HOW TO FIND TIME FOR THE THINGS YOU LOVE

How many times have we all heard the “I love to read but I just don’t have the time at the moment” excuse? If you really loved reading that much, surely you’d find the time! Making the time for these activities you enjoy will mean that your life will be filled with more joy and therefore your mood will be boosted.

You must identify the things you really do love before you take some of your precious time to do them. Make a list of a couple of things you used to love or still do love but just don’t do as often as you’d like. This could be anything from baking to gardening, even to reaching out to that old friend of yours you’ve just been “too busy” to touch base with. Once you’ve identified this then it’s just the case of finding the time, so here’s some tips on how do just that!

Plan and Schedule

If you are somebody who struggles to unwind and take time for yourself, why not include these small things into your schedule? Plan out your day first thing in the morning – write down everything you have to do for the day and look for any small gaps. There will be the odd 10 minutes in between tasks that you will be able to cram in one of your desired activities.

Decrease Screen Time

We’re all guilty of it – scrolling through our phone during any free time we have. Although this does help many people unwind, reducing this time will give you more time for the things you love. Turning your phone on silent or do not disturb whilst baking that cake or doing that overdue gardening will allow you to fully immerse yourself into your hobby!

Wake Up Early

This one may seem obvious, but one way of finding time simply increasing how many hours you have to work with during the day! I know many of us aren’t naturally early risers, however setting your alarm for even half an hour before it would usually go off will give you the time to spend doing the things you love. If you start off the day doing something you enjoy, it will set your mood for the rest of the day.

Give Up Something

Is there anything in your life that isn’t making you as happy as you could be? Getting rid of anything that brings negativity will allow you to spend more time on things you love. Why spend a portion of your valuable 24 hours doing something you hate or find boring when you could be doing something you love? Even if it means you spend less time cleaning your house and live with a little more clutter than usual – if it allows you to spend more time living your best life then go for it!

Say No

The dreaded word everyone finds so difficult to say. In a world where we’re encouraged to say yes to everything to make the most of every opportunity it can be extremely difficult to decline offers. However if you are struggling with time already – saying yes to something will just hinder you even more; you could be spending that time on working on you. Learning how to say no will help you in so many ways and will free up so much of your time.