With a job, family, friends and a home to contend with your happiness, sometimes it gets dropped to the bottom of your list. Putting your needs above others is sometimes viewed as selfish or even lazy, but that doesn’t mean you should feel guilty about taking time for yourself. There is never going to be enough “you” to go around so try and make space in your life for what you love and enjoy by following these easy steps.
Make a date with yourself
If someone asks you to do something but you already are busy with a friend, you wouldn’t cancel, so why when you have something planned for yourself, do you often abandon your plans? Unless it is really urgent, just say you have “other plans.” Letting yourself down and missing out is just as bad as letting down a friend. Even if it is just two hours at the weekend to do exactly what you want, your free time is precious and should be guarded.
Just say “no”
Learning when to stop saying “yes” will help you to free up more time in your life. People often take more on than they can handle and although they claim to “cope” it often means their free time goes out of the window. This doesn’t mean saying “no” to every request but if someone else can do it or you already have a lot on your plate, apologise and say “no.” They will understand – no one can do it all!
Share your burdens
If you feel as if you have taken on too much yourself, consider who could share that responsibility with you. By dividing chores between you and your family, the work will get done quicker, creating extra time for all of you. At work, delegate or talk to people about what their workload is like. Sharing a project could mean helping both your careers – two heads are better than one.
Be realistic
As much as you may feel like superwoman you have to be realistic in what you take on. Just because you can pick up the kids from school, cook dinner for 10 and prepare a presentation for work, doesn’t mean you have to do them all on the same night. Inevitably something will give and you will be the one left feeling as if you haven’t done your best when really no one could cope with such a heavy load.
Get a hobby
You will be surprised how much time you will find free when you have something to motivate yourself. Whether it is a sports team, writing or even photography, a hobby will help you focus and complete your tasks more efficiently. You will be less likely to waste time if you know that when you finish, you can do something you enjoy.
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