“I wish I had more time for myself.”

“I’m doing so much already. I can’t barely hear myself think!”

“There never seems to be enough hours in the day.”

Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? With everyone leading crazy, busy lives these days, “me” time is pretty much non-existent, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to make time for yourself – and often.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “How do I make more time for myself when I’m busy juggling three kids, a spouse, a career, and everything else in between? I feel like I’m losing my mind most of the time!”

Believe me, I understand your frustrations, but the good news is that it’s never too late to put yourself on the priority list. If you’re tired of feeling ran down, don’t worry. Relief is on the way! Here are three ways you can make “me” time a reality again.

Learn to Say No

So many of us, especially women, feel obligated to yes to everything out of fear of letting people down, but in order to take care of everyone else, we have to first be able to take care of ourselves. That means learning to say no every now and then. Yes, it can be difficult in the beginning and yes, you’ll probably feel somewhat guilty the first couple times, but it’s important to establish boundaries. And once you master the art of saying no, it can actually be quite empowering.

Take Time For Yourself

Set aside at least 15-20 minutes a day just for you. Use this time to unwind and do whatever it is that makes you feel rejuvenated, relaxed and happy. Go for a walk, take a warm bath, watch a movie, call up an old friend, get a massage, cook that meal you’ve been dying to try, or you can simply do nothing at all and that would be perfectly fine. Seriously, this is your time!

Ask for Help

Newsflash: You’re not superman/superwoman, and as much as you pride yourself on doing everything all on your own, it’s probably doing you more harm than good. Many people have trouble asking for help because they feel it’s a sign of weakness, but taking on every single task by yourself creates unnecessary stress and quite frankly, why should you have to take on everything by themselves anyway? There’s no harm in asking others for help when you need it.

 Read more about making yourself a priority at BlackDoctor.Org.

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