This month, hundreds of schools across the country are reopening for in-person instruction. This will be the first time that some children and teens will be going back to their classrooms in over a year! As a result, life is going to look quite different for many families this month and in June. One big change will be parents having much more time away from their kids than they have had in months.
Although it may seem like this newfound alone time will make it easier to practice “me time,” any shift in your routine can bring challenges. You might start off by assuming that you’ll fit in plenty of self-care, but then quickly fall into the trap of putting everyone and everything else first. Any time your schedule is altered, it is crucial to be intentional with your time.
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To ensure that you stay revitalized and feeling good throughout this major shift, it is an absolute must to create a personalized plan to balance me time with family time. Not sure how to achieve this? Use these simple strategies to make self-care second nature.
Know the “why” behind your self-care routine
When you want to stick with any new habit or routine, knowing the “why” behind your actions is incredibly motivating. In the case of setting aside time for yourself, your “why” might be that if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take good care of your family. Also, if you know that you get cranky and short with your partner and children when you are exhausted, your me time will help prevent this from happening.
Having solid, logical (and emotional) reasons behind your need for regular self-care will make you far less likely to skip the time you set aside for yourself. You’ll be concerned with preventing the consequences of not having “me time” and that will help you resist the urge to always put the needs of others ahead of your own.
Plan out your new daily schedule from now until September
Going into a new chapter of your life without a plan is a sure path to frustration, fatigue, and inefficient use of your time. That is why it is 100% necessary to write (or type!) out your new daily schedule. Do this for both the weekdays and the weekends, and plan through the start of the new school year in September. There is a little magic that happens when you put words down on paper – it’s like a contract with yourself and is more likely to stick than a promise in the wind.
When you know what the vast majority of your days will look like, you can decide when to schedule your me time. Before finalizing your new schedule, make sure that you write in your self-care time alongside everything else. Just like you’d write down your child’s soccer games, dentist appointments, and the like, put yourself on the schedule without any hesitation or guilt! Your family is happiest when you are functioning at your peak — which can only happen if you take your me time as seriously as every other commitment.
Related Post: 7 SIMPLE SELF-CARE IDEAS FOR DIFFICULT TIMES
Identify potential obstacles & how you’ll overcome them
Life is full of speed bumps and surprises. By now, I’m sure you are probably well aware of this! No matter how much you try to fulfill your commitments, something will come up. Your kids (or your partner) will get sick. Traffic delays will make you late for an event or work meeting. A homework project that was assigned weeks ago will become an emergency the day before it is due. (This happens in my house more than I would like to admit!)
Rather than resisting the inevitable, identify potential obstacles in advance. What challenges do you think you might face over the next several months? What is the best way you’ve found to overcome them? If they interfere with your me time, when will you reschedule? Having a Plan B, and knowing how you’ll tackle some challenges in advance will empower you with a plan of action, and will make you less likely to miss your self-care time.
Decide what is essential, and what isn’t
Are you someone who feels like they always need to participate in every family-related activity? While this is certainly admirable, you may be spreading yourself super thin by participating in non-essential activities.
For example, do you attend every sports practice and game for every one of your children? Do you always volunteer to make whatever needs to be made for the school fundraiser? If so, introducing some healthy boundaries will be a game-changer in your life. Decide now what is essential for you to do for your family, and what isn’t. This will free up time to practice self-care, and will help you redirect your precious energy into the things that are most important to you. And as a bonus, it sets a great example for your kids.
Enlist the help of an accountability partner
Do you find it challenging to take time for yourself — no matter how much advanced planning you do? Enlist the help of an accountability partner. This can be a friend, a sibling, or even your spouse/partner. Ideally, you will tell this person about your self-care plans for the week, and they will follow up with you to ensure that you took that time for yourself. Rather than keeping your plans in your head, adding a layer of accountability is an effective strategy for sticking with your goals.
When creating your personal “me time” plan, strive to be intentional with all of your actions. Rather than doing things out of feelings of obligation, guilt, or shame, decide what is most important to you and your family. Purposefully scheduling your daily activities (including your self-care time) will allow you to make the most of every minute you have.
No matter what happens in this new phase of your life, give yourself grace and understanding. It is impossible to perfectly balance me time and family time, and what works for you will look different than what works for someone else. Do the best you can and be proud of yourself always!
DAWN MCGEE
Dawn McGee is a certified and licensed Nutrition Evangelist and a long-time foodie, she focuses on both the health and joy of food as fuel for your body. She is a driving force in bringing education on healthy eating to more people through her community, my “Reclaim Your Life, One Bite at a Time” programs, and my book “365 Days of Healthy Living”. Her hope for you is that you live a life you love, without being hungry, feeling deprived, or giving up your glass
