Most of us have some idea of what we can do to change our life for the better. We already have the answers to the issues we face, seeped into our minds via popular culture: we know we should drink more water, see a therapist, spend more time in nature, enjoy the occasional massage, get acupuncture, exercise– none of these are revolutionary ideas that you will be hearing for the first time.
So why don’t we do them? If changing one’s life is so easy, with the methods so well-established, then shouldn’t we all be perfect people who have absolute emotional control and mental well-being?
The answer to these questions is simple: time. Caring for ourselves is incredibly time-consuming. If you do all of the positive things mentioned above, it’s essentially a full day of activities, zipping from appointment to appointment before heading out into the wilderness. That’s time most of us don’t have, so we think how we might benefit from these life improvement techniques, but we don’t truly have the time to implement them.
If the above sounds familiar, then you may find the tips below contain a helpful solution that can help you find the time you need to focus on you.
1) Do everything you can
If you don’t have time for a six-hour hike every weekend, then it’s tempting to just dismiss the idea of spending time in nature altogether. If you’re not truly going to be able to immerse yourself, what’s the point?
It’s important to try and switch this idea in your mind; while you may not be able to obtain an optimum amount of something, that doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from a little bit. If you’ve only got time for five minutes spent meditating or jogging on the spot, that’s still better than no meditating and no exercise at all. As the saying goes: every little helps.
2) Look for flexible solutions
Acupuncture; massage therapy; counselling– all wonderful, but all time-consuming. Including travel time, you’re usually looking at two hours at least for an appointment for any one of these beneficial therapies.
However, this isn’t always the case– you may just need to expand your options. All of the above can be done at home, if you’re willing to find a relevant acupuncture, massage, or counselling service that is offering home visits. More and more of these services are offering flexible options, which can help slot into your schedule and ensure that you cut the amount of time an appointment takes.
3) Schedule your self-care
Most of us are good at keeping a diary; penciling in the things we must do, such as medical appointments and work commitments. What we don’t pencil in is time for self-care activities , or just free time to do whatever we want.
Try to get into the habit of giving yourself at least an hour, per week, in your diary– time that is formally set aside for your personal well-being, and should be seen as unmovable. By writing down your self-care needs, you’re far more likely to actually go through with them.
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