This post was written by Janice Windt – Working Mothers Blog.
Somewhere in the far reaches of my memory, I can recall the concept of Me time: A moment that involved me, a book and a cup of chamomile tea on the two-seater couch that just fitted in my tiny first apartment… A breeze would gently blow the sweet sound of children’s voices in through the open window. I would lie peacefully, my knees over the couch armrest, dreaming of the day when I would be married with children of my own…
Today, Me time is the three minutes I get on the loo to check Facebook before one of my sons bursts through the door to see what I am up to. It’s my drive to work – a luxury many stay-at-home mums would give anything to have – even once a week. Me time is the thirty minutes I get here and there when I just leave everything – dishes, dirty clothes, toys strewn into every nook and cranny. Sometimes I just look at it all and say “no, not right now” and I escape to my writing. Sometimes, me time is a coffee, uninterrupted, during work hours. That is a dream too – I know that and I appreciate every creamy sip.
So, what can you do, amidst the chaos that is your schedule, to create more Me time in your day? We have some suggestions for you below but we would really love to hear yours in the comments… because the truth is that we are all in this together:
- Spend some time thinking about what gives you joy. What is it that gives you that moment of exhale from everything else in your life that can sometimes all add up to feel like a never-ending focus on ‘work’? For me, it is swimming. When I am in the water, I forget everything around me and just breathe. It is a little piece of heaven in a weightless space that is just for me.
- Identify specific things you could outsource to someone else in order to free up some time for you to get in that me time? I’ve recently outsourced the school drop-off to my husband so that I can race off to the gym and jump into the pool for twenty minutes before I start my work day… aaaaahhhhhh
- Give yourself permission and just go do what you love. It may not feel like it but, believe me, the time you sneak away from family and friends to spend on yourself will be paid back to them with dividends when a happier, healthier, more relaxed mom returns home to them after her Me-time.
Now, we would love to hear from you… what do you do for Me time? Do you ever get any at all? What do you do with the three minutes you have on the loo? We’re all in this together and your comments could help thousands of mums around the world find their own space to take the time they need…
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Hi, I’m Shan. I’m a wife, mom to 3 kids and a businesswoman who works from home and gets very little sleep at night. My days are filled with dirty diapers and toddler tantrums, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I am in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Forbes Africa 2019 and just recently launched my start-up – MomSays.
I go out to lunch once a week – I do not always actually eat – maybe I just have coffee, but I spend one hour on my own in a little coffee shop. Sometimes I read, sometimes I colour in, sometimes I just watch people. My bit of sanity
Think I need to start doing this too! Thanks for sharing.
These are great tips. You really do have to MAKE me time. It doesn’t just come to you.
I really could use more ME time in my day. These are great tips! It is so hard to find time to just have for myself.
I don’t have kids but I struggle to find time for myself as well, lack of ‘me time’ is definitely not just a struggle that moms have, everyone has to juggle work/life balance, care giving be it for a child or elderly adult parent/relative etc. For me it’s little moments – when I prepping or chopping ingredients for a meal I play music and sing as I prep, or in the shower where I also have a speaker so I can sing along or just listen to instrumental jazz in the tub at night. 🙂
Tracy @ Ascending Butterfly
These are awesome tips. I make sure to spend a few minutes for myself every day to keep my sanity.
I love my me time. I usually don’t get a ton of time but when I get the chance I love to read a good book. I also play a few games on my phone when I’m not busy working.
I love this post. I think it’s so important to make sure you’re taking time to yourself too. This is something I need to work on more. Most of the time I get to myself is when my daughters are at school or sleeping. Even then I’m using working on the computer.
Me time is one of those things that is pretty non existent once you become a mom. I agree that it is so important to find it any where possible!
YES on “Give yourself permission”. I live alone but I still feel guilty about taking tie for myself when I should be cleaning or working. Ugh.
Now that my kids are older I can finally get some me time once in a while. I have to agree that we should try to create Me Time no matter how busy we are.
It is very hard to get me time especially if you have little ones. NOw that both of my kids goes to school, I get me-time a lot and Ispend it with my walk and runs.