How to take time for yourself: 9 tips for taking care of yourself

How to take time for yourself

How to take time for yourself

In this article on how to take time for yourself, I share with you useful tips that will help you take back control of your time and your well-being.

It may sound simple, but taking time for yourself is not always easy.

We have so much going on in our lives that we often forget to take care of ourselves.

If you are feeling stressed, take some time to relax and unwind.

You deserve it!

Doing this is essential because it’s hard to take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first.

You need to make sure you get enough sleep, eat well, exercise regularly and get enough rest.

If you don’t take good care of yourself, you won’t be able to give the best of yourself to those around you.

Before we get to the tips, I’d like to provide you with some answers to the questions you may be asking yourself right now.

How do you start taking time for yourself?

Start by making time for yourself every day.

Whether it’s five minutes or fifteen, it’s important to set aside time for yourself every day.

It can be doing something relaxing like reading a book, listening to music, meditating or spending quality time with friends and family.

Is it normal to take time for yourself?

It is important to take time for yourself. We all need to recharge our batteries from time to time. However, if we don’t take time for ourselves, we won’t be able to devote ourselves to others.

What happens if you don’t take time for yourself?

If you don’t take time for yourself, you will reduce your self-esteem and your happiness. You will also lose a sense of control over your life and therefore your motivation.

Why do I feel guilty about taking time for myself?

It is important to remember that taking time for yourself does not mean that you don’t care about others.

In fact, it demonstrates just the opposite. When we give ourselves permission to spend time doing what brings us joy, we become better people.

We learn to appreciate others and our relationships. And when we stop worrying about what others think of us, we begin to discover who we really are.

Now, let me share with you my tips!

1 – Stop saying you don’t have time

The reason many people don’t take time for themselves is the habit of saying they don’t have time.

This is a lie because we all have 24 hours in a day.

Of course some people have more professional and personal responsibilities than others.

But we cannot deny that it is much easier to continue to repeat the same excuse than to step out of our comfort zone.

At this point you have two choices, either stop reading this article and continue to believe that you don’t have time, or realize that you have the choice to change your behavior.

But this requires you to re-priorize your life by remembering something you’ve forgotten about because you’re always there for your work and your family.

I’m not saying that your job and family aren’t worth your time and attention.

The purpose of this article is to remind you that you are important!

You are at least as important as everyone else. You deserve the best because the purpose of our lives is not just to be productive in order to achieve our goals.

We all need to do activities that make us feel good and remind us that we are important.

This is essential because every time you give yourself the right to be first, you build self-esteem, love yourself more and are happier.

What I’m trying to get you to understand is that every time you don’t take time for yourself, you are subconsciously telling yourself that others are more important than you.

It’s fine to be altruistic and devote your time to your family and your business. But it’s not at all right to constantly put yourself in the last position.

Now, I suggest we move on to the second tip which is to set boundaries.

2 – Set boundaries

Whether it’s your work or your personal life, learning to set boundaries is key to having time back for yourself.

When you say yes to everything, you end up saying no to many things. So learn to say no to the wrong things.

Saying no doesn’t mean you don’t care about the person who asked you to do a task.

It just means that you need to prioritize.

In the context of your job, you should set limits on how much work you are willing to do at any given time.

Don’t let others push you to do things you don’t want to do.

If you feel overwhelmed, ask for help.

If you don’t want to stay at work any longer, say so!

Developing your assertiveness is important to rearrange your priorities and therefore to act in accordance with your personal values.

Becoming aware of what is acceptable to you and communicating it to others is as much an act of courage as it is a behavior that demonstrates that you respect yourself as much as you respect others.

From time to time, you will be forced to meet the expectations of your manager.

But if the exception becomes the rule, then it’s time to think about your well-being.

No job is more important than your health and if the situation at work becomes unbearable, it is better to change job than to go through a burnout.

These same principles are also valuable in your private life, even if with your loved ones the task can be more challenging.

Whether it is your relationship, your family commitments or activities with friends, setting a framework becomes vital for your fulfillment and your health.

Taking care of your loved ones is right, but constantly forgetting about yourself is not.

Take a few minutes to write down how you feel about the important relationships in your life.

When you experience unpleasant emotions, limit yourself to describing the facts.

Then identify what you would like to change about your behavior and what you want to communicate to others.

Then, plan these tasks in your to-do list and take action to create better relationships.

Now, I suggest we move on to the next tip, which is to do what you love more often.

3 – Do what you love more often

The first step to find time for yourself is to discover what you love to do.

If you don’t know what you like to do best, take some time to think about it.

You may have to try different things before you figure out what really makes you happy.

Once you find what you are passionate about, make sure you practice it as much as possible.

Don’t let anything stop you from pursuing your passions.

Once you find what excites you you need to make sure that you keep making time for it.

This means that you need to create a new habit. A simple way to do this easily is to schedule a weekly appointment for the activity of your choice.

Anything you plan is more likely to get done, and that applies to your passions as well.

But in order to keep your personal commitment, you need to assign the right value to these activities.

If you don’t, you’ll become an easy prey for all the demands coming from your personal or professional environment.

I suggest you try this metaphor, think of your free time as a date with God.

This time then becomes a sacred time and consequently a non-negotiable time.

By taking advantage of these moments of calm on a regular basis, you will be able to reduce stress and therefore strengthen your resilience.

You will also begin to have insights and solve some of your challenges at work and in your personal life without consciously thinking about them.

You will be happier with your life and have better health.

When you return to your commitments with others, you will be more attentive to their needs and consequently you will develop more enriching relationships with others.

Finally, you will have more energy, a greater ability to concentrate and be more productive.

Now I suggest we move on to the next tip which is to stop making excuses.

4 – Don’t make excuses

Despite all the important reasons to take time for yourself and even if you are able to say no to other people’s requests, you still have one last person to persuade.

That person is you!

You can have all the best intentions but if you doubt your choice, nothing will work.

In some cases, a self-esteem coaching is the best solution.

But this is not always necessary.

Certain fears can also limit you.

For example, some people are afraid of not being loved by their family if they are not always available for them.

Other people are afraid to show that they don’t feel competent enough and always work much harder than their colleagues because they suffer from impostor syndrome.

Social norms can also limit you. For example, in some companies presenteeism is valued more than work that is actually completed. Therefore, it is not always easy to not conform to the group.

Your beliefs can also limit you. For example, if you believe that you have to work hard to succeed, you will not count your hours and you will risk burnout.

Your values can also impact your decisions. If work is at the top of your value scale, you may not give enough space to your personal life and leisure activities.

Now, I suggest we move on to the next tip which is to express your needs.

5 – Express your needs

What do you need to feel good?

What emotions do you want to experience in your free time?

What kind of people would you like to meet?

What old passions would you like to rediscover?

What new activities would you like to try?

What talents would you like to bring to life?

Answering these questions is essential for deciding what types of activities you can schedule in your to-be list.

But before you do, you’ll need to communicate your needs with your professional and personal circle.

If you feel too overwhelmed at work or in your personal life, be assertive with your manager, colleagues, family members, etc.

Then, make a list of all the activities that appeal to you and identify the need associated with each activity.

If you want, you can assign more than one activity to each need.

Then, for each need, detail both the advantages of achieving it and the disadvantages of not achieving it.

Finally, plan and execute at least one activity that will allow you to fulfill one of your needs.

Now, I suggest that we move on to the next tip, which consists of overcoming the fear of guilt.

6 – Overcome the fear of guilt

We often tend to put others first, especially if they are close to us.

But remember that you are just as important as everyone else. Treat yourself with kindness, compassion and respect.

If you are feeling guilty, try to understand whether you are feeling this emotion because of yourself or because of others.

For example, you may feel guilty because you believe that to be a good father or mother you have to be available all the time for your family.

But when you make time for yourself and think it’s not right, because of your belief it’s like betraying your loved ones.

You may also feel guilty if your spouse never makes time for himself/herself because he/she doesn’t feel the need and you instead need it. In this specific case, it is important to explain that you have different needs.

It is essential to understand that when you take time for yourself, you are accomplishing an altruistic action.

In fact, the more quality time you are able to devote to yourself, the better you will be able to bring the best of yourself both at work and in your personal life.

Now, I suggest we move on to the next tip, which is to schedule time to solve your problems.

7 – Plan time to solve your problems

Scheduling activities that contribute to your fulfillment is essential for your overall well-being.

But it’s also important to set aside time to solve important problems that you encounter in your professional life.

In some cases, you will need to take advantage of the expertise of a coach or simply talk about it with your spouse.

But in other cases, you can make appointments with yourself.

My advice is:

  • to use a pen and paper to let your imagination run wild
  • to focus on one problem at a time
  • to think in a quiet environment without distractions

After making a list of all the problems you face, choose the one you want to solve.

Then write down what the consequences will be for you if you do nothing and what the benefits might be if you start taking action to solve it.

Then, take a few seconds to feel the unpleasant and pleasant emotions related to this challenge.

Next, write down all the actions you can take to start solving your problem.

Choose your first action, plan it in your agenda and take action.

Finally, evaluate the effectiveness of your action, if necessary change your approach and move on to the next step until you completely solve your problem.

Now, I suggest we move on to the next tip, which is to build self-esteem.

8 – Continue to increase your self-esteem

As you have understood, taking time for yourself is not a trivial thing and in addition to contributing to your physical and psychological balance, it has a positive effect on your self-esteem.

An effective way to strengthen your self-esteem is to take time for yourself because it means that you are valuable, that you are important.

But anything else that improves or protects your self-esteem will also help you to have a more fulfilled life.

To protect your self-esteem, avoid:

  • situations that make you feel uncomfortable
  • exposing your weaknesses
  • meeting people who have a negative influence on you
  • making choices that require you to break your values

To build self-esteem:

  • spend time with people who appreciate you
  • keep your promises
  • use your innate talents as much as possible
  • take an inventory of all your accomplishments
  • set and achieve goals
  • congratulate yourself more often
  • reward yourself for your efforts

The more you are able to build self-esteem, the more motivated you will be to take time for yourself.

Now, I suggest we move on to the next tip which is to eliminate unproductive or unnecessary habits.

9 – Eliminate counterproductive or unnecessary habits

We all have bad habits that take us away from our priorities and values.

Some habits like smartphone addiction and sleep procrastination are also related to the specifics of the society we live in.

Other habits are more about individual choices. For example, some people have the habit of staying too long at work.

At the beginning it was just an occasional behavior, but over the years it has turned into a routine.

This happens especially if you want to do everything and you don’t want to or don’t know how to delegate.

Perfectionism that prevents you from taking the actions necessary for your success is also another habit that you should eliminate.

But even if your perfectionist attitude doesn’t prevent you from taking action, it can still lead you to spend too much time on a lot of tasks and if you do this often, you will have increasingly less time for yourself.

What are your useless or counterproductive habits?

Make a list of them, choose one and start to eliminate it.

Once you’ve removed it, you can focus on the other habits.

Conclusion on how to take time for yourself

In this article, I’ve provided you with tips that will help you enjoy your time more.

If you are interested in the topic of productivity, I invite you to discover all my articles on productivity.

If you are looking for tools to improve your time management skills, I recommend you read my article on the best time management apps.

If you want to take advantage of the expertise of a time management coach, write to us now using our contact form or call us by phone or on WhatsApp at +33 6 69 46 03 79.

Are you ready to take action?

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Read this article in other languages

Français Comment prendre du temps pour soi : 9 conseils pour prendre soin de soi
ItalianoPrendersi del tempo per se stessi: come prendersi cura di se stessi

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