We all like a little alone time now and then, yet sadly for most of us, finding the time to relax and unwind is often far easier said than done. If you’re like most people, you probably wake up wishing that there were more hours in the day as you probably struggle to get everything done that you need to do. Whether you work full-time, whether you have a home to keep, whether you’re a parent, or anything else for that matter, finding the time to get all of your jobs done is hard enough, never mind finding a little alone time to relax and unwind. If you lead a busy and hectic lifestyle, it’s important that you stop, take a step back, and spend a little time relaxing, kicking back, and unwinding. You need to take time out of your schedule to look after yourself, and thanks to these handy tips, now you’ll be able to do just that. Here’s a look at a few ways of finding more time for yourself.

Give yourself at least one night off each week – It doesn’t matter whether you live alone or with family members, if there’s one thing you must do when trying to relax and enjoy a little downtime, it’s give yourself at least one night off each week. If possible, give yourself the entire weekend off, and only do the absolute bare minimum of what is essential. If you live with a partner, have them take care of the jobs you would normally do and put your feet up and relax.

Wake up earlier – Another very effective thing you can do when trying to find more time for yourself is to wake up earlier and get out of bed a little earlier each morning. By waking up at 7AM instead of 8AM, you have an extra hour to do the jobs that need doing in advance. For example, in that hour you can prepare dinner for that night, so that when the time does come to eat and relax in an evening, your dinner will be ready to go so you can eat it, have a quick clean up of the dishes, and then get your feet up for the rest of the night.

Do something you enjoy doing – If you enjoy swimming, why not set aside a night a week to head down to the local swimming baths and do some swimming, either alone, or with friends perhaps. If you enjoy cycling or working out at the gym, again, take the time to do these things whenever you get the chance. Set aside certain days/evenings for doing the activities that you enjoy doing.

Write down a to-do list – Although it would be nice to just forget about our jobs and responsibilities and ignore them altogether, sadly the real world doesn’t work like that. What we can do however is prioritize jobs in terms of importance by writing down a to-do list. By seeing what needs to be done on paper, we know exactly what we have to do, and when we get to tick each job off, we benefit from a huge sense of satisfaction as the list grows smaller and smaller. Place the most important jobs at the top of the list, and the least important jobs near the bottom. By seeing them on paper, you can fire through them, get them out of the way, and then relax with peace of mind knowing that everything has been done.

Join a club or an adult evening class – pursue doing something you have interest in and which gives you self-satisfaction such as an arts and crafts class, photography, learning a foreign language, playing a musical instrument, arranging flowers, writing etc.

We only have one life and one body to care of, and we better do it right. You never know what tomorrow may bring and so we better live this life the best we can and be grateful for everything we have.– Novak Djokovic

Life is a gift – cherish every minute!

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