Life, Time & Solutions!
Where’s the recipe for that! I’ll take it! 😀
There are of course only 24 hours in a day! Some of these MUST be used for sleeping – to rejuvenate your body from the days stresses – I’ll give you 6-9 hours for that, so you’re left with 15-18 hours. That’s a lot of time!
Spend it wisely… it doesn’t come with credit!
Let’s go with the minimum of 15 hours… what do YOU do with all that time EVERY day! That is a LOT of time! Okay so you might work for 8 hours, cook for an hour, eat for half an hour, shower, get dressed for half an hour… that is still FIVE hours of a day left!
How do you spend your time? Do you waste it thinking what to do? Do you watch rubbish TV that gives you no benefit? Maybe you think you use it wisely and run around after the kids all day, clean the house from top to bottom, cook for several hours, go shopping or fill your day with other useful chores. Do you? ? ?
Where’s your time? Your ‘your’ time… or your ‘me’ time? 😛 THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! Don’t tell me you don’t have time! You have at least five hours to squeeze in some ‘me’ time! Take time out of your busy day! Just sit and relax – breathe deeply – shrug your shoulders up to your ears and let them go again – turn your head from side to side slowly – do a few stretches – think calm and relaxing thoughts.
You have more time than that? Excellent! Sit in the garden, go for a walk, have a bath, read a book, do some exercises, just have a lay down somewhere quiet… anything JUST for you (phoning a friend doesn’t count)!
Oh. Did I forget to say how often. EVERY DAY!!! Yes… YOU need to find ME time EVERY DAY! 🙂 It’s good for you! 🙂 IF you can only spare one minute (yes I said ONE minute) then take one minute! Five is better, ten is okay, fifteen is good, half an hour perfect, longer magic! You will feel so much better for your ‘me’ time!
Never a straight line… always up and down!
When you’ve been making a habit of ‘me’ time for a while, you can start to focus on other things: like the pile of paperwork on the desk; the cupboard which needs sorting; the course you never enrolled on; the junk which need selling; the DIY you never got around to… everything will be easier IF you write it down and put it somewhere you can see it…
Yes! Paper! Write on a piece of paper (not your phone!) A real piece of paper that you can see! Stick it somewhere – on the calendar, pin board, by the front door, on the shoe cupboard, on the bathroom mirror, even in the fridge if that’s where you look lots during the day!
Different for everyone, some ups, some downs, but always a solution!
You might decide the paperwork should be tackled a section at a time, you might decide to do it all at once, you might even decide it’s not important and hide it away in a drawer to be tackled another time! 😛 You can choose your solution and unless there is a specific deadline (like a piece of coursework or a tax return) then it’s up to you to decide the importance of the tasks.
I wouldn’t spend ALL day cleaning and tidying. I have one ‘tidy’ room. When friends unexpectedly drop by, I know there is a place we can sit where it’s peaceful. Is the rest of the house spotless? No! Does it matter? Well, you need priorities! The washing up is always done, work surfaces are cleared and the toilet is clean. My taps might not sparkle every day, there may be a few crumbs under the table and the drainer may not always be empty, but this is life! People honestly don’t expect perfection!
Okay, there are times when its necessity – such as parents-in-law coming to visit or your boss coming over… but that can all go into your plan and be budgeted for in your time (remember you have five hours spare each day)!
Manage your time well, to create solutions to your daily wellbeing, to improve your life in the long run!
So:
- Manage your time well
- Set your own priorities
- Get your ‘me’ time every day
- ENJOY life 🙂
I’ll be back again soon with some delicious new burgers and pizza I’ve been working on.
Feel free to write in the comments below (please don’t feel shy to leave comments or questions!)
I agree that people should prioritise their time better but it simply isn’t that easy for some, e.g I used to be out of the house for over 12 hours each work day (leaving at 7am, coming back home at around 8pm)- this included a long commute, so there really wasn’t much time left after cooking and other household chores, etc… 🙂
Hello Eva 🙂 Thanks for commenting. I’m going to pick up on “used to be” which I’m assuming means at some point your situation changed and you realised this was not how you needed to live your life every day! I used to work 99 hour weeks… before I had a stint of having two full time jobs & a part time job at the same time, so I know where you’re coming from about the time issue! Busy schedules with not a spare minute, long days, early mornings and late nights make it even more important to squeeze at least a minute of ‘me time’ into every day! EVEN… if the only spare minute you manage to get is squeezed into a toilet break!
Yes, you’re right…having that full-on lifestyle for several years just wasn’t sustainable in the long-term as you well know 🙂 Have recently come across your blog and it’s now one of my favourites, by the way ?
Awww thanks Eva 🙂 Feel free to comment anytime you like! Anything particular you’d like to see more of? sweet? savoury? tofu? chickpeas? cakes?
I’m not fussy haha, although it’s always good to know different ways of cooking with tofu lol, thank you ?
Oh yes tofu! I never used to understand how people could eat it… then I did lots of experiments, worked out the best methods and realised it’s an amazing ingredient ?
You know when someone says something, or you see/read something that relates to you right at that moment!…well that just happened! I have been moaning all evening that my house is not clean enough, ? and how there is not enough hours in the day!… (well I suppose I could sleep less, but I love sleep so think I’ll try to find another solution to my time problem)?
I am also reading this while in the bath? so …. multi tasking is a start!
Awww… at least they’re letting you have a bath!!! I’m sure your house is clean enough Gemma – delegate to the kids in return for more Mummy time! Sure, it wont be to your standard but the more they help you, the better they’ll get! See, I wrote it for people just like you and I’m so happy you not only read it, but you found time to reply too!!! Oh, we have homework which I was going to ping to you… you’ll laugh when you see it!!! 😛 and I promise it won’t take any of your time as you can do more multitasking and read it while cooking! 😛 xxx
Also, if you don’t shower and get dressed everyday, that’s an extra half hour! How many hours in a year, decade?? My point is, there’s a lot of wasted hours just by showering and getting dressed, am I right?! ?? I’m just kidding! I always, always give myself at least 10 minutes in the morning to enjoy my cup of coffee in the garden. Believe or not, my mind is at its clearest during those few minutes!
Btw, did you say you can cohost Nov 10? Can I put you down?
Oh Angie that did make me giggle! But on cold weekends when the wood-burner is blazing and there’s no need to go out… pyjamas all the way! 😀 Ooo coffee in the garden sounds lovely “me time”.
Yes, put me down for Nov 10th 🙂 xxx
Okay, thanks. Your cohost is Trupti@My Culinary Saga
One day I will have me time again! For now i’ll settle for relaxed family time!
😛 Your house is so chilled anyway! 😀 You could always give the kids to hubby and go soak in the bath (no phones allowed)! 😀 xxx
I trained my kids from birth to love movies, duvets, pajamas, food and relax time because I saw what happened to my brother with his mad house LOL!
😀 we made a den this morning! lol… with my ‘almost a teenager’! Love family time!