Let me ask you a question. Which items on your to-do list do you do most consistently—your appointments (prescheduled events that are assigned a specific date and time on your calendar) or unscheduled to-dos? I’m going to go out on a limb here and bet that the appointments on your calendar are given priority over everything else. And rightly so—usually other people are counting on you to keep your appointments.
But, how many appointments on your calendar are with yourself? In other words, how often do you carve out specific times to really take care of yourself—to do something that restores your energy or nurtures your soul? If activities such as exercise, creative projects (done just for fun!) or relaxing with a good book aren’t planned events or appointments on your calendar, they are one of the first activities to fall by the wayside in a time crunch.
As we head into the holiday season, make it a point to schedule regular appointments with yourself. Block out times on your calendar to do activities that allow you to relax, restore, and reenergize. You’ll need a strong and energized you to take care of everything on your to-do list this time of year—so give yourself the priority you deserve by scheduling regular appointments with yourself. Then, keep your appointments just as you would any other appointment on your schedule.
How do you make yourself a priority during the hoilday season? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Abby, This is a wonderful reminder of the things that we should do all year long…take time for yourself. Every December I take the time to visit the doctor for my annual exam. Odd I know, to do this in the busiest time of year, but for me the holidays are a time that is spent with family and time that I cherish. I want to be around for a long time.
This December I will spend time having a tumor removed from my breast. Not what I had planned. This has been a harsh reminder of the importance of self care. Thankful it is not cancer. Taking care of myself allows me to be here to take care of others!
On a lighter note….I am busy busy busy getting all of Christmas done before Dec 3…yikes!
I never make myself a priority unless it’s a special ocassion, other things always come first, I do make a point of having a “date” with myself around my birthday.
I’d like to think I make time for myself, but really I don’t 😉 I used to do my nails and my toes, hey, it was something for me! I think maybe I need to get back to doing that again. No better time to start than this weekend!!
Love this idea! I find myself scheduling lots of appointments with myself to do things like, paperwork, bills, meal planning but I need to schedule relaxing or fun things too! I better go look at this coming week and make some appointments w/ myself! 🙂
Usually the priorities appear exactly when you don’t expect… Honestly, I can’t plan nothing for the holidays simply because stuff always appears !
Just to add: people need more of these me-times not just to contemplate on themselves, but also to heal themselves in all levels of their well-being. And this may even be the best preventive medicine of all, next to laughter and apples of course.