One in three 18-64-year-olds have a hard time reconciling work and private life, resulting in stress and an increasing number of burn-outs.Particularly women are struggling. Why? As a woman, you set the bar extremely high for yourself in all areas. Excelling at your job, being a good mum and then also exercising and looking good. Admit it: it is not easy to combine all this. Time for change, for more time for YOU (yes, you!).
Me time? No time!
Of course, you know how important it is to schedule time for yourself in that busy schedule too. Yet you often fail. You run from pillar to post. Busy, busy, busy. However, scheduling a moment for yourself in time is the only way to be the best version of yourself. If you do not do this, you will get burnt out in no time.
With these tips, you will succeed!
Plan – plan – plan!
Spontaneously taking time for yourself is something you do dream about, but in reality it just does not happen. There is always something or someone who demands more attention or seems more important at the time. The solution is planning.
Besides meetings, a haircut appointment for your son or obligatory family visits, me time deserves a place on your calendar too. Recurring and marked in a striking colour.
Think about what you want to do with that me time in advance. Whether it is your daily morning meditation, reading a book in the bath on Friday night (including bubbles in the bath and in your glass), taking an hour every week to get all your worries off your chest, or just doing nothing. Whatever it is, make sure you reserve time in your diary and do not let anything or anyone disrupt your moment.
Communication is key
Now that your blocks of me time have been reserved in your diary, communication is the next crucial step in getting undisturbed self care. Inform your partner, your children or maybe even your colleagues. They will no doubt respect your relaxation time. This way, you can enjoy unabashedly, without having to justify yourself.
Visualise your me time
What is me time for your best friend may have a very different meaning for you. Think about this carefully and define what me time means to you. That way, you avoid doing things that actually give you little energy, but that you do – again – ‘because you have to or so you should’.
Do you not really know what makes you happy? A good way is to make a mind map or vision board. This is also immediately a good activity for your first scheduled me time moment.
How do you make a vision board?
Choose a quiet moment in a nice, relaxing environment that stimulates your creativity (e.g. outside, in nature).
Take a large sheet of paper (poster size), some magazines, markers in different colours and scissors.
Getting started:
Cut out words and images that are important to you and stick them on. You can cluster them into 3-5 themes and important values in your life. Be creative and let yourself go all the way. Brainstorm without limiting yourself and thinking about the consequences. Only then will you discover true feelings and aspirations.
Done!
Give your personal vision board a place in your home and look at it regularly. It helps to take a step back at busy times and remind yourself of what is really important to you.
Delegate
“Everything I do myself, I do better.” A quote often heard from ambitious women, especially if you have a perfectionist side. Yet it would give you so much more peace of mind and quality of life if you also learn to outsource certain tasks. Routine household tasks, such as cleaning and ironing, are likely to be taken for granted. But also consider washing windows, administrative work (via a virtual assistant) or doing your shopping online to save time.
> Tip: Take a look at www.wetasker.be
Check for yourself which tasks take up a lot of your precious time. Consider what it would give you (in energy and time for fun things) versus the cost. You will see that there are probably some opportunities to get more out of your life.
And hey, the house does not always have to be spotless!
De-connect
Okay. You have reserved blocks in your diary and you know what you would like to do to relax. Now it cannot go wrong. The only thing left is self discipline. Because if you have an hour of me time planned, but spend the first half hour “still quickly answer that email from my boss” or uselessly scroll through social media, then of course it is of no use to you.
So: smartphone off and full focus on yourself!
And no, do not dare run the washing machine.
