Your life must be crazy busy, what with work, home and office commitments. You try to accomplish everything in time successfully, but there is hardly enough time for you, or in other words, a little space in your life, when you concentrate only on yourself.Keeping others happy and completing your tasks will become much easier when you are happy and relaxed. You have to make time for yourself, to give yourself a break, or a few breaks during the day. Even 15-30 minutes of breathing space can be relaxing, helping you to heal yourself from within. Be inspired by these tips to renew your energy and be happier:
It’s not selfish to have some ‘me’ time
Most people feel taking time out for themselves would be to ignore others or work. They feel guilty and selfish. This is because they are just not used to caring for themselves. You may be one of these people, and perhaps you may also feel that you’re being selfish if you put yourself on priority. But everyone needs some time to do things they want to, and be happier. Time for yourself means you can do something, or nothing at all. Lacking time for yourself leads to frustration, tiredness and a sense of being overwhelmed.
Practice better time management
You can’t create more time than the 24 hours you have. But with better management of time, you can find some time for yourself. Managing time better also means that you have to say ‘no’ to certain things, in order to do something you enjoy recharging and refocusing. You can carry out your responsibilities with a lighter spirit and heart. You’d be able to think clearly and perhaps find a solution for your difficulties when you make time for yourself.Â
Stop doing things which waste your time
Do you check your emails continuously during the day, and spend more time on your phone or computer than you planned, or answer all the calls that you receive?
These seemingly tiny things add up to wasting a lot of your time. Keep time separately to check and answer emails, and answer only those calls which are work related during work. Planning your meals ahead of time and shopping once a week can save you the time you spend on picking up groceries every day. When you organize your activities and put yourself on priority, you can clear up a lot of free time for yourself.
Delegate responsibilities
If you are in the habit of micromanaging, you would always be under work pressure, whether it’s due to work or home. You have to ask your family to pitch in the household chores – your child or children can help you in small chore. Your spouse can pick up the grocery, or a kid from a friend’s house or any extra class, instead of your running around by yourself. If you are single, you could get professional cleaners to help in cleaning the house or mowing the lawn. ‘Me’ time is important, to step back and maybe just sit with a cup of tea or coffee and catch up on your reading.
Practice mindfulness
Most of us are in the habit of doing things without actually participating in them fully. Our attention is often on the next task or on some long-term plan for the future. When we keep on doing things without thinking or processing them, we can become anxious, without knowing the reason why. Practicing ‘mindfulness’, i.e. being aware of our actions can also be a part of ‘me’ time, and gradually, this might lead you to living in the present and experience happiness.
Avoid social media
Facebook, Twitter and other IMs consume a lot of our time. Sometimes you don’t even get to know the amount of time you spend on social media, as you enjoy catching up. But this is not proper utilization of free time, as you might get worked up by some posts or photos, whereas the aim of alone time is to clear your mind and think about yourself.
Alone time, or ‘me’ time helps you to introspect, which in turn can lead to you finding and reducing pressures in you due to work or family, and thus increasing your happiness.