Feeling like life is moving too fast? You’re constantly rushing around to meet someone else’s schedule. At the end of the day, you finally have some me-time but you’re too exhausted to enjoy it. It’s time to put yourself first.
Make a list
How do you want to spend your time, and what are your priorities? Having ‘me time’ is great but is also vague and hard to implement. Stop and take a few minutes to organize your thoughts and write down what that ‘me time’ should look like. Maybe it’s finding time to regularly get your hair cut. Maybe it’s more time to read and finish a book. It could be more time to walk or stay active. Once you know what you want more of in life, the easier it will be to make that happen.
Ask for help
Again, make a list of who can help you and when. You might think at first that you don’t have much extra help, but by organizing this, it could turn out that you have more help than you realized. Which grandparent has expressed interest in watching your child every now and then? What neighbor has offered their services? In a busy world, there might be more help than you realized.
Schedule your time
It’s not enough to wish for more time for yourself. Instead, you need to take that time. Announce to everyone involved that such a date and time has been blocked off. This could be a standing weekly appointment or a regular evening time period. It doesn’t matter as long as the time works for you.
Schedule yourself first
There will always be conflicting times when you want to schedule your ‘me time.’ But instead of thinking about everyone else, think about yourself first. By blocking off a specific time, you are putting yourself first and that’s ok. It might take a bit of time but soon enough, life will start to revolve around your schedule.
Check-in
Are the steps that you have taken to put yourself first working? Have you made enough time for yourself? Is there something different that you want to look into? Nothing is ever set in stone and if your plan isn’t as seamless as you first thought, it’s ok to go ahead and change it. Life is constantly evolving. What might work in the winter probably won’t work in the summer. Vacations and deadlines can quickly change a routine and you’ll need to adapt with them. Just make sure that once life settles down again you continue to put yourself first. This way you can keep yourself fueled and ready to tackle anything. The more work you do for yourself, the happier you will be.