Finding time for yourself is the essence of self care. Many people feel guilty about doing so though. They worry about being seen as selfish or self-indulgent. In my personal experience, “selfish” is an accusation people generally throw at you when you’re simply not doing what they want you to do. Looking after yourself is not selfish. It’s vital.
It’s not easy sometimes though. Some days can feel like an endless stream of work and household chores. It seems to allow for little else but collapsing on the sofa in front of the TV at the end of it all. Not that watching a good show is a bad thing! However, there is a difference between sitting to watch TV because you want to and sitting to watch it because you haven’t got the energy to do anything else.
Even 5 mins is significant
I have several days a week when I am busy from the moment I wake until late at night. Finding snippets of time for myself during the day is essential. I may not have a large chunk of time to sit down and do something fun, but I can usually find five minutes here and there. I use them well and I believe it keeps me sane!
Things like a 5 minute lesson on Duolingo, playing Words with Friends, reading a blog article, messaging a friend or doing a quick quiz on Jetpunk break up the routine of a long day and make me feel like I am doing something for me. If don’t learn something, however small, then I feel like my day has been wasted. I know finding time to do these things is an integral part of my own self care.
A long day
Today was one of the busy ones. I am pretty exhausted to be honest. However, tomorrow I have a day off. So, this evening my plans are to have a non-alcoholic beer, watch a movie and get an early-ish night. I am looking forward to waking tomorrow well rested, because there is so much I want to do.
