I’ve touched on this in previous weeks, but one of the best things that you can do for your self care is ensure that you have created time for just you. In order to be your best self, you need to take care of yourself first and foremost. You cannot give to others if you are empty.
In today’s world we are all busy. Whether you’re a parent, a business owner, have a full time job - or more than one, or any of the many other things that keep you busy it is so easy to put yourself on the back burner. You tell yourself “I’ll get to that later” or “the kids need me” or any of the other things that we tell ourselves as to why we don’t have the time to take care of ourselves. But what happens if something or someone goes uncared-for for too long? Imagine if we pushed our children’s needs or our boss’s needs to the side? We can’t - we wouldn’t. Yet we are so often very comfortable in pushing our own needs to the side. It is not selfish to take care of yourself. In fact, it is necessary.
WHAT DOES TIME FOR MYSELF LOOK LIKE?
It may be so long since you’ve done something just for you that you might be a little stuck here. Why do I really need this time for myself? If I can actually create it, what on earth am I going to do? You need this time so that you can learn more about yourself. So that you can dive deeper into your interests. So that you can spend time with friends that you don’t get to see very often. You can go to a class…to the library or out exploring your city. Or you can simply sit on the couch in a quiet home (or room) and read or listen to music or listen to silence and think.
But a word of caution…don’t go looking for time in your calendar to give yourself a little “me time”. I can almost guarantee you won’t find it. If you have a busy schedule it’s going to take some effort. You’re going to have to create the time. And you may even need to schedule it like an appointment for a while. Most importantly…do not cancel on yourself.
FIVE WAYS TO CREATE TIME FOR YOURSELF
Get up an hour earlier - How To Get Up An Hour Earlier
Stay up an hour later after your family has gone to bed - but be careful here. You don’t want this late night me time to make you sluggish in the morning or have you struggling to get up on time. Balance.
Sign up for a class either with a friend or by yourself (make sure it’s something that you are genuinely interested in so that it does not become a chore).
Create time around your lunch break for things you love.
Become more efficient with your time. Take a hard look at your days and weeks. Don’t spin your wheels with different tasks and you’ll be surprised at the time you might be able to find in your day. Multi tasking might feel like you’re getting more done, but I promise you’re just taking longer to do one thing and likely aren’t doing as well of a job with it as you would hope. Focus and you’ll create pockets of time for yourself.
What are you going to do with your “me time”? It doesn’t have to be the same thing…it doesn’t have to be everyday (as long as you’re getting some time for you during your morning routine and bedtime routines) but it does need to happen if you want to feel your best.
xo,
c