Don't Waste Time—Enjoy It!

This is the week to celebrate National 'Take Back Your Time' Week by cutting back your schedule as much as you can--reserving a few hours or a few minutes--to keep at least a small amount of time for activities that can reduce stress, soothe your soul, and keep burnout at bay. (See this blog post for more on trimming your schedule for National Take Back Your Time Week.)

Celebrating NTBYT Week is more than just cutting drudgery out of your schedule, though. The other half of the equation is filling the space with activities that you actually enjoy--if you don't, the people in your life will likely find things to fill your schedule with. (Loving them as you do, it will be difficult to say no, so it's best to stake your claim on this hard-earned time that you've 'taken back' now, and plan some activities to add to your life.)

What have you been wishing you could do, but haven't done because you "don't have the time"? What dreams have you been putting off for "when I have more time?" What do you really enjoy doing, or think you will enjoy doing?

I encourage you to take a few minutes right now and answer at least one of these questions. (You can add your answer to the comments on this blog post, or to the Stress Management Forum.)

If you're not sure what you'd like to add to your life, here are some resources that can help relieve stress and you have more fun in life:

• Having Fun
  Need to get more fun into your life? (Don't we all?) Here are some ideas to help you have more fun in general.
• Fun Stress Relievers
  These activities can help you relieve stress and have fun at the same time--a good use of the time you've taken back!
• Stress Relievers for Busy People
  Only have a few minutes? Here are some stress relief strategies that can busy people have a less-stressed lifestyle.

_{Like this post? Want to use it to start a discussion with your friends? Pass it on!}