We all know how important self-care is for our overall health and well being, but are we all taking the time to actually practice self-care? Finding the time for self-care can seem impossible sometimes, but luckily it’s not! Keep reading to find out how to find time for self-care in your busy life!
Start your day earlier
If you have no time during your day to practice self-care, waking up earlier can provide you some extra time. Now, you don’t have to wake up 2 hours earlier or anything crazy! Just give yourself enough time for however you’re choosing to practice self-care.
If you want to know some other amazing reasons why you should wake up earlier, click the link to check out my blog post on the benefits of waking up earlier!
Cancel other plans
Practicing self-care should be a must on your to-do list, but it’s hard to find the time when your to-do list is 8 miles long. Take a look at the plans you have coming up and really think to yourself, “Is this more important than my well being, health, and happiness?”. If the answer is no, then feel free to cancel those plans!
Never feel bad about taking care of yourself before you take care of others. I’m sure whoever you had plans with will completely understand! (and if they don’t, then you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life anyway!)
Ask others for time alone
It’s hard to practice self-care when you never get any alone time. Finding time to be alone doesn’t come easily if you live with others. If you find yourself needing a little time away from others in order to care for yourself, then ask for it! (and just as I said before, don’t feel bad about it!)
Ask your roommates or your significant other for a little peace and quiet by yourself. If you have kids, ask your spouse or a family member to watch them for a few hours. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be alone. If these people truly care about you, they’ll have no problem providing you with some alone time.
Prioritize your time better
If your days are already jam-packed full of things to do and you feel like you can never find the time for self-care, think again. You probably do have the time, but you’re most likely spending it on something else. (like scrolling on Instagram, maybe?)
If you prioritize your time better, you may realize that you can practice self-care more often than you thought! Make sure that you are being mindful of how much time you are spending on certain tasks and doing things efficiently as possible. I’m sure you’ll be able to find at least an extra half-hour to dedicate to yourself!
Take a mental health day
If there comes a day where you desperately need to practice self-care for your own well being, do yourself a favor a take a mental health day. Taking a mental health day may be exactly what you need to refresh and restart!
Mental health days do not make you weak, they do not make you lazy, and they do not make you a bad employee. Honestly, if you’re feeling so overwhelmed that you feel the need to take an entire day off from the real world, then you probably shouldn’t be going to work anyways! When you’re that stressed out it’s hard to be a productive member of society. I’m sure Karen in HR would rather you take a day to get your shit together, than have you seriously lose your shit on her or someone else.
If you don’t feel comfortable telling your boss that you’re taking a mental health day (although I fully believe that should be a valid excuse no matter where you work), then just tell them you’re not feeling well. Feeling mentally unwell is as real as any sore throat or a fever.
Now actually do it!
Now that you know how to find time for self-care, you need to use it to your advantage! Try and commit to practicing self-care at least once a week.
In my home, self-care Sunday is a thing! My boyfriend and I understand that Sunday’s are for self-care, so we give each other space and try not to make plans on that day.
Let me know in the comments when you try to fit self-care into your own routine!
Five Amazing Productivity Hacks I Swear By
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When I first started blogging I had to quickly teach myself ways to be the most productive with the time I had. I needed to get out of my procrastinating ways and start kicking myself into gear! I’ve tried a lot of things that didn’t work, but have thankfully found some amazing productivity hacks that have worked wonders for me!
Start your day earlier
How many times do you say, “There are not enough hours in the day!”? I used to say this all of the time until I started waking up earlier and realized that there are enough hours in a day, I’m just wasting most of them sleeping!
One of the easiest ways to increase your productivity is to allow yourself more time during the day. One way to do this is to start waking up earlier! Some of my most productive hours during the day are the 2-3 hours I have in the morning while everyone else is still asleep. You can accomplish so much more in the mornings because you are (hopefully) well rested, you don’t have to worry about being interrupted by phone calls and texts, and you’re in a good mood because the world hasn’t gotten to you yet!
Try waking up just an hour earlier than normal and see how much more you can get down in just one hour! And trust me, there are more benefits to waking up earlier than just increased productivity. You can read more about the benefits of waking up earlier here!
Use the “have, should, could” to do list
Okay, so we all know that to-do lists are necessary because we have to know exactly what we should be doing… right? But, how many times do you write out a to-do list and somehow manage to complete every single task except the one that you really really needed to get done? That used to be me until I found the “have, should, could” to-do list! I’m not really sure where I learned about this method, but I’m sure it was in one of the many self-help books that have helped shape my life.
Here’s how it works:
You have 3 sections of your to-do list – 1. Things you HAVE to do today. If you only completed these things you would be happy and feel accomplished. 2. Things you SHOULD do. If you complete the first part of your to-do list, you should complete these things. 3. Things you COULD do. If you completed the other two sections, you could do these tasks but these are the least important of them all.
This method has helped my productivity soooo much! This to-do list forces me to complete the most important task, even if it’s something I really don’t want to do (I know we all have those tasks we wish we were rich enough to delegate to someone else!)
Use a timer and work in time blocks
Hi, I’m Megan and I’m a workaholic. I have this problem where I sit down to do one single thing, and before I know it two hours have gone by and I probably didn’t even accomplish the one task I wanted to do. Anyone else!?
Something that is proven to help productivity is working in time blocks. That means you set a specific amount of time to work on a project and then once that time is up, you switch to the next task. I personally prefer to work in time blocks of 30 minutes, and every 30 minutes I switch between tasks. This ensures that you don’t spend too much time on one thing and that you stay focused!
The other day I bought an hourglass timer and I love it! When I’m working I try not to look at my phone too often, so having a physical timer on my desk really helps! You can get a 30 minute hourglass timer like mine here! (And they come in 20 different color options!)
Take much needed breaks during the day
Take a break! You can only focus on work for so long before you lose your mind. Make it a point to take little breaks throughout the day to let your mind rest. Take 15 minutes to get away from your workspace and relax a little. Take an afternoon walk outside (or around the office), call a friend and chat, read a chapter of a book, read that trashy magazine you secretly love, or just sit in silence!
Also, use these times to make sure you’re drinking enough water and eating throughout the day. It can be hard to keep up on these things when you’re focused on working but you’d be surprised how much being properly hydrated and get the nutrients you need can affect your productivity!
Listen to instrumental music while you work
I personally cannot listen to my normal “today’s hits” Pandora station while I am trying to write or create. I get way too distracted and end up singing along to the songs instead of getting work done. This is why I choose to listen to instrumental music when I work!
Classical music and jazz music are actually proven to increase focus and productivity when listened to while working! These are a few of my favorite youtube channels to listen to while I work: Chillhop Music, Stay See, Cafe Music BGM, or you can just search “Study Music” and you can usually find something you like!
If you don’t like working to music at all, try listening to something like celestial white noise or pink noise (I find white noise to be too harsh, while pink noise is softer and easier for concentration).
Now get to work!
I have given you my 5 amazing productivity hacks, now it’s time to put them to use! Set your alarm for a little earlier tomorrow, print out that to-do list & fill it out, get that timer, put on your classical music, and get shit done!
Do you have any productivity hacks you swear by? I’d love to hear what they are!
