A cluttered house, sink full of dishes, young kids needing attention, an endless to do list – most of us have been there.
You are mentally and physically exhausted.
You would even crawl through cut glass if someone promised an hour of ME time, away from the madness!
Kids, a demanding job, trying to become an entrepreneur or starting a side hustle or a blog, aging parents needing attention are all time suckers for women in their 40s.
Amidst all these activities, frustration, overwhelm and a mental resignation to the state of our lives are common reactions.
I’ve been there and I know how much I craved a few minutes of ME time everyday! And when I did manage to get my ME time, I felt calmer and recharged to tackle the next few hours.
So how can we multi-tasking, super women find a few minutes regularly to recharge ourselves and give ourselves the ME time we so need and deserve without letting anything else slide down?
Here are a few hacks to find ME time on a consistent basis.
- Daily chores take up time and are monotonous and boring. But unfortunately they are needed. Outsource a few such as grocery shopping. Here are 5 services that deliver groceries to you. Of course, some of them come with a price. If you can afford it, it is definitely worth it and can give you an hour or so time in a week.
- Instacart
- AmazonFresh
- Shipt
- Peapod
- Costco Delivery
- Walmart Delivery
- Kroger Clicklist (online order and quick up outside the store)
- Food Deliveries : Ubereats and other similar services have changed the food availability landscape. For a few dollars, food from most of your favorite joints are delivered to you. Again a huge time saver once a week. Not only saves the time you would spend cooking, but also no cleaning!
- Playdate exchanges: This works well for me and I urge you to try it if you haven’t. Depends on the age of the kids as well. Once a week, if you can get a friend to invite your kids over for a playdate, you can get a solid 2-3 hours of time without the kids. In that block of time, you can spare 30 minutes for yourself and indulge in one of your favorite ME time activities. Don’t forget to return the favor the next time around so your friend can get her share of ME time.
- Wake up early: This may not be possible for moms with younger children who are up through the night. But if you can wake up early and indulge in a ME time activity from your list. Some people feel guilty for watching TV in the morning. But if you need 30 minutes of watching a rerun of FRIENDS to get you going and fuel you for the day, it is OK! Do whatever you need to do maintain your sanity and don’t care about what the productivity gurus are preaching out there with their morning rituals etc.
- Work From Home: Not all of us are blessed to work from home all the time. If possible, negotiate with your employer to work from home once a week. The time you would spend commuting becomes your ME time! Be diligent about not feeling guilty at the number of emails that are waiting for you.
- Change your mindset: It is ok to live in a messy house once in a while or live out of your dryer once in a while. If it gives you an hour of much needed ME time, I strongly recommend you learn to ignore the mess and the should-do’s and find that time to balance and center yourself. Again, these are suggestions to do once in a while not always. As a reminder, ME time is critical for our well-being. Read the post The Importance of Me Time here.
- Hired help: If you can afford to, hire cleaners to clean the house once in 2-3 weeks. Websites like TaskRabbit let you hire people to do odd jobs or anything that you don’t want to do. If you financial situation permits, this is a great way to find some ME time.
Having ME time is important for our mental and physical well-being.