Now the year is in full swing: people are returning to work, to full time study, or packing the kids off to school. The holiday period has gone and we’re all becoming busier. Did you make a new year’s resolution to spend more time ‘on yourself’ this year? Perhaps improving your fitness, or taking up meditation or a creative pursuit. And yet every week so far, do you look back and see that you were ‘too busy’ to spend any time on you?
Your running shoes sit abandoned on the spare room floor. The blank canvas just aching to be painted is still in its wrapper. The meditation CDs you purchased haven’t seen the inside of your CD player yet. And you’re becoming concerned that this year could be just like the last – too busy, and not enough time caring for you.
Before you abandon all hope for improvement in your work-life balance, here are some strategies that could help you actually make it happen:
- Make an appointment with yourself, and keep that appointment as carefully as you would with any professional person, knowing that there will be consequences if you don’t. If you have a diary, slot in those ‘me’ time appointments. Then, if someone asks, you can politely decline, honestly admitting that you already have an appointment booked for that time.
- Tell someone close to you what you’re committing to, and report on how you went. Even better, make it really public on Facebook! There’s nothing like the potential for public embarrassment for increasing the chance you’ll do it!
- Pretend you have a camera crew following you around and narrating your activities for the day. Imagine explaining your ‘reason’ for not taking time out to a television audience, and see how convincing you sound.
- Sometimes removing yourself to a different location can help make it happen. E.g Instead of trying to paint at home, why not book into a painting masterclass?
Remember that we all have a natural resistance to change. Expect to feel resistance. Everyone gets this feeling, particularly when it comes to activities that are potentially uncomfortable and will leave you feeling sweaty – like exercise. The people who get things done are the people who recognise this tendency to stay on the couch, but get out and do the deed anyway.
The rest of life will get in the way of your quest for a ‘you’ time, if you let it. So don’t. Take out your diary now, mark out your ‘you’ time for the coming week, make it happen, then, see how you’re feeling about yourself at the end of the week.
How do you make time for yourself? Let us know by leaving your comments below..
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