Traditionally Valentine’s Day is about relationship love.

We often think in terms of someone that we love — a partner, a child, a parent — when we think of relationships.

I think our most important love relationship is with ourselves.

When you love and take care of yourselves, it shows up in a positive way in both your lives and your work.

So, why don’t you prioritize your relationship with yourself?

I think it comes down to a belief that if you take time for yourself, you are somehow taking something away from the others in your life or even the growth of your business.

And, nothing could really be farther from the truth! If you take time for yourself, you’ll actually have more energy to devote to working on your other relationships. You’ll find yourself renewed in your business.

Nourish your relationship with yourself

Here is a simple way to work on your relationship with yourself each day.

Start by time-blocking and set aside 30 minutes each day for personal retreat time.

You can use this time to read a non-business book, take a talk outside, have a cup of tea, look through a collection of old photos, do a yoga routine, get a massage, listen to some favorite music, work on a dream project.

Just select an activity that takes you away from your business and focuses on something you want to do. Your activity will look different from everyone else’s.

Wait! I just heard you say, “That sounds nice, but I can’t even find 10 minutes, much less 30!”

We all know that is a lie! And, we tell ourselves that a lot. No time to work on the business, your health, relationships, and on and on. And it starts to sound like a “real” reason. And it’s not.

So what do you do? You binge-watch Netflix. You scroll through Instagram. And you rationalize that activity as self-care.

Since you know you really do have 30 minutes somewhere, use time blocking to set an appointment that you keep. Maybe it’s first thing in the morning before your household is awake. Maybe it’s time at lunch. Maybe it’s the 30 minutes after you drop your kids off at school. You just have to commit to it.

Yesterday I used my personal retreat time to enjoy a cup of tea and a mystery novel. The day before I did some sketching. Both days I returned to my work with a fresh outlook. (Though I’ll admit, I always have a hard time putting down a good mystery!)

Once you have the daily personal retreat working, consider adding a day-long retreat when you completed that big project or are feeling overwhelmed from all the work you’ve had on your plate. You’ll feel refreshed and will face your work with a renewed focus. And, it doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. Your retreat can be as simple as packing a picnic lunch and setting off for a walk in the woods with a good book and your sketch pad.

I know, you are still thinking you don’t have time for even the small retreat on a daily basis. Give it a try for a week and see if it makes a difference. Taking care of yourself really does reap big rewards.

Here’s a quote I love about taking care of yourself:

Love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.
Lucille Ball

And, Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s your turn!

Where are you finding your 30 minutes and how will you spend it?

Tags: The Professional Quilter, Time Blocking, time management

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 12th, 2020 at 9:15 am and is filed under Creativity, Productivity, Self Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.