—
Being present for your family is very important, and there is no doubt you want to be the person your family can rely on. However, it is very important that you also take some time to focus on your own need and wants. It’s not selfish, it’s taking care of your health, both physical and mental. If you’re always around other people or always catering to some greater purpose, you can easily feel trapped or on an episode of Bigg Boss. That’s not what you want, so here’s how you can make it so you get some personal time in the day as well.
Schedule it
When you have many responsibilities or people relying on you, it can be hard to spontaneously find those great moments of relaxation such as reading a book you’ve been putting off for months or even taking a long, hot bath. But, if you schedule these things in advance, you can craft your schedule around them. You know for certain that you are going to take a relaxing nap today because you booked it in your planner. Let everyone know that during those couple of hours of that day, you wish to not be disturbed. It’s definitely not a lot to ask, especially considering that you spend the rest of your time within the family environment anyways.
Take breaks
Make sure you treat everything with the level of urgency that it requires. If you’ve forgotten to do a house chore, don’t rush to complete it even if you could be taking a short break instead. Not all tasks are urgent and forgetting to do some minor things isn’t the end of the world. When you can, make sure to take small breaks. You can have a refreshing beverage in this time, catch a few minutes of TV or even go out for a short walk. Breaking the cycle will keep you fresh and going.
Commit to a friend activity
You are much more likely to stick with your plan of doing something outside the family environment where you focus on yourself if you promise to a friend that you’ll do it. Set up a weekly get together with the guys or plan for something that won’t allow you to just quit, because you’d be disappointing your friends. Getting out and doing things just for your own sake is very important, and sticking to it even when you don’t really feel like it is how you maintain your mental health. It’s like a pill: you might not always enjoy it but you take it anyway.
Balancing the family life with your individual needs and wants is how you maintain a healthy lifestyle so make sure to incorporate these elements into your own.
—
Some links in this post may be paid.
Photo: Getty Images