When was the last time you curled up with a good read and spent the whole day immersed in a fantastical literary world? How often do you manage to make time for spa dates with the girls or game nights with the crew? Do you miss having the time and peace to enjoy the pleasure of doing nothing?
People who struggle to make time for their guilty pleasures, hobbies, interests, and activities often regard life as an unfulfilling pursuit of money and time. The truth is, you don’t have to make time for anything. You already have all the time in the world; you just need to use it efficiently.
It’s natural for everyone to assume that people who indulge in their passions and hobbies while managing domestic and professional responsibilities are super humans. They’re not; they’re just better at time management, scheduling, and setting priorities.
Read on to explore some practical strategies for making time for the things you love.
Make a Streamlined Schedule
Creating a schedule is the best way to master the art of time management and find time for your chores, responsibilities, and self-care. Breaking down your day into designated segments for work, home chores, errands, and family time will help you make room for fun activities and hobbies.
A schedule will also promote self-discipline by making you conscious of how much time you’re spending at work or while cleaning. It will eliminate procrastination and prevent you from wasting time by binding each chore within a specific time frame. You can also customize your schedule by waking up two hours early or sleeping two hours late.
A streamlined schedule will map out your day and leave you with ample free time to indulge in the things you love without the guilt of pending work or unwashed dishes.
Combining Activities
Combining two activities is a great trick to make time for things you always struggle to add to your daily schedule. For instance, if your early morning commute takes an hour, you can combine this activity with your favorite book. Likewise, if you miss going to the casino with your buddies, tune into NetBet on your iPad and play your favorite slots while traveling.
You can listen to audiobooks while monitoring your child’s playdate and get your nails done at the salon while answering emails and perusing paperwork. If you’re struggling to keep up with an online course, consider tuning into the lessons on your early morning run. Combining activities will help you be more productive and indulge in hobbies you love for a deeper sense of fulfillment.
Learn to Say NO
Do you end up having no time for yourself because you struggle to decline requests and say no when approached for help? Do you find yourself investing a large chunk of your time helping others with their chores and responsibilities? Do you feel you would have more time for your hobbies if only you could say no to people?
A helpful attitude toward family members, friends, and neighbors is extremely healthy and empathetic, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect your quality of life. Helping others is a powerful altruistic investment that helps us feel good about ourselves. But if it comes from a place where you struggle to say no, then you need to focus on prioritizing yourself.
If you’d rather spend the day watching your favorite show on Netflix, there’s nothing wrong with declining a request to help your friend clean out her garage. There’s no shame in treating yourself to a fancy night out instead of staying home to babysit your nephew. And if you always come home with your colleague’s workload, you need to say no and reclaim your takeout-and-TV nights.
Final Thoughts
Making time for the things you love doesn’t demand any major changes to your daily routine or extensive scheduling. It merely needs a conscious realization of the fact that your interests and hobbies are priorities that add to your self-worth and life quality. Once you realize how these activities define your sense of fulfillment, you will learn to prioritize them naturally.