Before reading this article, count how many commitments you have.
Was taking time for yourself one of them? If you said yes, then awesome! Here are 7 reasons to continue prioritizing time for yourself and self-care.
If you said no, then there’s a bit more work to be done. But by the article’s end, you should have 7 solid arguments for why practicing self-care and making time for yourself is of utmost importance.
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Taking Time for Yourself
Nowadays, everyone has a ton of commitments. We have commitments to family, our jobs, our friends, our church, other community organizations, and/or to school. So, everyone can all use the reminder of the importance of taking time for yourself.
Even if our various commitments are well managed, skipping self-care can cause things to suddenly be overwhelming again. Despite this constant change and busyness, one commitment we should all have is me-time.
What does taking time for yourself really mean?
To take time for yourself is to allow your body physical rest and give your mind time to process whatever is going on in your life.
Basically, you want to give yourself a break from the craziness before it drives you crazy.
In times of transition, this is especially important because there is so much going on at once. Without time set aside to process all the changes, it’s difficult to know how you feel about the change or how you’re handling the transitions.
Here are 7 important reasons why you should make time for yourself.
- The Alternative is Burnout
- You are Better when You Find Time for Yourself
- Self Care Affects All Areas of Your Life
- You Can’t Actually Do It All
- You Need Time to Process
- Your Work will Still be There After
- You can Have Fun During Time for Yourself
1 – The Alternative is Burnout
Reason one to find time for yourself is to avoid burnout. Burnout is when you lose the motivation to follow through on your commitments because of physical and/or mental exhaustion.
The alternative is to take time for yourself and practice self-care regularly. You can also employ simple strategies to stress less. By doing this, you’ll gain a calmness and composure that will serve you well when tackling whatever life throws next.
When you make time for yourself, you can avoid burn-out and extra stress.
2 – You are Better when You Find Time for Yourself
We often strive to be the best version of ourselves. However, it’s almost impossible to do that without taking me time. This is because worn-out, stressed-out people can’t put their best foot forward.
On the other hand, practicing self care regularly enables you to better interact with friends, family, and coworkers. Additionally, having regular me-time gives you the energy to help others and give your best to your commitments.
For example, while I was working abroad, I wanted to take advantage of every minute of my experience. As a result, I often sacrificed taking time for myself for another commitment or activity. Instead of making time for myself, I expended all of my energy on new adventures.
About two months in, I felt the effects of my choices. I woke up each morning tired, even though I slept for plenty of time. My interactions with others were draining mentally. Even physically, I felt like I couldn’t give it my all at the gym.
With so much on my plate, I started mixing up dates, forgetting names, neglecting assignments and having to play a lot of catch-up.
Now, I prioritize taking time for myself because then I can be the best version of myself.
3 – Taking Time for Yourself Affects All Areas
The best self-care definition is simple: taking good care of yourself. The challenge is that taking care of yourself spans multiple dimensions: emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual.
Sometimes we try (and somewhat succeed) to put our lives in little boxes: work, social life, home life, church life, etc. However, more often than not, we see aspects spilling over into other areas. Self-care is one of those aspects. Therefore, time for yourself is instrumental to physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Recognizing the healing and rejuvenation that comes from making time for yourself, we see how it impacts all areas of our lives. Not having time for ourselves can even affect our relationship with God if we resent him because we’re so busy and he feels far away.
So while pushing yourself and challenging yourself is important, knowing your limits and welcoming times of rest and rejuvenation are just as vital.
4 – You Can’t Actually Do It All
Women are always getting asked the question “How do you do it all?” though men are often asked as well. While some may try to convince you that they have succeeded in doing it all, the truth is that we can’t do everything.
Why is it important to make time for yourself?
We are limited beings—we have limited energy, time, and resources. And if we push ourselves too far, something will eventually fall through the cracks.
People who practice self-care regularly are able to better maintain composure under stress and give their best to commitments. By accepting their inability to do it all, they can choose a few key things to do well. Also, they enjoy doing those things more because they are not worried about so many other things.
In the same way, making time for yourself is important so that you can work, interact, and respond to others from a place of rest.
It may be tempting for you to not make time for yourself, so that you can fit in one more thing. But the truth is, time for yourself is important to ensure that you can follow through on your commitments and do them well.
So since you can’t actually do it all and do it well, you might as well find time for yourself. That way, you can do a few things well instead of doing everything poorly.
• Read More: 21 Powerful Pieces of Advice to Transform Your 20s
5 – Make Time for Yourself to Process
Time for myself is always a priority, but during times of immense change or transition, it’s especially important. Going back to my example while working abroad, I was dealing with major change.
I had to navigate a new culture, learn a new language, and work in a new environment. Within a few months, I exhausted my mental capacity to interact with my friends, host family, and coworkers because I was never taking time for myself.
Looking back, I could have done more by saying no to some things and taking time to process and adjust to my new environment.
Since I was not processing much of anything, I couldn’t adapt to unexpected situations. (Like a change in the lesson plan ten minutes before class started!)
As you take time for yourself process anything that feels new or is changing. Think about your goals, your relationships, your work, your faith, and anything else that comes to mind.
Journaling and free writing to reflection questions or journal prompts is a great way to process your thoughts and clear your mind.
6 – Your Work will Still be There After
Self Care and time for yourself is not something you do after completing your adulting checklists. It’s not the last thing on your list after making grocery lists, going shopping, managing finances, cleaning the bathroom, cooking dinner…etc.
All these tasks are important, of course, but self-care is something you do alongside those things. In other words, you don’t have to finish your checklist before spending an hour of time for yourself.
In the world of adulting, there will always be something else that you could be doing. Something else will always try to fill up your free time.
More importantly, that something will always be there after you’ve taken time for yourself. So you have no excuse to not prioritize making time for yourself, too.
Related: 5 Practical Tips for How to Create a Balanced Schedule
7 – You can Have Fun while Taking Me Time
Planning a fun activity is always a great way to motivate yourself to find time for yourself! Your me-time doesn’t have to be meditating in complete silence in a dark closet (unless that’s what you want to do).
Some of these self-care gift ideas will certainly get you in the spirit of making time for yourself. Also, here are some self-care activities to do during your quality time with yourself:
- Self Care Activities:
- Paint your nails and/or do a face mask while watching your favorite chick-flick
- Bake your favorite dessert, sugary breakfast food (waffles with whipped cream anyone), or other favorite treat
- Cook your favorite meal or order in from your favorite restaurant
- Make a dance playlist and dance around your room to the songs
- Do some yoga and/or stretching
- Spend time Reading a Fiction Book for fun (here are my top fiction book recommendations for women in their 20s)
- Go for a nice, relaxed walk
- Write in your journal or diary (these thoughtful reflection questions and journal prompts should get you started!)
- Spend time in prayer and/or reading your Bible
- Lay on the floor (or your bed) and take a nap (or two)
- Find your bucket list and cross off an item (or two)
- What’s your favorite hobby? Spend time doing those activities, like:
- Crocheting
- Sewing
- Writing Music
- Playing Guitar
- Singing
- Writing
- Scrapbooking
- If you’re wanting a way to relax and be somewhat productive, try one of these productive hobbies
Make a Plan to Take Time for Yourself
Is it okay to take time for yourself?
100% yes! We should never feel ashamed for taking care of ourselves, even if it means having to turn down another “adventure.” Accept rest for yourself.
If you’re feeling guilty about making time for yourself, remember that God rested on the Sabbath and commands us to rest, too (Genesis 2:3 and Exodus 20:8-11).
Above all, know that your heavenly father is with you, watching over you, and strengthening you. You can count on him to give you rest and rejuvenation.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
Don’t buy into the lie that you’re less worthy or hard-working if you swap out a commitment for taking time for yourself. Schedule time for yourself today, and don’t relent!
How do you prioritize making time for yourself?
Leave me a comment below!
Don’t miss this! More posts in the Living & Adulting Category
- 33 Delightful Self Care Gift Ideas for Her
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- 39 Thoughtful End of Year Reflection Questions to Ask Yourself
- 5 Authentic Responses to What am I Doing with my Life?
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