We all have the same 24 hours in a day, so how is it that some seem to be able to make time for themselves and others don’t? I feel like this comes down to protecting your time which can so easily swallowed up by the day to day.  By protecting your time, you create space and priority for what’s most important and that includes your self-care.  We can’t full other cups when we’re pouring from an empty jug.

Here are some of my time protecting tips I live by:

• Be realistic – Break down your ‘To Do’ list by setting yourself 3 tasks from your list everyday (a mix of personal and business) to achieve that day.  I will also have lists for various things like “life admin”, “shopping” etc.  When something comes into my head, I will pop it on the list.  Then when it comes time in my calendar to look at my “life admin”, I’ll bring up that list and work on those tasks for the time I have got scheduled.  It saves you running around after everyone else’s priorities. 

• Assess your time – Are you booking in meetings and sticking to a scheduled time, or do they overrun?  Do you spend time travelling to shops / meetings, when you could do it online and save time?  Share tasks - my husband and I have a shared shopping list on an app called To-Do (it’s free) and it be updated in real time.  We have an alert in our joint calendar to book a shopping slot and to finalise the shop.  When it is scheduled it takes the stress away.

• Priorities – Whenever anyone asks for you to help with something, always find out a realistic deadline.  Look at your To Do and give it a realistic timeframe – Urgent / Within 1 week / Longer Term.  By categorising you break the list down and spend time where it’s needed most, and pressure is removed.

• Learn to say NO – It’s an easy habit to say YES every time, but with that comes additional pressure.  If it’s too much, not a task you enjoy, deadline’s too tight – be realistic, and honest and say No. You’ll feel a weight lifted off your shoulders!  And others will respect you for your boundaries (even if they’re a bit annoyed with you at first). 

• Switch of your phone notifications – Phones are constantly distracting us throughout the day, don’t let it rule you and your time!  Catch up on messages when you’re ready, get the habit of leaving the phone until you have time for its demands!  This will give you uninterrupted time on work, with family, in fact whatever you are doing.

• Done is better than perfect – Once I accepted this it became my new mantra.  Don’t put yourself under pressure of everything having to be perfect, do what’s needed and be satisfied that you are doing your best, not perfection.  

• Schedule yourself – because that which gets scheduled, gets done.  So, make sure you schedule your self-care.  Whether that’s a walk with a friend, doing a workout or some time in front of the telly just recognising that scheduling time for me was as equally important as other appointments, made me take time to take care of me. I look forward to these timeslots now, as it makes me feel mentally and physically healthier, and put me in a better frame of mind.

In addition to this, and to help you with your overall self-care, I also like to keep in mind 4 key Stress Reducers, that I think are vitally important to your health.

My personal 4 Stress Reducers:

• Sleep – people underestimate how important sleep is for our health.  It’s nature’s way of letting our body recuperate.  Try to stick to a sleep pattern, and allow time for a good night’s sleep.  
• Try and enjoy the small things – Doing things we enjoy sparks dopamine and serotonin, which keeps the cortisol in check.  Whatever you enjoy, allow 10 minutes each day for that activity – dog walk, a hot bath, meditation – it doesn’t have to be a big time changer, small things count the most!
• Watch the sugar spikes – if you’re stressed don’t binge on sugar filled goodies, or start overeating.  This can lead to spikes and then dips in blood sugar and mood. This is not sustainable in the long run, most importantly because nutrition is key to managing stress. 
• Exercise – Find an exercise that you enjoy, even just a daily walk - our bodies respond to exercise, producing more happy hormones and lower our cortisol which helps us to sleep better.  The key is to find an exercise you enjoy.

I believe that we need to keep things in life as simple as we can.  

Self-care doesn’t have to be a major change in lifestyle, if we make simple changes that are easy to incorporate into our day, the benefits are amazing.  You will feel more alert, happier with your life, healthier physically and mentally, what’s more, that positivity will be noticed by those around you.  Give it a go, you deserve it!

Connect with Wendy: Wendy has a free Meal Planner & Healthy Hacks Guide here and also runs a free monthly Masterclass on different topics around healthy habits.   Connect with her on Instagram and you can join her free Facebook group; Better lifestyle habits for busy mums where she shares more tips and advice with a like-minded community of busy mums.