In my last post I gave you all some tips on how to find time when you feel like you don’t have any. In that post I mentioned that you should always carve out some time for yourself but I didn’t give any suggestions or tips on how to do that. For this post I’m sharing some ways that you can take time for yourself when you just need a break.
It’s so easy to get consumed with your career, school or life in general.
Finding time for myself is the best way I know how to keep my work-school-life balance in check. If you need some ideas to get you started in finding time for yourself then just keep on reading!
- Wake up 30 minutes to 1 hour earlier than usual. I know, you may be thinking, why would I want to do that? However, If you give yourself a little extra time in the mornings then that can create time for you to do something you enjoy. That could be reading a book or meditating. You can even use this time to hit the gym.
- Speaking of the gym, go. Getting some time in at the gym will truly make you feel good. Exercise has been shown to help you sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, and can also help to lower your blood pressure. This time to yourself in the gym will allow you to focus on your mind and your body. Even just 20 minutes of exercise can tremendously change your mood.
- Take yourself on a date. This could be as simple as buying yourself lunch and enjoying it in a park. Depending on what you decide to do, it will only take about an hour or so out of your day. If you’re at work and need to find a way to just breathe, I highly recommend the lunch idea. It’s something that I often do. It gets me away for a little while and allows me to think about something other than work.
- Read a few pages of a book each day. Whenever you have some down time in the day, pick up a book. I know not everyone likes to read for leisure. However, if you are a bibliophile but have been struggling to read that book you’ve been meaning to start, begin by just reading a few pages whenever you have some free time. This could be 10 minutes before bed or while you wait for your morning coffee to brew.
- Write down how you’re feeling. This is probably one of my favorite suggestions. While it may not seem like much, spending as little as 5 minutes out of your day to recognize how you are feeling in the moment and writing it down will help you to manage those feelings. I really like to do this when I’m feeling anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. I’ll write down what I’m and what I’m doing in that moment. This helps me to understand what is causing me to feel those things and refer back to it when I need to. This is also a good thing to do when you’re feeling joy/happinesses. That way you can keep track of the things that you’re enjoying and try to implement them in your life more often.
- The last suggestion I have is to sleep. Not a full night type of sleep but a power nap. If you’re anything like me and start to feel sluggish in the middle of the day, find a quiet place to close your eyes for about 10-20 minutes. I’ve found that this time frame significantly increases my productivity once I wake up. Try it out, let me know how it works for you.
These are just a few of the many ways that you can take time for yourself. Most of them take less than an hour to do. They can also fit just about anyone’s lifestyle.
If there’s a way that you take time for yourself that is not mentioned in this post, let me know in the comment section!
