Slow down sister, what’s your hurry? Have you spread yourself too thin?

There’s no shame in wanting to do it all. You’re a giving person who drops everything for everyone at the drop of a hat. Friends want to grab drinks after work? You’re there. Boss asks you to take on a new task on top of everything else? Of course. Your significant other feels like they never see you? I’m sorry, I’ll do better.

But the question then becomes when do you have time for yourself? The age-old response usually varies in form: I’ll get around to that one of these days. I honestly just don’t have the time. There’s no time in between all that I am asked to do. The reason that all the other areas of your life feel like they’re overwhelming you is because you aren’t taking time to smell the roses. You cannot take care of anyone else’s needs before your own.

Every day, take one hour for yourself. Even if you must lock yourself in your bathroom to be completely alone, take the hour. Grab that book that you’ve been meaning to read but just haven’t found the time. Take an hour and try a new DIY project you’ve pinned but just haven’t done yet. Go outside and survey what’s around you. Do something completely for you with no interruptions. Leave your phone at home. Learn to be completely okay with the silence that surrounds you.

I know it isn’t easy. Trust me I’ve been there too, but there will come a point when you are so burned out that nothing brings you joy anymore. It’s terrible when you wake up in the morning and dread the day before it has even begun because you are bogged down with obligations that are not your own. What are your priorities? Where does the pendulum fall?

Instead of saying I’ll worry about it tomorrow, or maybe I’ll get around to that one of these days, take sixty minutes and devote it to YOU.