Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Take Time for You!

This week's post is contributed by Nicole Ruge, National Consultant Team, Georgia.

The school year is off to a great start, most of us are into our second quarter. If your time is like mine it is filled with FCCLA activities, sporting events, lesson plans, papers and projects to grade and spending time with my family. The frustration often sets in as to how we are to balance everything.

I often forget to take time out of each day for myself, how about you? We need to take time for ourselves even if it is just 2 minutes. Below you will find a few ideas on how to spend your time if you have 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 15 minutes or an hour.

If you have 2 minutes:

  • Take deep breaths and think peaceful thoughts
  • Play or cuddle with your pet. They will love this time and it will let you forget about everything for a bit. 
  • Remember the last time you had a good laugh and it will bring a smile to your face. 

If you have 5 minutes:

  • Reflect on all the things for which you are grateful.
  • Express your thoughts or feeling in a journal. 
  • Go for a short walk around the building.

If you have 15 minutes:

  • Go for a walk in the park, by the lake or by the ocean. 
  • Take a nap. 
  • Drive or walk out of your way to find something beautiful in your everyday routine. 

If you have an hour:

  • Volunteer at your favorite charity.
  • Go to a bookstore by yourself so that you can browse to your heart’s content and maybe have a cup of coffee. 
  • Go to bed an hour early: put on your favorite pajamas, make some hot tea and crawl into bed. 

We will all be more focused and driven  in our families and careers if we remember to recharge our batteries. The only way we can do this is to take time out focus on ourselves.

1 comment:

Cathe said...

Great ideas Nicole, I would add to your list call a friend and share something good that happened to your recently. We often times let people know when things are bothering us, but rarely share the positive things. Try to make a habit out of remembering the good and sharing them with others. On that note something good...The cluster meeting in Albuquerque was a great event. The adviser sharing sessions are always my favorite part of any conference. during the round table the students from New Mexico shared a fundraising idea that puts a new twist on the bake sale.
The idea is to bake several cakes which appear to be exactly the same. Insert a clean plastic container such as a film cannister into each cake. Each cannister contains money in various amounts, for example, $5.00 to $500.00. The cakes are auctioned off during a community event. All the cakes look the same but some are more valuable than others! It would work to include coupons for donated items or services as well.
Thanks for the great idea New Mexico FCS students!