Good news! My appetite decided to kick in.
Bad news! At the inconvenient hour of 12:17 AM.
I was laying in bed all warm and cozy last night, ready to drift into dreamland, when out of nowhere – PANG.
First thought? God stomach, really?! What the fudge?!
Second thought? Ugh, but I’m sooooooo comfy.
Third thought? Fiiiiiine body – you win – but I don’t want to hear any exhausted grumblings tomorrow.
And just in case you’re wondering, yes I carry out internal monologues, and no, I am not crazy. So off to the kitchen I went to whip up something to eat. Doop, doop, doop.
Fortunately, it tasted a whole lot better than it looks, but I wasn’t about to bust out the DSLR and lights at 12:30 on a Tuesday morning – I just wanted to crawl back into bed. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite play out that way. I’m not sure if it was the food or cold kitchen floor that woke me up, but I didn’t end up getting to sleep until around 1:30 [again]. Day 3 and going strong! I have no idea what I’m running on at this point, but I’ll worry about it later. All I know is that I’m plenty awake and ready to get into Day 6 of NHBPM – how to take time for yourself.
I love being busy. Not only does it give me the satisfaction of feeling productive, but it makes the days go by way faster too – it keeps things interesting. That being said, while I don’t mind running around like a headless chicken during the day, the early mornings and late evenings are a whole other story. That there is my time – hands off.
What constitutes ‘my’ time? Anything my heart desires. I often read…
Blog…
Play video games…
Play more ‘acceptable’ games…
Pamper myself…
Bake something…
Go for a walk…
… but whatever it is that I end up doing, ‘me’ time is time that I set aside for doing whatever the heck it is that I want to do, sans guilt.
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with productivity – What are you doing? How much are you doing? When can you do more? – and all of the go-go-go messages that we’re constantly being bombarded with make it extremely easy to feel lazy, guilty, or selfish whenever we try to take time for ourselves. You should be doing something…
I’m sorry, but screw that.
Doing ‘nothing’ is doing something – a whole lot of something. It’s extremely important for us to take care of ourselves, not only for our own well-being, but for the benefit of others as well. After all, the better we feel, the better we’re able to give our best selves to those around us. It’s not easy, though, learning how to be a bit more selfish; I remember actually hating how unproductive I felt in the beginning. But now? Interrupt me during my quiet time and… choice words will be exchanged. So here are a few tips to help you become a little more selfish too 😉
Keep in mind how important it is… Spending time relaxing is extremely beneficial to us, both mentally and physically; and the better we feel, the better we work and the more productive we become in the long run. It also improves our interactions with others, so that we’re ultimately not even being selfish, are we? Nope!
Schedule it in to your day… Even if it’s only 10 minutes to start with, pick a time and commit to it. Even if it feels awkward and wasteful at first, stick it out and make it an everyday kind of thing. I remember when I was going to school, I promised myself that I’d never do any homework or study after 9 PM. Even if I wasn’t entirely done, the books closed at 9 sharp and the rest of the night was mine. Now I reserve my early mornings and late evenings for quiet time – it gives me a great opportunity to prep for and unwind from my day.
Learn how to say no… Oftentimes we put far too much on our plates and end up not even having any extra time to squeeze in for ourselves. We’re not superhuman – we can’t do everything, and trying to will only make us go a little loopy. It’s okay to say no, and not only to others, but to ourselves as well. We don’t have to cook an elaborate dinner every night – a quick meal will do. We don’t have to fit a workout in if we’re tired – rest is better in the long run.
Enjoy it… Alone time does not mean sitting in silence and meditating. It sounds wonderful in theory, but being able to put it into practice is a whole other story. As much as I love my time alone, I cannot spend it meditating – I end up too frustrated so I just don’t bother. Don’t force yourself to do something you hate just because it seems ‘appropriate’. Make whatever you do during your ‘me time’ something you love to do.
So whatcha waiting for?! Go do something for yourself!
. – . – . – .
Have you ever had to get out of bed to satisfy a complaining stomach?
Do you take time for yourself every day? What do you do?
Ugh trying to fall asleep with a growling stomach is the worst! Especially when you’re absolutely exhausted to the point of not even being able to drag yourself out of bed to grab a quick snack. I think the solution is simple – keep some sort of snack by your bedside at all times, right?
You know what, to be 100% completely honest – I never feel guilty/lazy when I don’t do anything. In fact, I embrace those days and welcome them with open arms. When I was younger I envied the people who claimed they always needed to “do something”. It confused me and made me feel bad about my homebody tendencies (i.e. staying at home doing nothing). Maybe it’s the European in me, but nowadays I will never allow myself to feel any sort of guilt over sitting around in my bed doing “nothing” (as you said – nothing is still something!). I truly dislike that about America – there’s this unwritten rule floating around about constant productivity while every other country in the world (well…not every but many, especially Europe) encourages “nothingness”. Grrr…where is the balance? *end rant*