Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
Stress is one of the most damaging things to feel, and not just from the perspective of mental health. In reality, stress can cause all kinds of problems from a physical perspective. And a great way to combat this is by making time for yourself.
Yes, I am speaking from personal experience on this one. As of late, it’s been difficult to squeeze in some quality time to care for my mental and physical states.
In any case, being able to deflate can contribute to everything from improved sleep patterns to losing weight. Unfortunately, a lot of us have a hard time prioritizing ourselves in such a fashion because it’s not an immediate need.
Most humans are reactive instead of proactive.
Why Making Time for Yourself is Ideal
You’re no good to anyone if you’re hyper-stressed. It can lead to irrational decisions, making more mistakes, and a short fuse. Depending on your career path, all of these can be devastating, especially to a freelancer.
On a personal level, stress can affect family life in a very negative way. You could become temperamental while doing and saying things you wouldn’t otherwise.
And when you have little ones, the level of frustration can already be at its peak. The last thing you want is to add more stress to the pile.
Setting time aside for physical and mental health not only benefits you but also benefits those around you. This is because your demeanor is much more pleasant while being more likely to keep a cool head.
It’s not selfish to seek a few moments of peace. It’s called self-preservation, which is vastly important as it contributes to the well-being of your family and job.
How many negative consequences could you have avoided by simply taking a step back and giving yourself a bit of time to adjust? I know of plenty just in the last few months alone.
Being impulsive while undergoing stress can lead to a plethora of bad things. In many cases, just a few minutes to myself would have made a world of difference.
7 Ways of Making Time Work in Our Favor
OK, how do we manage to eke out a bit of time for health and fitness? Well, a lot of it depends on your current lifestyle and whether you’re willing to make a few changes.
And when I say, “willing,” I mean just that. All too often we set goals but don’t do anything to accomplish them. We want it, just not bad enough to do anything about it.
So, let’s go over a few things that we can do to get more out of the time we have to focus on our well-being.
1. Make and Stick to a Plan
Perhaps one of the more difficult is to stick to a plan that you’ve made. A lot of things look good on paper until it comes time to put in the effort to make them happen.
Because I have so much on my plate, I use Asana for a lot of things. This includes reminding me to do things like play the Xbox. Because if I don’t schedule it in, I’ll simply forget to do so.
2. Start with a Simple Five Minutes
if you don’t have a lot of time at your disposal, try to squeeze in five minutes here and there for yourself. Take a walk around the neighborhood, sit and relax in the sun in the backyard, or get lost in a few pages of a book.
Any time to give your mind a chance to unwind is going to be beneficial. Unfortunately, not everyone has a lot of time on their hands. Do what you can, when you can.
3. Making Time through Less Driving
It’s easy to combine two activities into one to get more time for health. For instance, try to walk or bike to your local markets more often.
For example, it’s about a mile round trip for me to go to Walmart. If I’m not bringing back frozen foods, I’ll walk the distance. It takes me less than 10 minutes to get there and less than 10 to get back.
4. Step Away from Tech
This is something that is difficult for a lot of people but can have great rewards. Instead of playing around on your smartphones or commenting on Twitter posts, use that time to care for yourself.
Think about how much time you waste staring at a screen. Is that time well-spent, or could you have done something more constructive for your mental health?
5. Delegate the Workload (if possible)
Delegating certain tasks can free up some of your time, so, why don’t you? For me, it’s about having people who can take some of the work or trying to juggle paying freelancers.
In any case, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.
I know that I could free up nearly two hours of my day if I could find an editor for the YouTube videos. Can you imagine instantly having two hours available?
6. Keep a Positive Frame of Mind
It’s not easy being positive all the time. But positivity can vastly shape how you look at…well, anything. Of course, a lot of making time for yourself is to help you get that positive frame of mind.
So, it’s kind of a Catch-22. However, maintaining a good disposition makes a lot of things easier to manage, including being able to free up some more time for yourself.
7. Get to Bed On Time
There are a lot of things that are affected by sleep. Mood, physical health, cognitive functionality, and more rely on your ability to rest.
How does this help with time management? Well, considering how a well-rested mind is far more effective, you can get more done in a shorter amount of time. This leads to having a few blocks throughout the day when you can breathe.
Aside from the fact that sleep, itself, is an easy way to reduce stress levels in the first place. Think of going to bed earlier as a way to squirrel away extra time for your mental health.
How Often Are You Making Time to Care for Yourself?
Lately, I’ve been trying my best to score a few moments to myself here and there. Well, at least some chunks of time when I’m not stressing about work or other projects.
In the end, though, it really comes down to time management and not sabotaging yourself. It’s not the easiest habit to break, but can be far worth the effort if you can accomplish any of the things above.
Because if you’re not OK mentally or physically, you’re no good for anyone – including yourself.
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