We are living in a mad, mad world. Everything, our job, business, families, and friends, are trying to get a piece of our attention. We can’t ignore those calls. We often get so occupied with our duties that we forget to take time for the most vital person in our lives, ourselves. In such cases, you must follow some Ways to Take Time for Yourself.
If you’re feeling exhausted & out of energy, making time for yourself can provide you with some ways to re-energize yourself. If you prioritize other duties over your own time, you are ignoring your needs. Your professional life will always be there, but your mental & physical health won’t.
This Is How You Can Make Time For Yourself
1. Learn To Say No
People with people-pleasing tendencies are often most exhausted. They can’t say no to some requests. It is not being said to say no to everything, but you must learn to differentiate between productive & unproductive activities. If you can say no to some useless requests, which will not benefit you, you can create more time for yourself.
For example, the request to go to a hospital to visit an ailing friend or family member is a duty we can’t say no to. But accompanying your friends who are having a shopping spree or helping a colleague finish his project can be avoided after office hours. These are just a waste of your time & eating up your energy as your direct benefit is nil. Learn to say no politely to those requests.
2. Try To Create Some ‘Me’ Time
After a hard day in the workplace, we often come home, spend time with our family or go to some pubs with friends. They are great stress-busters, but you must have the required ‘Me’ time. We often unwillingly engage in activities we don’t enjoy because our friends & family want to do that. While having ‘Me’ time, you don’t need to worry about that.
Block out some time (preferably 30-40 minutes) for your ‘Me’ time every week. You can do whatever you want in that ‘Me’ time. Be it streaming a movie on Netflix with pizza & beer, listening to music, having a walk, gaming, reading books, or simply lying down. Provide yourself the time to engage in activities you want & enjoy.
3. Don’t Carry Your Work Home
In this age of pressures in the job field & deadlines, we often carry our work home. This is often the only way to meet deadlines, but it is robbing you of your precious time. Of course, not finishing work will project you in bad lights, but carrying work home isn’t any solution.
Leave the work when you leave your office room or cubicle. Plan & organize your schedule in a way that you don’t need to carry your work home. Try to accomplish most of the work while you are in the workplace.
An effective time management strategy is one of the excellent Ways to Take Time for Yourself. By executing a time management strategy, you can ensure you don’t need to carry your work home.
4. Wake Up Early
They say, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy & wise.” Having some extra time is among the various benefits of being an early riser. When you wake up early, you can have a couple of extra hours to give to yourself. You can use those hours to exercise, practice yoga, read the newspaper, or make some healthy breakfast for yourself.
Needless to say, what health benefits exercise, yoga, and eating healthy can bring to you. The practice of waking up early can bring a host of mental benefits. Usually, morning is the quietest part of the day (unless you live in a war zone). Walking in that tranquil atmosphere can bring down your stress & anxiety levels significantly.
5. Prioritize Your Duties
Learning to prioritize is an excellent answer to How to Take Time for Yourself. If you learn to prioritize your responsibilities, you don’t have to jump from one task to another to finish them. You can manage them efficiently by figuring out which responsibilities must be addressed ASAP & which are of minor importance.
Try to maintain a notebook or note down your duties on your phone. Consider which ones are of utmost urgency & put three stars beside them. Little less vital ones can be marked with two stars & negligible ones are one star. Plan your day according to the list. This way, you can address the most vital works with required attention & weed out unnecessary tasks, saving some time for yourself.
6. Learn To Divide Responsibilities
We often try to do everything by ourselves, leaving no hour for ourselves. We often take more on our plates than we can chew. That leaves us exhausted & overwhelmed. In such scenarios, learning to delegate duties can be one of the excellent Ways to Take Time for Yourself. It will definitely save you some time.
Find out which responsibilities you need to execute & which ones can be delegated. The tasks with two or one star can be delegated as described earlier.
Meeting your clients or going to the bank for some errands is definitely a three-star task, but picking up some groceries or buying a gift for your friend is surely a two-star task. You can ask your partner, friends & family members to do it.
7. Take Mini Breaks
Taking an hour for yourself doesn’t have to involve clearing a lot of free time in your schedule. It is equally vital to take small breaks at times to recharge & refresh. After working for two or three hours, take a small break of 15-20 minutes to refresh yourself & regain focus. You can do the following things in that time:
- Take a walk.
- Have a cup of coffee.
- Stretch.
- Listen to music.
- Read a book or magazine.
- Browse social media.
- Watch some videos.
- Have a snack (But no junk foods).
- Chat with your friends or family.
- Play some games on your phone.
8. Use Your Holidays To Complete Chores
We all get some leaves & holidays. You can use those holidays to complete vital household chores. Instead of rearranging your room on a busy day of the week, try to do it next Sunday or on the holiday of Memorial Day.
Yes, holidays are supposed to be a day when we can relax. But small errands like rearranging your room or doing your laundry should also be addressed. Doing them on holidays ensures you are freeing up more time on a busy day when you need it most.
Some Benefits of ‘Me’ Time
Making some ‘Me’ time by exploring Ways to Take Time for Yourself can bring various benefits. Some of them are as follows:
- Reduce stress & relax.
- Rewire your brain & be more productive.
- Improve focus & problem-solving abilities.
- Allow time for discovering yourself & higher thinking.
- Improve your relationships.
- Better work-life balance & overall well-being.
- It makes you happier & energized.
- You will feel less exhausted.
FAQs
Q: What activities should I engage in my ‘Me’ time?
A: Activities you enjoy. It can be anything from reading a book to walking outside.
Q: If I surround myself with friends, would it count as ‘Me’ time?
A: Spending quality time with friends can be a great stress-buster, but the concept of ‘Me’ time is enjoying your own company & things you love to do. A crowd defeats its very purpose.
Q: If I take some time out, is it okay to go on a solo trip?
A: If you can manage some days, going on a solo trip is an excellent idea.
