This is a guest post written by Maria Rainier.
If you’re going to focus on yourself, you’ll need to make time for personal development. How can you show love to yourself without spending time? You can’t – at least not very effectively. So make the commitment to going on a few dates with yourself and plan on blocking out some reasonable chunks of time to make that happen. The following tips will help you figure out and plan the rest of your schedule so you can enjoy a few well-deserved, worry-free moments of “me” time.
Make a Game Plan
It’s easy to wake up in the morning and feel immediately stressed out about the number of things that have to be accomplished within the next 24 hours. Feeling stressed can cause you to jump straight into that chaotic mess of tasks and events without preparing a game plan and including “me” time in that plan. So give yourself a few minutes every morning before you dive into work – set reasonable and practical goals for the day and take some deep breaths. If necessary, set your alarm for five or ten minutes earlier than usual to get enough time for daily planning. Just keep a pad of paper and pen on your bedside table – you may also want to include sticky notes and your planner or PDA – and jot down a short phrase describing each task you’ll need to accomplish for the day.
Prioritize Tasks and Estimate Time Commitments
Now, number your daily goals, writing a “1” next to the most important one and continuing until you’ve assigned a number to each goal. Remember to avoid putting your “me” time at the end of the list. Make a rough guess as to how much time each task will take you and write this down, as well. If there are any events on your list, make a note of what time you’ll need to leave in order to arrive on time, as well as what time you might be able to return home.
Plan Around Scheduled Events
You now have all the tools you’ll need to plan your day. Write down scheduled events (like your “me” time) in your planner first, then fill in other tasks around them. If you’re feeling extra organized, use different colored pens to distinguish tasks that have to be accomplished from ones that can wait for another day. As you know, moms often have to change their plans on the fly, so a schedule that’s set in stone isn’t very useful. Keep some flexibility in your planner or PDA to account for the unexpected.
Make and Use Helpful Reminders
Use your planner or PDA to write yourself sticky notes that can be left in strategic locations to remind you of certain tasks or events. Alarms on your cell phone or PDA also serve this purpose well. For example, if you know you’re taking yourself to the art museum right after lunch, leave yourself a note on the refrigerator where you’ll see it at the right time or set an alarm. You can also fill in your family calendar so that your kids and husband will know what you’ll be doing and where to find you throughout the day. Most importantly, take your planner or PDA with you – you can easily buy a small one that fits into your purse or even use your cell phone. By doing this, you’ll be able to avoid potential conflicts when you need to schedule something on the go.
Be Patient, Stay Positive, and Take Breaks
Don’t let the task of time management overwhelm you. It can seem pretty daunting at first, but once you get into the habit, you’ll become more efficient and confident in your scheduling – and you’ll have even more time to yourself. Just don’t forget that you can spontaneously take a few minutes to yourself for positive reinforcement – the world won’t come to an end if you take a short break outside of your “me” time. Give yourself the gift of positive thoughts and enjoy the refreshed state of mind you’ll get when you return to the real world.
Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degrees, and what it takes for adult students studying through an online Ph.D degree program to succeed. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
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