Making the most of me-time

[Sophie-RO]

OK so it's hard for parents to find the time to put yourself first and but self-care into action.

Self-care is a personal matter - sometimes people think self-care = relaxing, but in fact it's anything that you do voluntarily which helps you maintain your physical, mental or emotional health. For some people it might be head-banging seeing a metal band or sky-diving out of a plane. Though for others it will be yoga or massage.

But there are smaller, every day things that aren't hard to organise. Self-care for parents is important, the better you are, the better your family so prioritising me-time isn't selfish!

Together we can make a list of the easy self-care thing you can include in your day. What's your easy me-time activity that we can learn from?

I'll start: singing as loud as possible when you are alone in the car.

Your turn!

[Mitzi]

The world can look brighter to me if I get a good cup of coffee. Good coffee is an art and there are a lot a barista-pretenders out there. I make my own too, but there's nothing like being outand enjoying a perfect crema, just-right temperature and robust flavour that slightly whacks you in the head.

Melbourne is the best city for hard-to-get-a-bad-one coffee. Sadly, I live in Sydney.

Oh! Sushi makes me happy too. And I love to sit at the nearby sports oval and have my workday lunch in the sunshine.

[readthemanual]

Reading is part of me and I spend most of my time reading, I read challenging stuff when I am fresh and read easy stuff when I am tired. Might sound boring to others, but ok for me. Only concern is as I get old, I now manage to get myself out walking as frequently as I can and listen to audio books while walking.

My daughter got me 'Hamilton' after the success of the film. I haven't finished listening yet, but already got the message: reading is most important to many of the great founders of American.

[HalleysComet]

Coffee, sushi and reading are definitely great for me too - but I also do really like to cook! I try to get creative and not just do the same old-same old..

[readthemanual]

Cooking is fun! @HalleysComet

[Sophie-RO]

Cooking is definitely great....

Something that helps for me too is making sure I switch off from work when I'm at home... No work emails to my phone or home computer, and having a small 'ritual' of listening to music on my walk home from work to signify the end of the day....

[Sadie]

Exercise! I go to tai chi with a friend once a week, try to walk by the river nearby once or twice a week, and do yoga videos at home. 

Talking with friends and funny TV are good too

[JenniferS]

it has only been the past year or two that i have committed myself to making space for me-time & finding/re-kindling friends (for me!) this is a work in progress (and only possible now as my kids get older & are more independent - 12 & 15) . . . . cooking is my 'threshold' me space between coming home from work & fully engaging with the family chaos. i love making new & varied dishes, ie. thai, malaysian, aust/asian fusion & italian, full of fresh flavours & different ingredients that i buy from our local asian market.

riding my road bike is my 'zone out & blow the cobwebs away' me space that i try to do 2-3 times a week.  either long distances or hills depending upon time & weather.  i have also made new friends thru bike riding and we head off for longer country day rides from time to time.  we have planned a week's riding adventure next march in tassie, cant wait! 

i know it is very hard to do these sorts of things which demand time & separation when your children are young &/or older & dependent.  my heart goes out to those parents who dont have such easy privileges. i dont know what is in my family's future (things can change in an instant) but for the moment i am taking advantage of being able to do this, which i realise many others of us dont have.

for many years me space was squeezed in-between everyone else's needs & work.  one thing that has helped is making a 'family' diary & making sure i reserve some time away from the house (riding of course!). we have also made thursday night our family co-ordination night so we make sure all of us put on the table our desires for the weekend to work out clashes & prioritise. doing this has also communicated clearly to my husband the family demands and he has stepped up to taking on board more responsibility for kids on the weekend.  (sorry for the long blurb ) 

do other parents have tips for making sure family gives them time & space to take care of themselves?

[Luula]

Great question @JenniferS and thanks for sharing your tips for managing your family's schedule. I'm sure some of the other parents here would have some great tips to add, so I've started a new thread here.