3 ways to create your own "ME" time

Written by Wendy Mak

14 03 18 Me time

Hands up who feels like you need a little "ME" time???

We all need some time for ourselves. That became clearly evident when I was writing my speech for a Women's Day event last week.

As part of that presentation I touched on what it meant to be a woman in the workplace.

And one of the things that I talked about is how our first job as women in work, is to support + lift other women in the workplace.

You see we're all in the unique position of understanding what we're all going through - juggling a million balls at once - being a career woman, go-getter, colleague, friend, wife, lover, mother, housekeeper, chef, driver and a million more things.

And this really made me stop to think. When do we make time for "me"?

1. Physically make the time

The first thing about creating "me" time is to know that sometimes we have to literally carve it out from our schedule. We have to physically make this time happen.

In my case, my day is pretty full. So the way I try to make it happen is to wake up before everyone else in my household. I may not wake up as early as I'd like :) but I try to wake up earlier than everyone else. This is my "me" time.

In this quiet hour I (try) to do three things:

1. Create, not consume

I make sure I "create" and not consume (which means I use that time to work on projects or planning strategies instead of checking my emails, social media or reading the news).

2. Move.

I'm not a meditator (although I believe there's much merit in it), but I do try to move. Even if it's walking around the garden for a minute or 5 minutes, I try to move because I know that I'll mostly spend the rest of the day at my laptop.

(I've actually learnt both of these things from a very cool "green living" blogger in Singapore Our Little Green Dot.)

3. Plan.

I also take a little part of my early hour to plan + prioritise my day, which makes a HUGE difference to not just my productivity, but also to my mental attitude.

I'm calmer and more focused, and don't feel so stressed out when I know exactly what I should be doing that day.

(For those interested, I use both an online productivity tool called Asana and also the good old paper-based "things to do" list.)

2. Change your focus

Sometimes, you can even find your "ME" time when you simply change your focus.

Start focusing on yourself. Go back to making YOU an important person.

Schedule "appointments" with yourself and do not cancel them.

I've declined some clients or work by simply saying "I'm so sorry, I'm booked at [that time], can we schedule this for another time?" You'd be amazed at how flexible and accommodating people can be, if you just ask.

It's hard to do at first but very important for you to do in the long-term.

3. "Me" time doesn't have to be the same for everyone

Finally - understand that your "ME" time doesn't need to be the same as mine.

I get a bit nervous and tetchy when I don't feel like I'm working on big picture projects for my biz - hence I choose to wake up early so I can have some uninterrupted moments to work on my projects.

Your ME time may be more about needing to get out for that run or Pilates class to clear your head. Others may want some down time where they do not need to think and grab a facial instead.

There's no "right" or "wrong" way to spend your ME time. But the key is to make sure you take that time out to have it.

How do you create "me" time in your world?

I'd love to know - drop me a reply below.

Here's to YOU,

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