To live an enriched life - make time for yourself

Twenty-nineteen has zoomed by. It is already over half way through the year.

Maybe you work a nine to five job, and outside of that, you have a family to look after. Maybe you’re a student, working a part time job to pay the rent, staying up late at night to finish off assignments.

Whoever you are, life is whirling by.

At Comunita, we believe in living a life full of enriching experiences. One where your health and well-being is a priority. Where meaningful relationships are made. Where self improvement and inner growth is a focus.

Whether you’re in a coliving space or not, life is incredibly busy and full. But it is essential that you are taking time out for you. Each week you should be reserving time for yourself. Whether it is time to sit back and relax, or time to make progress on achieving a goal or a dream. You time. Time to refuel. In order to be your most productive and creative, you need time to relax and to enjoy a simple activity.

But how can we make this happen?

Firstly, step back and understand why you want more free time.

Write down all of the activities that you have been dreaming of doing. From this, you’ll want to rank them in order of importance and priority. Start with number one to focus on.

Secondly, figure out how you’re spending your time.

For a few days note down in a diary how you are spending each day. Reflect on this and figure out if you’re spending your time smartly. See if there are things in your day which are not adding to your life, which you can let go, such as pressing snooze on that morning alarm, or spending your morning tea break scrolling through social media. Are there time-taking tasks which you could delegate or outsource to others?

Thirdly, write up a new schedule.

The first thing you should add is the non-negotiables — such as the important eight hours of sleep you need each night, your working or studying hours, some exercise and then the time reserved just for you. Write down that one thing you’ve been wanting to do.

Lastly, stick to it. 

I’d recommend setting an alarm on your phone for that precious you time — whether it’s time scheduled every day or every week. When the alarm goes off, either spend five minutes finishing off whatever you were doing or stop immediately and dive in to an activity just for you. 

Build the habit. It will be so worth it when you find yourself closer to achieving that New Years Resolution you’ve been writing every year, or see more energy and enthusiasm in yourself for all the other activities in your life.

What are you going to make time for?