You woke up at six to get the kids ready for school, the dog walked, and yourself showered before work. You took the kids to school, delivered the best presentation in your career at work, took a power walk around the company grounds on your lunch break for exercise, and finished your boss's To Do list. Then, you stopped at the store on your way home to pick up groceries, made dinner, baked cupcakes for your child's class, helped with homework, threw in a load of laundry, read bedtime stories, and virtually collapsed into bed for a measily five hours sleep. What's alone time? Who has that luxury?
Stress has been proven to be one of the biggest predictors of disease, next to smoking and obesity. People who are stressed have weakened immunity and won't be able to function at their frantic pace for very long without health consequences. It is crucial that you take the time to recouperate and rejuvinate so you can deal with day-to-day life without breaking down physically or emotionally. Use the tips below to make some room in your life for you!
Organize
Buy a pocket calendar and start scheduling in your activities when you have time so you don't overload your days. If you have your son's soccer game on a Friday after working all day, don't pick that night to also clean your house. Instead, take that activity and save it for a weekend when you have time. Make smaller chores and errands for days when work is a priority and save bigger tasks for days off. You'll be surprised how much simple time management skills can open up your day for relaxation.
Cut Out
If you're like most people and you simply just have too much to do and even scheduling and organizing doesn't help, you might need to learn to say the magic word...no! It's important to realize that at least part of your life needs to be for you and your needs so you are better equipped to care for those you love. Do you really need to carve time out of your day to iron all your spouse's work shirts? Can't he or she do them? Is it really necessary to make an extra stop to buy the sale priced sandwich bags when the store you buy all your groceries at has the same ones for a mere fifteen cents more? There are always ways to cut out things in your life that don't need to be there, and make the things that do need to be there easier. Try ordering your groceries online on your lunch break and have them delivered to your house.
Delegate
When all else fails, ask for help. Your spouse would rather take the garbage out than see you in a foul overworked mood all night. Your children can learn some responsibility and earn a small allowance by taking on some household chores you normally would have done. Your mother would be thrilled to babysit for an afternoon when you need to get away and get your head together. It's not going to hurt your career to let your business partner complete half of the project instead of you doing it all. Let go of the "nobody can get it done the way I do it" attitude and watch how your time becomes your own again.
Relax
So, you've done all of those things and now you're not quite sure what to do with all your new found free time. The answer is to figure out what you love and what makes you happy and do it. Some people choose activities they've wanted to try for years, others cultivate a talent they had put on a back burner, and some choose to just lay in bed and catch up on a good book. The time is yours, so make the most of it!
Lisa Annunziato - Lisa Annunziato is a full time pharmaceutical sales representative, part time freelance writer, and full time health nut. She has a ...
