May 5th, 2020
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” - Lucille Ball
In a world that is always buzzing, it seems nearly impossible to schedule time for ourselves. There is a revolving door of reasons to push "me" time until tomorrow and when tomorrow becomes today the story stays the same. Knowing why, how and when to schedule time for yourself is the spark that ignites the fire when it comes to self care and living out the best version of yourself.
A boost of self-confidence, stress relief, and improved relationships.
The importance of positive self talk is put on a pedestal when it comes to building self confidence but what about the good ol’ “actions speak louder than words”? Choosing to set aside time “just for me” sends a positive message, through action, to our insides. This action proclaims “I matter”, “I’m worth it” and ”I am a priority”. When we choose "me" time we give ourselves a free space to try new things, fall in love with a hobby, and really find what makes us come alive.
Taking care of ourselves not only improves our relationship with ourselves, but with others too. When our bodies and brains are always running it’s easy to become overwhelmed with life. This in turn causes our moods to fluctuate more quickly. We become easily frustrated while having less control over our reactions. Regular, uninterrupted "me" time helps our busy brains to unplug and unwind. In doing so we relieve stress which helps us sleep better, gives us more control over our moods, increases our patience level, and helps us to live in the moment. All of these benefits fill us up on the inside and when we are full we can pour into the things that matter most to us, including our relationships. "Me" time is our magic reset button.
Learn when to say no, pencil it in.
This is not just another responsibility to check off our list. "Me" time is something to recharge you. It is simply choosing to use the time we already have a bit more mindfully. Me time can be spent and scheduled in a number of ways but there are a few hacks to balance any schedule .
First things first, learn to say no. It is our nature to be social and say yes to almost every opportunity that comes our way but it also leads to an overcommitted schedule. When we are overcommitted we aren't able to give one hundred percent of ourselves to who we are with or where we are. Saying no, helps us regain the balance we need in our lives.
Start with the big picture, our calendar. Having an overall view of our schedule will help us discern when to say no. Add in all commitments for the month in each week. Work, kids activities, grocery shopping days, et cetera. Next choose and add in “blocks” a.k.a at least two nights during the week with zero plans after 6 pm along with one weekend day or night block. Try to schedule all of the “opportunities” that come up outside of these while politely responding with a “no” to anything conflicting with the blocks you have chosen. Finally, pencil in some me time into the pre-set blocks, weather it be twenty minutes or three hours you will be thankful later. As a rule of thumb, if our schedule is consistently set up in this way we’re likely to have balanced all month long.
We should never feel guilty for scheduling and taking time for “me”. Caring for ourselves in this way prepares us for the rest of life. It is not meaningless pass time, "me" time is necessary for our mental and physical health!
We can take time for ourselves in many different ways and with varying amounts of time. We can choose to wake up twenty minutes earlier than the rest of our household or we can take off for a day of adventure. Just make sure whatever you choose, you are choosing YOU!
Below is a simple list of tips you can refer to when looking to find and dedicate some more time to you…
1. Grab a sheet mask and your favorite glass of wine while you soak in a hot bath
2. Read a few chapters (or the whole thing) of your favorite book at a local coffee or take a coffee to go and read under a shady tree in the park
3, Splurge on a manicure pedicure complete with a magazine full of juicy celeb gossip
4. Go tech free for a day, phone and all!
5. Sign up for a monthly massage package deal
6. Netflix and Chill-by-yourself
7. Try out a new painting or workout class
8. Refurbish an interesting piece of furniture
9. Meditate
10. Go for a walk
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