The importance of downtime is often overlooked and put to the bottom of the priority list. Many of us don’t enjoy ‘doing nothing’ as we feel there’s always tasks to be done and sitting around is not achieving anything. That is part of life for many of us, and something we tend to naturally feel the need to do. However, making time for yourself to be alone, be still, be present, can have overwhelming effects on our mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. It allows us to stop and take a moment to appreciate what we have, take note of how our body is feeling (is there any pain anywhere), how we are feeling (are we stressed, anxious, relaxed) and generally take in the beauty of the world around us.
Here are a few ways you can help yourself, to make that all important time we feel we never have:
- Delegate – When it comes to work or home life, delegating is something we can usually work on. Not only will it free up your time, but it empowers others to take on responsibilities that can help them grow and develop. Try giving children small cleaning tasks at home or ask a colleague to help with a work task.
- Learn to say ‘no’ – Do you feel like you’re letting someone down if you say ‘no’? A good way to think of it, is that by saying no to someone, you are saying yes to yourself, freeing up your time. Try not to over explain why you cannot meet that person or do that task at work. Keep it simple. The more you say no, the easier it will get.
- Take ‘mini-breaks’ – Taking time for yourself doesn’t mean you need to clear a whole day in your schedule. Just taking small breaks for yourself will also have big impacts. A few things you can try is taking 10-15 minutes to do deep breathing, meditation, stretching, journaling, read a book, or sit outside and listen to the birds.
- Remove devices at night if possible – Are you finding you watch a lot of tv at night? Or scroll through your phone/sit on your laptop? If this sounds familiar, that’s fine, but every now and then you could set a timer half an hour before bedtime and then turn off all devices/screens and take yourself to a quiet space to be alone. You could reflect on your day, practice gratitude, make a to-do list to prepare for the next day. This time alone at night can really help calm the brain just before going to bed…which hopefully means a lovely relaxing sleep is in store!