Do you love to craft or sew but just never seem to find the time to fit it in?
Are you finding that you’re making time to do everything for everyone else, that it becomes impossible to prioritise finding time to enjoy yourself and unwind?
I’ve been there!
But, here’s what I know for sure: Being busy doing ALL the things for everyone else is a fast-track way to burnout.
If you want to keep topping up everyone else's cup, you need to make sure there’s enough in yours first - and making time to do something that you enjoy will significantly help keep your cup topped up.
Did you notice what I said about “making time” – yes you need to look at where your time goes and decide ahead of time when you plan to fit in some crafting.
How to plan your time, to protect your ‘me-time’
If you are not a planner or journaler then this might seem like a very unusual suggestion – stay with me though.
“I’m too busy” is a phrase that we all say too often. For those of us who plan our time out, we are usually able to identify why we are so busy. However, if we aren’t tracking how we are spending our time, it’s all too easy for our days to rush past without us identifying where the time has gone.
Let’s review our calendars now
Grab a cuppa and check what’s planned on your calendar for next week. If you don’t normally do this, you can either write it down or add it to your phone calendar.
Now we can see what we have planned in, let’s categorise the events. (I like to use colours either in my paper planner or phone)
• How many are non-negotiable? (Work falls into this category – sorry) • How many do you just do every week and don’t know why? • How many of the things in your calendar are “fun” or “me time” activities? Is crafting already in there?
Review your list and see if you can reduce, or stop doing something, swapping that time slot for crafting. Or, can you combine two activities to use the time more efficiently, and use the spare time to craft?
Could you be an early bird?
Let me be controversial.
Could you maybe consider getting out of bed 30 minutes earlier on a Saturday to spend some time crafting? Might that actually replenish and refresh you, more than an additional half-hour snooze? Do you find yourself mindlessly watching TV in the evening by habit, when that time could be spent unwinding with a craft project and some music instead?
Think about the happy endorphins that you get when you craft and realise that these activities really need to start falling into the “non-negotiable” category of your week. Protect that time as much as you have to stick to your work time.
Crafting lifts your mood, making dealing with everything else thrown at you during the week a little easier to cope with.
Because you have already had a win earlier in the week with a project or you know that if you can just somehow get through this week you will have the crafty reward waiting for you on the other side of the stressful week.
Your health is important, taking control of your schedule is the first step in improving your health.
What are you waiting for? Let me know when you have booked in an appointment with your sewing machine. Doctors orders x
Have a great day,
Fiona
PS: Remember I'm your biggest fan xx
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