Me time.

As important to a mother’s sanity as chocolate and coffee.

or bacon.

Hush. I know what you’re thinking: Who has the time?!

Am I right?

You do.

No. Really.

Me time, even if it’s just 20 minutes once a week it’s important that you take time to take care of you; to relax for a bit.

Slow down.

Breathe.

{Go on. I’ll wait.}

Okay. You’ve slowed down {haven’t you?}, you’ve breathed {right?}. Now what?

For me, me time consists of yoga in the mornings before the house stirs and a weekly Sunday spa night.  Sure, I get up early every morning for yoga; for me, it’s totally worth it.  20 -30 minutes of yoga in the mornings before a child has a chance to make a demand of me creates a much more focused, more patient, and calmer Amanda for the rest of the day.

While it’s true that I, like most of you, don’t have the time to head to a spa weekly to get my eyebrows waxed, a facial, and a mani/pedi…but I do have time for these things on Sunday nights just before bed.  So I set my calendar to remind me every Sunday at 10pm that it’s time to pamper myself and I treat this appointment just as I would a client meeting.  I feel better about myself and I find that I have more confidence in my business when I take this time.  I never regret taking the time to take care of myself.

I was curious how others spent their me time so I asked around to some of my favorite people around.  Here’s what they said:

Me Time

Erin from A Parenting Production says ” I do two things. Sneak it in where I can find it (example, baby is napping right now and I have a cup of coffee and some blog reading to do) Or if I want more than 15 minutes, it has to be scheduled in advance. I have to find a night, afternoon, morning where hubby has advanced notice or I hire a sitter.”

Colorado Moms Emily says “I take one night during the week when DH is not on call, I will go get my hair cut or a mani/pedi or sometimes got o a movie by myself. I don’t get to do this every week, but when I can, it’s heaven.”

Amy from Freaky Perfect reminds us “If you want ‘me time’, you have to take it. Don’t wait for someone to offer it to you or hope that your husband will read your mind and see you need a break. I find that announcing it helps me. I tell the kids ‘I am going to take a bath and anyone who enters the bathroom for anything other than an emergency will be punished.’ Or I tell my husband ‘I will be going out with friends Wednesday night so don’t expect me to be around for dinner or bedtime.’ I don’t consider that to be selfish. It’s just being very clear about my needs and expectations.”

Jen from over at One Mom’s World shares what she’s doing for me time right now, “[A]t night when the girls go to bed, I am doing a bible study for myself.”

Nicole from Finance Diva  says she loves “Massages and pedicures. There is a cool Foot massage place close by which is both affordable and convenient.”

Tonight at 8pm EST I’ll be joining @SheSpeaksUp, @RachelFerrucci, @LisaSamples, @centsiblelife, @zipporahs, @daily_pinch, @JustPrecious and Cerra.com to talk about the illusive #metime and how we can spread the love.  I hope you’ll join me!

How do you get ‘Me Time’?

Disclosure: I am a paid panelist for the #metime Twitter party, but this post is
unsponsored and is all my own thoughts...well...
except for those thoughts that came from my friends.

Image Credit: ppacificvancouver