One of the best ways to take care of yourself is to create some sort of “me time” every day. Yet it seems like there are never enough hours in the day for you to take one just for yourself.
You know you have to have time and space to rest and recharge your own batteries before you can give your best to taking care of everyone else around you.
So how do you get the time that you need?
There are ways to carve out time for yourself, you just have to get a little creative about it. Here are six ideas you can use to create your own “me time”.
1. Wake Up Earlier
You may have to go to sleep a little earlier to accomplish this, but getting up earlier in the morning is a great way to get some personal time in to start your day. My favorite way to start the day is with a cup of coffee and my journal, knowing that I don’t have to do anything for anyone else until other people’s alarms start going off.
2. Make a Date With Yourself
You schedule doctor’s appointments and dentist appointments and your kids’ sports and after school activities in your calendar. So why don’t you schedule yourself in? If you make an appointment for a date with yourself and put it in your calendar, you know that time is yours.
3. Your Lunch Hour is Your Time
If you work outside the home, then take the time during your lunch hour to do something just for you. It can be as little as going for a short walk, reading a novel, or browsing in your favorite store. Anything that relaxes and recharges you for the afternoon to come is a great way to give yourself some priority time in the middle of the day.
4. Take a Few Minutes To Unwind At the End of the Day.
When you get home from work, give yourself a few minutes — even 15 is enough — to relax and unwind before you dive into family activities. Lock yourself in the bathroom if you have to, but make sure you have that time to make the switch from working woman to mom as peacefully as possible. Just be sure you tell your family what you’re doing, so they don’t think you’re avoiding them!
5. Take a Personal Day
If you have personal days off, make sure you use them. Take a day off every once in awhile to do whatever you want for the day. You don’t even have to leave the house if you don’t want to. You can spend your day working on your hobbies, or visiting with friends, or going to the beach (it’s very relaxing at the beach when everyone else is working)… the sky is your limit because it’s your day to do whatever you want.
6. Rest When Your Children Do
The first thing my mom told me when my son was born was that when I put him down for a nap, to make sure I napped too. It was one of the best pieces of advice she ever gave me. There’s so much temptation to do as much work as you can when your kids are sleeping, but when you do that you often tend to be tired when they’re waking up and ready to go again. Take the time that they’re asleep as “me time” and even if you don’t sleep, as long you’re doing something relaxing for yourself you’ll find you have more energy and are ready for whatever adventures post nap-time brings.
By making the time for yourself, even as little as fifteen minutes a day, you will find yourself much more rested and able to deal with whatever life throws your way. If you think you can’t make these ideas work with your schedule, start small. Just take one at a time and see how it fits with your life and your schedule. There’s nothing wrong with taking baby steps to get to where you want to be, and you will find that even small changes in your schedule add up over time.
How do you spend your “me time”? Please feel free to join in the discussion below.
Photo Credit: savit keawtavee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
