Finding Time For Yourself: How and Why You Should Find Time For Yourself

Want More Life Satisfaction? Find Time For What You Truly Want To Do

How many times have you thought about something you’d like to do and, before you even fully examine the idea of adding such an activity to your life, reminded yourself that you don’t have time for it? Many of us spend so much time doing what we feel we must do, that we don’t have enough time for what we would love to do. The feeling of not having enough freedom to pursue quality time with our families, revitalizing solitary activities, or other things that would nurture us can leave us feeling stressed and unhappy. If you would like to increase your level of happiness and life satisfaction this year, one of the best changes you can make is to find more time in your schedule for a life that reflects what you’d really like to be doing. These steps can help:

• De-clutter your schedule. Take a hard look at how you spend your days, and see what can be cut. Are you watching several hours of t.v. per day? Could you be more efficient at work? Are there things in your schedule that could be dropped without serious ramifications? Carving out a little time here and there can add up to a greater feeling of personal freedom to do what you’d really enjoy.
• Learn to delegate. Are there responsibilities that you have at home or at work that could be delegated to assistants, family members, or others? Re-assigning cleaning responsibilities to children, for example, can free up time normally spend on housework and foster a sense of responsibility in your kids at the same time.
• Learn to say ‘no’. Before you take on any new responsibilities, carefully think about how these activities would impact your life, both in a positive way and negatively. Think also about your motivations for possibly saying ‘yes’: do you just want to avoid feeling like you’re letting someone else down? Do you tend to convince yourself that you have limitless time in your schedule, and find yourself with time for everyone else but you? Learn to say no to unnecessary drains on your time, and yes to yourself.