positive direction. With our inner wisdom as our guidance system, we come to trust our instincts. Following our intuition and instincts helps us to create a life that surpasses our wildest expectations. As the bar is raised, our self-confidence grows, and we continue to create fulfilling and joy filled, balanced lives. I'll keep her suggestions near at hand as I work with clients seeking to listen to their own inner wisdom. It's exciting work. Happy to note I've been doing it my entire life.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take Time for Your Life: A Personal Coach's 7-Step Program for Creating the Life You Want does exactly what the title says, provides 7 steps to personal change.

The major focus of the book is taking care of yourself and provides very specific steps to do so. Cheryl Richardson knows her business and brings a good blend of personal and professional experience.

As a coach, I am adding this to my library for clients interested in making life changes on their own.

[Colleen Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, grounded, well-rounded program for self-directed self-improvement. The seven steps are drawn from her extensive experience coaching clients—she was one of the first wave of life coaches, it appears, serving as first president of the International Coach Federation—but they are, she freely admits, rooted in very old values and principles. The text is fairly lean, which is a relief, and the tone refreshingly free of the self-aggrandizement and brittle, sassy cheer of her modern-day fellows. If you like your self-help on the modest and practical side, this is a mighty good toolbox.

[Hisgirl85 · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. As with all self-help books, I think it largely depends on the reader what is useful. I found this one to take lots of information I've heard from others, even just nonfiction books, and put it together nicely in a straightforward way. There's even a section similar to The Universe Has Your Back, but feels more relatable in its description. I enjoyed this and will probably reread or relisten since it was an audiobook.

[LaSchelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw Cheryl on Oprah's program and the things she said really made sense to me. I bought the book and went to work.

I still have my 5 top things list stuck to my cabinet above my sink in the kitchen! Not shocking, I still struggle with some of them, but the priorities have changed for the better. I still have a long way to improve.

[Vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. One should read this at the start of every new year. She's got great insight and helps you make relaxing a priority. I get her emails weekly and they are filled with great tidbits and action items to help live an enriching happy life.
Oh, this is one of those books I never get to finishing.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in the read-through phase of working with this book. It is my aim to finish it before the new year, then turn is exercises and applications into my New Year Resolution. It's time for some drastic changes and I believe Ms. Richardson can lead me there through the suggestions in this, her first, work.

[Jet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for the person who finds they have given away their selves to serve others in some way; whether it be their career; their family or their volunteer organization. This book gives clear guidelines on how to say "no" to what's weighing you down and to say "yes" to the things that build you up. It is a time management course to allow yourself to grow and be healthy one step at a time.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed the course of my life. Cheryl Richardson's writing style resonates with me so I find her easy to read and relate to and I read all of her other books after I read this one. Time "management" is more about eliminating clutter and obligations than figuring out how to do more in the time we have.

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe the first time I took a Cheryl Richardson book in my hand i was in college. I was hooked after the first book of hers that I read. I apply the knowledge she shares in her books to this day. And this book like all others I have read by her, are excellent! She helped me with my priorities.

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is only second coaching-related book I’ve read. There are a lot of good exercises in here that are thought-provoking, challenging, and useful. That said, I find it hard to imagine anyone being disciplined enough to go through the full program without the support and structure of a coach or committed group of peers.

[MLSN MLSN · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far it is a good book for you to take time to reflect back on your life and write about it. The book is supposed to help you self-heal and move forward with your life. Read it, we can always have books to help improve ourselves.

[Juwairiya A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

اذا أردت ان تحيا متوازناً ولديك المال الكافي، وتستمتع بوقت إضافي ... اقرأ هذا الكتاب ، فهو ينبهنا الى الأجزاء المهملة من حياتنا او التي لا ندرك أهميتها ويسمح لنا بجانب العمل والمسؤوليات ان تعتني بأنفسنا وعلاقاتنا بالآخرين لنستمتع بحياتنا ...

[Andrea Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice in a well organized book. I found the parts about relationships especially interesting and useful. When you apply many of the ideas suggested by Richardson, you priorities in life change accordingly, and so does your attitude toward relationships.

[Lindsey Mao · Rating 5 out of 5]

super guru in work-life balance. clear steps of action and suggestions to take. Very similar to thomas leonard and tony robinson. Her voice is super calming, which I like. Probably one of the origins of extreme self care.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want to read this again. Great advice.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

had quite a bit of great info. Gave me good thing s to ponder.

[Lisa]

Life

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life Coach in a book! Good suggestions, easy to read.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a lot of psychobabble. Practical, straightforward, and effective.

[Rebecca Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to refer to over and again. Now on my wish list!

[Leslye · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked the voice...didn't seem very "new-agey", and the advice is practical. however, i have a long way to go before i "take time for my life"

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished first read through! :) Time to go over a second time and do all the excersices. I am excited to see the results! :)