Thursday, March 13, 2014

Creating Me Time

I have talked about how this year, one of my goals is to create more "me time" for myself.  I have always been a person with a full plate, and even though I am a stay at home mom, I was finding myself running around way too much from task to task, rather than enjoying the moments - which is one reason why I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  So I decided I needed to slow down to be able to enjoy the moments and the first way I was going to be able to accomplish that was by finding time to slow down personally, or create "me time".


Have you ever had the feeling at the end of the day that you are unsure what you accomplished but you felt busy all day?  I use to think that was just being a Mom, but as I took some time to reflect, I realized that I needed to prioritize my day and include some "me time" for myself.

So what is "me time"?  "Me time" is a time period taken for yourself to enjoy something you like or to relax.  Some examples of my favorite "me time" activities include blogging, drinking a cup of chai tea, participating in a Bible study, reading a good book, going for a walk, and connecting with friends and family.  Whatever you find enjoyable can be your "me time".

But I am too busy to take time for myself?  If you are saying this, then you definitely need to get in some "me time" today.  If I don't make time for myself I get stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out.  And if I am not taking care of myself, then I can't take care of those that depend on me.  Think about it, when you are flying on an airplane, the flight attendant has a safety message that must be given before the flight takes off. The flight attendant states, “Should we experience any problems, an oxygen mask will drop from the ceiling. Please place your oxygen mask on yourself before assisting others.”  We've got to put our oxygen mask on before helping others.  We can't take care of others if we don't first take care of ourselves.  This is hard for many Moms to remember I feel.  For me, "me time" helps take care of myself.  "Me time" helps me to slow down in this fast-paced world and reflect and enjoy life.  "Me time" gives me energy.  I need "me time" so I can take care of my family.

I am thinking about all of this today because I have to admit, this week has been one of those weeks where I have been busy, but unsure with what.  This week was actually a pretty casual and calm week for our family, but now, I can't believe it is already Thursday!  This week would have been the perfect week to have a productive, enjoyable week.  Instead I have wasted it by getting lost in distractions of fatigue, television and making lists that I'm not getting through.  Last night as I was watching "crap TV" (as My Farmer affectionately calls it) as my entire household was asleep, I was making yet another unrealistic task list for today and then stopped myself.  I had been making lists all week but not getting things accomplished.  What was different from this week compared to days or weeks where I did get things accomplished?  The difference - "me time".  I hadn't been getting up early to start my morning off with some breakfast and a time of reflection with my personal Bible study and prayer before the kids woke up.  I hadn't been getting enough fresh air with the kids because I don't like cold, wet, spring days.  I hadn't made anytime to really talk with any family or friends - I had cut short what conversations I had had because I was busy "running around."  So last night, I reminded myself the importance of giving myself some time daily to do the things that make me happy, so then I could in turn, have a good day for not only me but for everyone that depends on me.  Today may not have been perfect, but I'm okay with that.  Today was progress; progress for myself, progress for my family and progress for my commitments.  And progress is something to be happy about.

I hope you all are having a good week and are creating some "me time" for yourselves.  Taking just ten minutes a day for yourself will empower you for the rest of the day.  Remember, it only takes 30 days of consistent practice to create a new habit.  If you skip a day, you begin again at Day 1.

So, Happy Day 1 everyone and remember to Comment for a Cause!  What is your favorite "me time" activity?

5 comments:

  1. Great reminder to always take time for yourself. That is exactly why I like to spend time at the library---the only distraction from doing what I love (writing my blog posts) is all the great books that surround me there! But at least there is not a washing machine, dishwasher, vacuum, etc. YOU know what I mean!!!

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  2. Sewing is a great love of mine, and I sometimes just have to say, can it to the chores and give myself the gift of stitching. There's a couple shops near me that have "sewing days" and I'd like to avail myself of them to just get away from the chores that always think they should be first. When I was younger, I didn't sew until my kids went to bed, so I'm a night sewer alot of times.

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  3. Wise words and encouraging since we all struggle with this. Also, it was so fun to see you last week!

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  4. It's the epic question of all times! Why is it so hard to prioritize ourselves? My kids get a better me, I get a better me when I do and I still struggle. This is a great goal! You will knock it out of the park :) I am looking forward to what inspiration and innovation you find to make this happen. One of my life bucket list things is to start playing my violin again (played for over 10 years and quite at college)... your post made me ponder if I could work that into now instead of later as time for me. Hmmmm... Love ya!

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  5. I agree with you 100%. Funny, I quote the airline advice to myself often. I'm working on cutting down social media time to give me more tuned-in me time. Great post!

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