Question #44
“How do you find time for yourself?”
Dear PC,
I’m going to admit that this is probably easier for me than many people. I have a stable job with regular hours that pays me enough to live on, I don’t have children, I live alone. These are incredible privileges that allow me to carve out time for myself in ways that many people cannot. That being said, here are the small ways I find time and make space for myself. Maybe these will inspire you and you find time in your own life.
Take walks in my neighborhood, or a nearby park. These walks don’t have to be lengthy, but I’ve found that walks are a way that I can find time to be with myself, even if I use the walk to catch up with a loved one on the phone.
Do a solitary ritual task. This is vague, because there are several things that I can think of that fall into this description. Today, I got 20 roses and carefully arranged them into a vase. I’ve folded a giant stack of clothes while listening to a book or podcast or music. I’ve recently started a 15-minute nighttime stretching routine. What are small things you can do regularly to take you out of the hustle and flow of your everyday life?
Clear my schedule. Sometimes the best way to find time is to find time. Particularly in busy seasons of life, I’ll have one day where there’s nothing on the calendar: no appointments, events, commitments etc so that I have nothing to worry about going to or doing, and I can just be a potato at home. Sometimes being a potato means doing chores, but only if I really want to.
I think the overall thing here is that it’s less about finding time for yourself, and more about making the time. Life will take everything out of you if you let it.
