How To Find â Me Timeâ

Think back to your BK time (Before Kids). What special ways did you treat yourself; give yourself a boost; vitalize yourself?

My daughter Ruby is 4 now and before she was twinkle in her Daddyâ s eye, Iâ d think nothing of taking myself off for a Spa day or afternoon, whenever I felt I needed revitalizing. Iâ d swim, have a sauna, visit the steam room, have a couple of treatmentsâ bliss!

Finding anything more than 7 minutes â me timeâ can sometimes be a challenge these days! And with Baby Flintoft due in Spring 2010, this isnâ t likely to change!

What has changed are my priorities and also where I find my moments of vitalization. These days theyâ re small, cheap â " but the biggest thing is, they cheer me up, give me a boost and allow me to continue dealing with all the busyness and whirlwind of life.

Here are some of mine:

Having an undisturbed bubbly bath
Reading a book for an hour in a quiet place
Painting my nails
Going to a friendâ s house for coffee and a chat
Taking part in the Flintoft Friday Funtastic Fiesta (which is me, Ruby and Dave my husband, dancing and cooking in the kitchen Friday evening)
Enjoying a glass of wine with my husband and a sofa snuggle
If somebody had told me BK that this is where Iâ d get vitalized, Iâ d have laughed in their face (and perhaps been a little disheartened). But the fact of the matter is, they do fire me up! They do vitalize me!
That said, there are many things which completely drain me, too. Which zapp my energy, my motivation, my zest for life.

Here are some of my energy zappers:

Moaning, grumpy people (especially friends who only ever seem to see the black side of things)
Having no milk in the fridge first thing in the morning for my wake up coffee of the day
Constant clutter that seems to appear as quickly as I tidied it away
Wasting money on something I thought would help
Ruby interrupting when Iâ m on the phone or speaking with someone, even though she knows she shouldnâ t
The space in the kitchen, which seems to diminish by the second
Sheesh, even writing that list I can feel myself getting tense!! I gotta shake that off!

Hereâ s a quick exercise for you to do, to ensure you get more vitalization in your day and less of the energy zappers.

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle of it. On the left hand side, write down all the things which vitalize you. On the right hand side, write down all the things which zapp you.

Hang the list somewhere where you can see it every day. Then, make a commitment to eliminating one zapp a week and doing at least two vitalizing activities. And, as you notice other things which have given you a boost, add those to the list so you can repeat them, too!

Enjoy your everyday vitalization!

"5 Steps for Working Moms to Break the Spell of Overwhelm and Guilt" http://www.successfulworkingmoms.com/

Keywords: