Sometimes life gets in the way and you can find yourself either constantly striving for perfection in everything that you do, which ultimately eats away at your spare time as you nit pick over every element with a perfectionist fine tooth comb. Or, you find yourself snowed under with too much work, which is piling on top of your everyday tasks and taking over from your hobbies and pleasures. I have mentioned before in some of my tips category posts (especially this one) that I often find it hard to create an equal balance between working full time, blogging, housework / chores and spending time with loved ones and friends, at the same time as trying to constantly work on and improve my content offering. What I always seem to sacrifice first is my alone or ‘ME’ time. And I have to admit, this is something that I have willingly given up and I need to remind myself that it is OK to put myself first sometimes, but putting others before myself just seems so inate to me. So, I guess you could call it a blessing and a fault at the same time.

The past month or so I have been finding more time for myself, whether this is just for 20/30 minutes each day of the week or a couple of hours to a whole morning at the weekend. I forgot how much I love to de-stress with running and that bath-time is my favourite time of the week. So, either putting the washing on hold until the next day or leaving the tea to sort itself, I wanted to share with you some tips that have worked to help me find more time to relax and unwind from my busy work / blog schedule.

1. Pre-Planning is Key

I am not the only one of my friends who runs a tight ship, so sometimes it can feel as if we are all busy when one of us is free and so on. So, by planning in advance (sometimes months) we can get in a thorough catch up with each other’s lives and a good night on the tiles at the same time. Last night I went out with one the girls for tasty pie and mash and some drinks, for what seems like the first time in AGES. It felt SO good to have a good few hours of girly time, which is always a great way to re-boost your mood, have a little vent to each other about what has been stressing us out and to feel united with your closest of friends again. So point one is to plan ahead. Whether this is making time for friends, family or a special occasion, by planning ahead you can fit in work deadlines around the date in advance and it means you are all sure to be available so connect with your friends and check each other’s diaries for a date that suits all involved.

P.S You can also apply this rule to everything, from planning what you will wear the next day to make getting ready in the morning to putting outfits you need to shoot together on a rail or housing beauty items / products you want to shoot for flat lays and making lists of these items for organisation purposes too.

2. Priotitise Your Tasks

Being a keen list maker, I practically make lists for everything from what to buy at the supermarket to how I am going to spend my evenings! I am also a bit of a worrier who likes to know what they are doing, when and why, which again perhaps adds to my OCD of list making. But trust me, this one really works. Take a step back and think about the tasks you have to complete for the day, week or month and write these down in order of importance. For example, today as well as writing this post I also have had photos to take for my blog and instagram, my blogging schedule to organise, a video to edit, the dog to walk, my exercise routine to fit in, the hoovering to do, clothes to hang up and another set of washing to put in the dryer and a cinema showing of Spectre at 4.30pm: PHEW. So, looking at these tasks I would prioritise in the order below:

1. Brody to walk, which I mixed with my exercise routine as we went running (killing two birds with one stone)
2. Hanging up the washing and loading more in
3. The hoovering to do
2. Blogging schedule to sort (to get my ass in order)
3. Video to edit (which you can watch here)
4. Photos to take and blog posts to write (due to deadlines)
5. Housework
6. Cinema

To put things into perspective I didn’t finish editing my video until 3pm and we left for the cinema at 4pm, so I defintely didn’t get all of the housework done and I have now just finished this blog post after 8pm. So, making time for myself to have a ritual Sunday bath this evening before bed, half of the housework will have to wait until one night in the week, which I am sure I won’t lose any sleep over!

3. Try a Meditation App

One thing that I struggle with the most is my sleeping patterns. I have always been a pretty terrible sleeper as I find it so hard to switch off. I used to write a list before bed time of anything I had on my mind that I needed to do the next day, which does work, but I think after doing it for so long I then re-think what I have written on the list when closing my eyes. So, for the past month I have been using this meditation app to help me unwind and relax before bed time. At first, I was sceptic and may have had a little laugh at myself for using this, but when I got my serious face on I was actually fast asleep and apparently (according to James, so he may be pulling my leg) snoring flat out on my back. I do feel like I get a good nights sleep when I use this app – unlike last night when I didn’t and found myself still awake when checking the time after 1am in the morning on a school night. So, I need to start using this more on a regular basis to see if it continues to work any miracles and switch my mind off for a good night’s rest.

4. Switch Off From The World Of Tech

Leading on to my last point, if you find it hard to switch your brain off then you may really struggle to unwind in the short spaces of time that you may be able to fit in. One tip that I now follow up on at least once a week (even though you may find this the hardest) is to switch off from the world of tech. Whether this is just switching my iPhone and iPad off for a few hours before bed, not checking any emails or social media channels. Or, switching everything off completely (including the TV). As we are moving into Winter I love to make room for some ‘me’ time and go old school with a book, wearing my favourite comfy lounging clothes, which are currently these EMU Stinger Micro boots* and M&S faux fur and fleece cape*. wrapped inbetween a snuggly faux fur throw and my favourite cushions on the sofa (which I was kindly sent my George at ASDA as part of their #AWsomeGeorge Winter Warmers campaigns*) or I will find myself chilling in bed or the bath tub.

So there you have my four tips for finding time in a busy schedule for yourself to relax and unwind. Hopefully some of you will be able to put the above into practice and fit ‘ME’ time into your weekly routine, as you all bloody deserve it! If you have any other tips on relaxing do let me know in the comments below, as I am always looking for new ways to try and switch off the OCD parts of my brain for my own sanity and James’s as well.

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