Who Wants To Make ‘Me Time’ A Priority?

I can hear you now. “Me time? How am I supposed to find time for that when I have hundreds of to-dos left on the list?”

We all lead busy lives. And the one thing that often falls to the very bottom of the list is ourselves. How are we ever supposed to find time to relax when there are so few hours in the day?

I tend the thrive on being busy and productive, but I’ve realized that sometimes the most productive thing I can do is make time to myself to refuel. In order to be at your best for everyone and everything else in your day, you need to take care of YOU. You deserve that time to unwind and recharge.

I recently received an email from Jessica, a reader who shared her struggle to prioritize me time within her day.

[blockquote source=”Jessica”]My biggest frustration is that I don’t prioritize time for me. My thoughts in the morning are always, “I’ll just do this one thing on my to-do list and then I’ll get to time for myself.” Of course, one thing leads to another and I get to the end of the day and haven’t given myself that me time. [/blockquote]

I answered Jessica’s question in a Facebook live broadcast last week, and thought I’d recap those tips here in this blog post.

4 Tips For Making ‘Me Time’ A Priority

1. Build It Into Your Routine

If you’re anything like me, your schedule is packed. You get to the end of the day and still have so much left to check off that never-ending to-do list. I’ve learned that I must incorporate personal time into my daily routine or it simply doesn’t happen. If it’s not in your routine or on your calendar, your day will get away from you all too easily. Taking time for yourself is super important, so be sure to schedule it. Set aside intentional time to relax, because if you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen.

2. Front Load Your Days

I’ve only recently discovered how important this one is. I have never thought of myself as much of a morning person, but have spent much of this year waking up quite a bit earlier than I used to, which gives me time to myself before work. Mornings are the best time to focus on your priorities because there are less distractions, and I’ve definitely found this to be true. I’ve found time to truly focus on taking time for myself and for my biggest priorities before the demands of life take over the rest of the day.

Front loading your days with the things you value most ensures they happen no matter what else comes up later. The demands of work haven’t started yet, your family may still be asleep, and your to-do list isn’t stressing you out yet because you have an entire day ahead of you to complete it.

3. Choose Your Go-to Me Time Activities

My personality is one that is go-go-go all the time. It’s really hard for me to step away from work and projects long enough to relax. When I do try to unwind, I usually find myself mindlessly watching Netflix. While watching TV isn’t inherently a bad me time activity, there are so many other things I could do. But my problem is that I have a hard time thinking of something to do to relax in the moment, so I just default to TV most of the time.

I’ve found it really helpful to have three or four go-to me time activities, ones that I always enjoy doing and that are easy for me to do anytime. This way I have some options in the back of my mind, but the list is limited so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. I compiled a list of 25 me time activity ideas in this blog post if you need some help deciding on a few go-to activities for your own down time.

4. Kill Two Birds With One Stone

This last one is my favorite because I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient. Why wash dishes in silence if you could wash them while also listening to a good audiobook? Why mindlessly scroll through your news feed while waiting for an appointment when you could be journaling? Look at your list of me time activities and think of ways you could do more of those things during your day. Look for those pockets of down time or monotonous tasks that would be easy to do something else simultaneously. Use that time intentionally, and you’ll soon find plenty of ways to incorporate more me time into your daily routine.

You may feel guilty for prioritizing yourself, selfish even. But remember that YOU are your greatest asset, so take care of yourself. We as women tend to give, give, give to others, and we don’t give to ourselves nearly enough. When you take that personal time, you’ll come back to the rest of your commitments with greater focus and energy. Don’t let that time to refuel fall to the bottom of your list anymore. Make it a priority.

I discussed these four tips in more detail in last week’s Facebook Live broadcast. This was my very first Facebook Live, but I definitely plan to do more and would love it if you’d like my page so you don’t miss future broadcasts.

Have a great day!