Me Time: Priorities
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Am I the only career girl out there who feels like I don’t have enough time on my hands? I’ve spent most of my twenties trying to “have it all.” And now there are moments I wonder if I really want it: the 45 hour work week, the commute, the endless to-do list and busy engagement calendar. Some mornings when my alarm goes off I lie in bed for an extra thirty minutes simply because I know this is the only stress-free time during my day (sad, but true). I relish Sunday for its quiet, unstructured hours, which is ironic since I usually spend my Sundays moving from engagements (brunches, walks in the park, coffee) to errands (returning shoes that don’t fit, fighting for a parking place, getting stuck in weird weekend traffic and standing in line for hours at the grocery store).
What IS a girl to do? Figure it out. After all, we’re women. We can do anything, right? Sometimes this is easier said then done. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Reconnect with Yourself
If you are constantly stressed at work and feel like you would rather be doing “something else,” figure out what that something else is. After all, the craziness of everyday life doesn’t exactly lend itself to lots of self-reflection. Take a long walk, go back to yoga class, or spend a weekend sans cell phone, dinner dates and Tivo. See that girl in the bathroom mirror? It’s you! Reintroduce yourself and ask all those questions you normally hate at cocktail parties: Are you going back to school? Are you planning on staying in LA? What about your photography?
Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize
No one ever said it would be easy to be so successful and savvy. If you really want more time to capitalize on you and your personal goals, you’re going to have to pencil it in, and you’re going to have to make some choices. This may mean dragging yourself out of bed early on Saturday to run errands, or not staying out so late on the weekend (I know, the horror!). Make lists, check them twice and force yourself into compliance: if your secret goal is to learn how to cook a killer coq au vin, you’re going to need to invest in some decent pots and a great French cookbook. Watching the Food channel while eating leftovers will probably not suffice.
Just Do It!
To borrow a line from that well known maker of everything athletic, just do it. This part is always the most difficult since procrastination and other forms of avoidance are tricky demons to fight. Use your brain. Is googling everyone you know really more exciting than working on your new business plan? I think not!
The truth is that no one can make your ambitions happen but you. I ponder this often as I am watching Entertainment Tonight after work and drinking a glass of wine. Thirty minutes of ET multiplied by five days in the week equals two and a half hours of writing time. Right there are the extra minutes I’ve been looking for, the “me minutes” I swore I didn’t have.
Now that I’ve found my free time I’m NOT going to let it go. I’m going to start a new project today and work on it every day this week. I’ve got my fingers crossed that nothing in the world (not even the newest celebrity engagement) can tear me away from the most important thing on my to-do list: me.