No time for self care? Here's a 5-step guide for busy people

Good morning @CherryBomb What a great post. It really had me thinking about more ways I can look after myself. Prioritising and scheduling are quite important to me at the moment. I think this is due to there never being enough time in the day for everything and if I don't set aside some time for me it just doesn't happen.

Apart from my sibling I have pets to look after when I get home. I walk the dogs every day and I really enjoy that because it's my hour of down time where I'm out in the fresh air and don't need to deal with anything at home. I quite often meet up with people on our walk and stop to have a quick chat and I really love the changing of the seasons. I like to take in my surroundings and enjoy it.

I love the website you linked to. So many interesting things on lifehack. Thank you very much.

I made time for myself twice during the last week. I splurged and got a taxi to and from the cinema (as I couldn't drive myself because of my recent serious knee injury). I saw two movies. One last Friday and another one today. It was excellent.

@CherryBomb I'd like to slot something into the focusing on little and often point that you made if I can and that is to try to live in the moment when we have a bit of respite.

I am really trying to do this but it's quite hard when all the other thoughts are constantly going around in my mind.

I really want to find a way to block everything out and just live in the moment, even if it's just for 5 minutes at a time.

Does anyone have any tips on how to do this?

I saw the movies Into the Woods & Night at The Museum.

thank you soo much for this , I will need to remember and to put in action .

When I can, I mediate, though I find it nearly impossible, since my husband is obsessed with me being nearby and available at all times. However, it does train the mindset of in the moment. So does doing something you enjoy. Start to do whatever it is - it might be paint your nails (it used to be mine, but now they're bitten so low it's embarrasing), or cooking, sewing, reading, whatever and make sure you focus fully on the details around what you're doing. If you excersise for example, make sure you note how it makes each muscle group feel. If you were painting your nails for example, pay attention to the flow of the polish. My interest is beading, so it's paying attention to the feel of the wire, how the pliers feel in my fingers, how the shapes work, the colours and shapes and textures of the beads, etc.

I hope this helps a little.

Hello @CherryBomb , that was a great post , thank you

@artee, @tulip, @Kiera80, @Alessandra1992, how is everyone going ??

Hubby is never ending difficult and ignores every boundary I set, every time - and still gets angry every time I hold one. I have plans for the year formulating quite well and expect things to be very different in the second half of the year (or the last quarter). I have had some quality time with my siblings over the Xmas period and met some new relatives today, who have only just discovered my existence (very long complicated story, perhaps I could write a book!). I'm excited to find my family extending, though nobody lives in the same state. I wish I could tolerate the frequently changing weather and cold so I could get their physical support more often, but even a few minutes in a cold wind yesterday made it very clear it cannot happen for my own health.

After being (what I think of as) bullied here just before Xmas, I've not been in here and posting. I'm reluctant to share since then, and I've had a lot to deal with over the Xmas period with the loss of my best friend to long term illness.

Hey @CherryBomb

Something I have found works for me is making whatever those routines are into habits as much as possible. Used to find that all the best intentions go to hell in a handbasket kind of fast unless I can develop a habit around them (so it becomes automatic). For example ...

Problem: Used to tell myself I need to eat healthier during the day, but would end up eating rubbish in the afternoon because I half starved myself all day. At the low sugar end of the day I would cave in. Willpower had disappeared.
Solution: Recognised that low sugar in afternoon was making me cave in. Recognised that I am very lazy when it comes to preparing food. So I started shopping on Monday morning for healthy food that required, minimum to no preparation.
Habit: Every Monday morning after my walk, would drop into early opening fruit market and buy my stash of stuff.

Result: Graze on healthy food throughout the day, and don't eat rubbish in the afternoon. Am also eating less at dinner.

Whether it is having someone turnup at your front door for excercise to force you to go, or putting a timer on your computer to stop you spending too much time on it, the key is placing it on automatic pilot.

A good book on this is "The Power Of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.
Also "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength" by Roy F. Baumeister & John Tierney

Personally, my willpower is weak, but my habits can make me strong.