A Plus Attitudes

So many of us are slaves to our careers or to our businesses that we often don’t allow ourselves to have fun or unwind. Hubby and I have pretty busy lives.

He is a physician. His work rarely stops. When he’s not at the office seeing patients, he’s rounding the hospital, he’s updating patient data into the electronic medial record (EMR) system, he’s working on his continuing education, and more. You get the picture. I on the other hand started a business about 2 years ago that consumes a lot of my time as well and I recently started a part-time job just to get out of the house and meet people.

Since hubby works long hours, we make it a priority to spend our days off together. He typically has one day off during the week and we try to make the most of it. We call it our date day.

When the weather permits, we like to ride bikes together. There is a nice, mostly paved trail that we like to ride in Pittsburgh.
We make our ride fun, not competitive. Our ride is about 22 miles roundtrip but we take a lunch and beer break three quarters of the way into our ride.

We usually stop at Hofbräuhaus. We like the view from their outdoor patio and their beers are not too bad either.

We take our time sipping our beers, catching up on what we might have missed during the busy work week, and enjoying each other’s company. We look forward to this special date day every week! We recognize how important our date day is for our relationship and for our mental health.

Weather you live alone or with a significant other it is important to take some time off for self care. No one is going to take better care of yourself than you!

No matter how full your schedule is, make YOU a priority! Schedule you time in your calendar to remind yourself how important downtime is. If you have a long work day, build in 10-20 minute breaks throughout the day. Get up from your desk and take a walk around the office or go outside for some fresh air. Find a quiet place to sit and meditate, breathe or stretch.

On your day(s) off, make sure you schedule downtime as well. Yes, we have bills to pay, errands to run, living quarters to clean, family members to tend to, but it is important to tend to ourselves as well.

There are so many things one can do for self care or in our downtime.

• Sign up for a yoga class, or look for a yoga instructor you like on-line.
• Visit your local library and check out some book to get lost in.
• Grab a pair of athletic shoes and go for a walk or a jog, or take a hike.
• Take up gardening. If you live in an apartment or have a small outdoor space, potted plants might be your answer.
• Join a book club so you can discuss the book you just checked out.
• Go for a swim or join a gym.
• Learn how to cook or try out some new recipes.
• Visit a spa for a massage, facial, mani-pedi.
• Do your own home spa if you can’t afford to visit a spa, or invite a friend over and do one together.
• Pack a picnic lunch.
• Visit a park(take your lunch with you and invite some friends or family members to join you)
• Take a vacation or a stay-cation if you can’t afford a vacation.
• Join a cycling, hiking or running club.
• Build something for all you fixer-upers and handy people.
• Take an art class or learn how to draw or paint via YouTube videos.
• Learn a new language on DuoLingo
• Go thrift shopping(one of my favorite things to do)
• Sit in silence and listen to your surroundings.
• Pop some popcorn and watch a movie.
• Write in your journal.
• Start a blog.
• Learn how to play a musical instrument.
• Take up acting.
• Love to sing? Join a local choir or find a karaoke bar to test out your talent.
• Grab a camera and start taking photos.
• Invite friends, family, neighbors over for a barbecue or a wine and cheese gathering.
• Learn how to make beer, wine, limoncello.

So as you can see there are soooo many things you can do for yourself. What is it that you would love to do if you only had the time? Now that you know find the time to just do it!

Do you allow yourself some downtime? What do you do when you are off to relax or to enjoy life?

Comment below. I’d love to hear!