I’ve been struggling with time management quite a bit since mid-February and I just understood it a bit better. It seems I’m not the only one though!

Many people have told me recently that they feel quite tired and burnt out, very busy but not accomplishing much. I call it “doing the hamster thing.” You know what they do: they run on those little wheels in their cages, going nowhere fast. And that is not a very nice feeling. Believe me I know!

I truly believe that in order to better manage your time, you have to decide what is important to you and what is not. If you don’t decide, you can be sure that other people will decide for you.

If something is important to you, you Will make time for it. She used to say things like, “I don’t have enough time to exercise because I get home from work too late.” One day I realized that this is absolute nonsense. Obviously, he was making work a higher priority than having a healthy and fit body. It’s as simple as that. Hmm…

So this month I want you to take some time to focus on yourself. I can hear all the busy moms saying things like “but my kids need me.” Listen, it’s not a selfish thing, it just makes you a better person. I’m also very impulsive and have hundreds of things on the go, so I know what it’s like. But you can’t give what you don’t have.

There are seven areas in everyone’s life: spiritual, work, financial, family, friends, health/physical and personal. We constantly give and give and because we all lead such busy lives, it’s all too easy for that last section to slip by. Let’s hope that changes soon J

This year I decided that since my personal development is extremely important to me, I need to start scheduling time just for myself. What I’ve been doing is scheduling two nights each month to focus on me. If I find interesting worksheets, quizzes, or eBooks on the internet, I print them out and do or read them in this spare time, too. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I read a book and at that moment I’m too lazy to go get paper and do the exercises. Now I write them down and do all these exercises during my self-care time.

You can enjoy your time pampering yourself with a lovely bubble bath, painting your toenails or reading your favorite book. Or pick up a favorite magazine and read it over coffee and cake in a quiet cafe. Or book yourself in a workshop. I do regular talks and workshops and while I love it, I enjoy hosting from time to time. So every year, I attend at least two workshops.

For all you unstructured people, you’re probably thinking, “where’s the spontaneity?” I’ll do a Dr. Phil and ask you this, “how’s the spontaneity going?” I also tried spontaneity and never seemed to get to the things that were important to me!

I have really found this self-care time very helpful and I know you will too. You will be able to really think about what works for you and what doesn’t. I suggest you buy a nice notebook and write everything down. There is something very special about putting things in writing instead of having it all spinning around in your head.

My sister calls her personal time “Shelley time.” She repeat three times: It is not a sin to have (insert her own name here) _____________ time. Fine!

So do the exercise but more importantly take some action. You are very worth it!