If you’re like me it may seem like we never have time to spend on ourselves. We are so wrapped around our school life, work or taking care of our family that we don’t even try to squeeze in a bit of time on our daily schedule to replenish ourselves. All of this time consumption and daily routines can cause unwanted stress and exhaustion. Like i’ve heard my mom and any person older than me say “ We have to take care of ourselves, if you don't then no one else will”. But in order to “Take care of ourselves” we must take time for ourselves, as in taking a day off and spoiling ourselves to relieve stress and exhaustion that can be very unhealthy for us.
Everyone has a different definition of “spoiling yourself”. For some it can be finally getting that much needed rest you need and waking up late in the afternoon , for others it can be going to the mall and indulging in some retail therapy or taking a walk at the park. When we take this leisure time we just need to keep one thing in mind and that is that you are “Rewarding yourself” for all the hard work you put into your daily life. After I started taking some time off once in a while, I can personally say that, the next day I go to school or work I feel replenished and I feel that I am ready to face anything head on and I have a rather more cheerful mood.
So when you do decide to take a day to yourself here are some tips or suggestions that I recommend from my personal experiences when I take my time off.
1. Solitude - you don't have to spend the whole day entirely by yourself, but I do recommend that you take a couple hours to be in complete solitude and disconnect from everything. For me personally when I have some alone time it really helps me reboost and unwind my brain from the millions of things I have on my mind, it also helps me meditate and think deeply about personal dilemmas and how to solve them and most importantly it makes me more productive, being alone can help you complete simple tasks like doing laundry or organizing your closet more faster and efficiently
2. Retail Therapy- To me the biggest sense of rewarding myself is spending my hard earned money on things that I want like a brand new pair of shoes , makeup or a new book. So when you experiment with a day to yourself hit the mall up and reward yourself for all your hard work and improve your mood, splurge out and TREAT YOURSELF !
3) Try To Relax and Enjoy The Day- Try not to let anything ruin your day or mood, don’t let what someone told you or what they did ruin your entire day or stay on your mind the whole day. The whole reason behind this “Treat Yourself Day” is to be rela
xed, worry free and happy not to add more stress to yourself. Try not to think about work or school, engage in low stress exercises or engage in some of your favorite hobbies you never get around to doing like reading, or watching your favorite tv show, playing your favorite video games, or even just simply napping so you can re-energize yourself.
Next time you feel stressed, exhausted or overwhelmed ask yourself “ When was the last time I actually took some time off for myself ?” Your mental health is always a priority, you can catch up on studying later, Take that much needed break and replenish yourself from all the hard work you do, just simply TREAT YOURSELF. :)