With daily life consisting of a whirl of activities and stressors, taking time to reconnect and balance yourself should always be a priority. By prioritizing “me” time, you enable your body and mind to relax and recuperate, allowing for higher quality function.
Planning
One of the quickest ways to fully implement a new activity is to plan ahead. For many people, every day could hold a different schedule. Planning “me” time for when it’s most needed will help maximize its positive effects. This could mean taking some time after lunch to regroup for the afternoon or relaxing in the evening to prepare for a good night’s rest. It could also mean using half your lunch break to eat, and the other half for a quiet walk.
Forming Habits
Forming a habit for makes it much easier to continue prioritizing it in the future; sticking to the same time of day or putting alongside another daily task is a good way to reinforce the habit. By doing this, you can train your brain to remind you of and anticipate your relaxation time.
This makes it easier to fulfill your goal and will continue getting easier the longer it goes on. The more ingrained the habit of “me” time becomes, the better off you will feel.
Making a Manageable Task List
For some people, it can be nearly impossible to take time for themselves when they still have items on their to do list or are busy with work and family. This makes productive recuperation difficult on the busiest days, often when it’s most needed.
To make taking time easier, it can be helpful to break a task list into more manageable portions, making sure to include time for relaxation. Not only does this allow for recuperation, but also helps reduce stress.
No Exceptions
When prioritizing time for yourself, no exceptions should be allowed. Daily life can be very busy and throughout a day, many new tasks or events will pop up to take your attention. For your own mental and physical health, time set aside for yourself should not be infringed upon.
As soon as “me” time is crowded out of its place even once, it becomes easier to repeatedly ignore your own needs.
Small Amounts
Taking time for yourself doesn’t always mean taking a day trip to the lake or clearing your whole schedule for relaxation. Such trips can be enormously beneficial, but it can be difficult to carve out such a large portion of time.
By taking as little as 10 to 30 minutes a day of quality time to yourself, you can be refreshed and prepared to keep moving forward. This could include taking a few minutes to breathe, power nap or even have a coffee by yourself.
Whatever your form of “me” time, it should be prioritized in order to help maximize your mental and physical health. By taking steps to create time and space in your schedule for yourself, no exceptions, you can gain time to recuperate and regain the energy needed to better face the day.
This story was made possible by our Community Partners Program. Thank you Didsbury Dental for helping to expand local news coverage in Alberta. Learn more.
