How To Make Time For Therapy (When You Have No Time)
I know you’ve heard about the importance of self-care. You’ve read all the benefits, but it’s hard to carve out space in your schedule to actually make it happen. When you’re busy and overwhelmed, finding an hour to attend a weekly therapy appointment can seem impossible. But prioritizing time for your own well-being will not only result in feeling better, it will get you performing better. I’m here with some strategies to help you find an hour in your week to make therapy possible.
1. Assess your reasons for wanting to start therapy. What’s your buy-in? Do you want to feel better? Be more engaged and present with your loved ones? Be more motivated and focused at work? Stop wasting hours scrolling mindlessly through your phone when you could be engaging in more meaningful activities? Once you have your “why”, it’s a lot easier to start making time for yourself a priority.
2. Complete a time study. Yes, for several days, I want you to write down every single thing you do. You might be surprised by how much time is being wasted doing things that can either be delegated or eliminated. Once you look at your completed log, ask yourself, “am I spending my time on the right things?” We all have different ideas about what those “right” things are. Is your time being spent on yours?
3. Delegate and eliminate. When you look at your time study, see if you can highlight anything that can be done by someone else or eliminated entirely. Maybe you like to load the dishwasher because your husband puts the forks in the wrong way. Let him do it! Maybe you spend 20 minutes in bed in the morning looking at your phone. Cut that out! Ten minutes here and twenty minutes there adds up over the course of a week and POOF! You now have time for therapy.
4. Start saying “no”. How much time do you spend doing things for other people? Running errands for someone, baking a cake for the potluck at work, volunteering to do things you’re not passionate about, etc. We all like to say “yes” and contribute, those are wonderful things. But when you’re running on empty, it’s not the time. There’s a quote that I love, it says, “if you are empty, what are you pouring into other people?” Think about that. If you are stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, irritable, etc., those things are likely bleeding into every area of your life.
5. Have a plan. Top performers don’t leave things up to chance. They utilize routines and schedules, yet are flexible if a last-minute change needs to be made. Creating structure in your day, including scheduled time for yourself, will allow you to be more focused on the task at hand and get things done in a shorter amount of time. This will free up time for activities that promote growth, like therapy.
People who take time for themselves are shown to be happier and healthier. Give it a try and feel free to reach out if you’d like some additional support