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Tips for making more time for the ones we love

Dr. Allyson Coffin is a local chiropractor and wellness expert. She has tips for parents juggling a busy schedule and their social life.

PORTLAND, Maine — With school back in session and the holidays on the horizon, it can be hard for parents to find one-on-one time with the people they care about most.

Local chiropractor and wellness expert, Allyson Coffin, stopped by the 207 studio to share tips for parents striving for balance.

Coffin has more than 200,000 hours of personal mediation practice experience. She has also researched and spent hundreds of hours in anatomy and neurology labs to figure out how to get our brains to work for us, instead of against us. 

How can we make sure to get one-on-one time with the people we want that time with?

"This is a two-part answer. 

"[The] first part of the answer is you want to identify those people you want to spend time with. We all have people we spend time with out of necessity but you want to identify those people and I suggest you make a list of just five.

"After that, you figure out what you like to do together so, it's kind of like a working project. You're like, 'Ok, what does my one kid like to do with me? My one kid wants to needlepoint. What does my other kid want to do with me? My other kid wants to go to a monster race.'

"Then, you schedule that time as if it's a doctor's appointment or as if it's on your schedule, and since it's on my schedule we do not reschedule unless there's an emergency."

This all sounds nice but how can you do that as a busy working human being with a family?

"It does sound idealistic, but it's actually not. 

"We all make time to do whatever we want to do. If I want to scroll on Instagram all day I could do that. If I want to watch Netflix I could do that.

"Or, I could carve out a time that will fill my cup and whoever the person on my list's cup for days and weeks and years to come just because of that hour or two hours that we spent together and just knowing that in your brain, 'Oh, this is just really deep work,' you'll make it work."

Why does this matter? 

"It matters because our relationships with those we care about matter.

"It matters how we sprinkle ourselves out into the world. So, if we spend time with the people we love and we nurture those relationships as opposed to kind of being grumpy with those people because we're with them all the time, it spreads a wave of positivity and connection and acceptance through the whole world.

"I know that sounds a little bit tree-huggy, but it is proven in science."

Watch the video above for the full segment. You can also find more from Dr. Coffin online.

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