No more excuses! Find some ‘Me time’ in your overloaded plate

Hey there! I am pleased to have you all here for another interesting post on LeisureReadz!  So, here’s the introductory post in the ‘Work-Life Balance’ series.

Since most of us are super busy all the time, achieving ‘Work-Life Balance’ is essential to avoid a 'Burn-out'- the feeling of no energy + enthusiasm at all.
One of the ways to achieve this balance is to frequently spend some time for yourself; better known as the ‘Me time’. To start with what is this 'Me time'? And more so why is it important? The simple answer to this is – ‘the time each individual needs to be himself/herself’. We often are pressed hard for time as our toweringly busy schedules do not allow us enough room to catch up on few things that we love. Don't you think so? Reasons could be many like fixed office timings with high commutation times or just plain laziness. No more excuses! Yup, even I have to admit that I haven’t been able to take out some time for myself. Although, I started this blog for my personal development; but I am unable to give it the time and attention it requires at this stage. So, the same question goes for everyone. When was the last time each one of us took a break from their ho-hum routines and did something for just ourselves?

We all play different roles every day in our lives. And since we are busy through the week, we make a great effort to spend some quality time with our families over the weekend. Hence, most of the times when asked about ourselves, we would simply respond saying “I don’t have time/I am busy/I have something urgent this week/I can’t I have some other work to do, etc.” But this isn't what I am talking about, not the family time. Not in this post at least. I am referring to the "Me time” which every person needs some where to feel recharged and refreshed. This could be some quiet meditation - yoga time or may be even the hobby time. Simple logic says that if we have to do something important or urgent, we will find time to do it any how. So don’t we value ourselves? Then why not take out some time for ourselves? Only when we are ourselves happy and feel energetic all the time then and only then we can spread the happiness in others’ lives. Your ‘Me time’ ensures just that.

Identify what interests and motivates you: I believe it might be beneficial to identify ones interests and sources of inspiration in the beginning. Like I, personally feel that I am good at sketching even though I can’t  make a career out of it ( whereas reading some famous quotes, scholarly articles/ posts which are cool and innovative from fields of technology, travel, research, medicine, cooking, etc. definitely motivates me... i.e. I find my inspiration mostly by reading. At times, I might just even watch a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) video on YouTube and feel energized to try it out. These activities can be a part of my ‘Me time’. How about you? What is it that pushes you to achieve something for yourself in your life?

Have a happy hour or minutes every day for self: Good. Now once we know what interests us and makes us happy; we just need to find out a way to do it more often as time permits. Say you like to listen and hum to songs which you stopped doing due to busy schedule, then just find time every day to hum at least one favorite song whenever you get time during the day. Try it! It does relieves a lot of stress. You could have a short ‘Happy hour’ on weekends or few ‘Happy minutes’ every day i.e. make your ‘Me time’ weekly or daily as per your liking. 

Having personal development goals to be executed on weekends: All of us have certain long term and short term goals on their minds, both personal and professional. So, it could be quite beneficial to plan particular activities on weekends by focusing on things you want to learn in order to improve a specific set of skills. For me, I plan to write mostly on weekends for improving my writing skills as well as utilize my time for something creative. I am still yet to decide on what else I could try on the weekends... I know. Too much thinking at times is totally unproductive! ;) But any new or old hobby is ok as long as it’s for your own self. Something that nourishes your soul and makes you smile.

Do something for yourself every once in a while: Even if you don’t find time for yourself each weekend or in the week, decide at least one thing that you would like to do for yourself and get it done in the same month. This can also be a huge booster to your self-esteem and happiness.

Be firm in protecting your ‘Me time’: Once you decide on your ‘Me time’ then one needs to be quite firm on protecting it and not compromise on it. Even those times when guests come in uninformed or when you have already committed to work on something else, you can always plan the ‘Me time’ later. This ensures that it becomes a part of your life or more so like a habit. Remember from last post “Happiness is a habit. Cultivate it”. ~ Elbert Hubbard 

And finally, with happiness and contentment only we can actually achieve the delicate ‘Work-Life Balance’.

So that’s it folks for this post. Let me know if you enjoyed reading it and whether you would like see such posts in future.

Till the next post,

Stay Happy and feel alive!

Cheers,