Treat Yo Self via Meeting Invites
Do yourself a favor from time to time. Use Google, Outlook, Fantastical, a day planner with puppies on it, or a nice Demotivational Poster Calendar and block off days / time blocks specifically for YOU time.
We all get busy. We have obligations to be working, caring for family, helping friends, feeding our dogs, cats, komodo dragons... all very important things. But what sometimes gets lost is making sure you literally book time for yourself.
To give you a few ideas, I'll take a page from Buzzfeed (groan), and do this for you in a listicle (oh, joy!):
- Block 15 minute "walks" into your workday. Leave the building. Walk around it. Walk around the block. Walk to an overlook or under a tunnel. Maybe even throw on headphones and listen to something to accompany the walk. If you need to calm down, throw on some Miles Davis. If you need to vent, throw on some Rage. Or really, just listen to the sounds of the city/nature/whatever depending on your venue.
- Block a 1 or 1.5 hour lunch once a week that is specifically so that you require yourself to enjoy a long meal to meet a friend. Try not to "reschedule" it and definitely never move it off that week.
- Block 15 minutes at the end of the day to prep some food for the next day. Get your coffee maker ready for the a.m. Chop up some veggies to throw in a skillet the next morning without effort.
- Find a podcast that pushes you to learn more. Block off time soon after each releases to focus on listening / watching them as they come out.
- Take some classes. Want to learn programming, strategy, business - even get certified? Take some online classes with UCLA Extension. Learn to be a much better cook from Gordon Ramsay via Masterclass. Brush up on your Drupal skills with Lynda. Take advantage of living in the best of times to learn and develop skills with way less time, travel, money than ever before.
- Eat lunch at your desk... only because you really used your lunch break to go for a run at the local park, to get a much needed haircut, to fit in a massage appointment, or to go home and walk your dogs.
- Use a vacation day on a Wednesday. Barely anyone takes off Wednesdays. You can get so much shit done faster than everyone else (who are more likely taking care of the same errands on the weekends, wasting more of their time in traffic, fighting crowds, and waiting in lines.) Plus, nothing feels better than breaking a full workweek into a couple two-day weeks when you have a spare day to burn.
- Want to geek out on the importance of making good choices for yourself? Block off some time and absorb this piece about the positive choice of everyday activities. Or, for a longer (and more humorous) read, The Hedonism Handbook.
