The Importance of Alone Time + Fun ‘Me Time’ Ideas

Desperately Need Some Me Time?

You’ve most likely landed here because you need a break.

You’ve been thinking “how do I find time for myself”?

Well, I’m happy to share that you can make the time and Sammy from The Self Care Sloth is guest writing for us today to share with you the importance of creating alone time in your hectic schedule. Learn how about how to connect with her at the bottom of the post.

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Everyone needs alone time

If you work in a stressful job, if you have children who need most of your time and attention, whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, you need some time to yourself.

If you are also someone who struggles with your mental health, it is especially important to spend time by yourself, repairing and recuperating.

The Importance of Me Time

The importance of ‘me time’ has been talked about a lot in recent years, with the boom of wellness and wellbeing blogs and influencers. Sometimes that means that we dismiss it as a luxury or something that is inaccessible to us, but in reality me time is one of the most accessible and effective forms of self-care and self-healing.

It is so important to schedule time for yourself, at least once a week if you can manage it.  I know to some people that sounds unachievable, but even if you can just find 30 minutes on a Sunday to dedicate to yourself, you will find that you feel much better.

Additionally, you’ll be more able to give your energy to others if you have taken the time to recharge by yourself. As the very wise saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

Related: Self Care 101. 9 Ways to Look After You.

Related: The Importance of Self Love +7 Exercises to Love Yourself

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Alone Time By Personality Type

Let’s jump back quickly to the topic of extroverts and introverts.

Traditionally, we seem to sort ourselves into one of these two categories; with extroverts gaining their energy from other people and introverts preferring to recharge on their own.

The only problem with this model is the assumption that only introverts require alone time to recharge and take care of themselves. In reality, most people would benefit from some ‘me time’ and the importance of this alone time cannot be overestimated.

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Taking time for yourself allows you to learn and discover things about yourself, as well as dedicating time to self-improvement and relaxation.

Let’s break these three things down and look at them in a bit more detail.

Make the Most of Alone Time: The Best ‘Me Time’ Ideas

1. Learning About Yourself

When we talk to other people, we learn a lot about them. They tell us their stories, we experience their moods and emotions and we learn what makes them tick. However, if we spend all of our time dedicating our energy to other people, we are missing out on opportunities to learn about ourselves. This is one reason that taking alone time is so important.

“We need solitude, because when we’re alone, we’re free from obligations, we don’t need to put on a show, and we can hear our own thoughts.”
― Tamim Ansary

Without the noise of other people and other commitments, we can really hear our own thoughts and tune in to what we want and need. This is the importance of me time – being able to concentrate on yourself and reflect on what you need.

How to Use Alone Time To Learn More About Yourself:

Journal. Try using journal prompts (there are always loads on Pinterest and on blogs) to discover more about yourself. Journaling can be a great way to learn about yourself and what you are aspiring to achieve.

Goal-setting. Similar to journaling, goal-setting can be a really useful exercise. In order to properly assess your goals and what you need to do to achieve them, you need alone time. You could try setting five year goals, New Year resolutions or smaller weekly goals to bring you closer to the life that you are dreaming of. They could be career goals, health targets or financial goals you want to reach.

Meditation or mindfulness. Mindfulness has been a bit of a ‘buzzword’ recently but, again, that’s not to say that it’s a bad thing. Mindfulness and meditation practices can help you to explore your mind and calm your thoughts. If you find meditation a bit intimidating or don’t know where to start, try searching YouTube for a guided meditation that suits you.

Related reading: 5 Fun Mindfulness Exercises for a Happy Life

2. Using Me Time for Self Improvement

For some people, using their alone time to work on self-development or education would be the exact opposite of they want – and I understand that! Personally, when I have time for myself I like to use some of it to develop my skills, but that isn’t for everyone.

However, if you’re interested in self-development, you can use your ‘me time’ to approach self-improvement in so many different ways.

The aim of this kind of alone time is to spend time learning and developing yourself.

This may be a career move for you, or you might just be interested in learning something new. Our minds really benefit from us continuing to learn, no matter how old we are, and it is much easier to learn something new if you are alone and have some time to yourself.

There are no limits to what you define as ‘self-improvement’, so check out these few ideas.

Self Improvement ‘Me Time’ Ideas

Learn a new language. Learning a new language is a fantastic challenge for your brain and a useful skill to add to your CV. Try apps like Duolingo for daily practice, or you could even try watching your favourite TV shows in a different language to immerse yourself in a fun way.

Take an online course. We are so lucky to have a wealth of resources online that we can learn from, so why not try utilising some of them during your alone time? Watch some TED talks, following a coding course online or browsing the site Future Learn to find a university-quality course on anything you’re interested in.

Heard of Creative Live? You can master a new craft with online creative classes taught by the words best. Check out the courses here.

Creative writing. This could in the form of blogging, journaling, or trying to craft that novel you’ve had in mind for years. Make yourself a hot drink, sit in front of your laptop and have a go at some creative writing.

Get Physical! You could of course try something physical. If you like running, strap on some trainers and get outside.

Alternatively, you could join a team and try a new sport. This is great for a few different reasons. Firstly, you’re moving and getting exercise. Also, even though you’re not completely having alone time, spending one evening a week doing something you enjoy, away from your partner or family, is so important to maintaining your mental health and wellbeing.

Lastly, and probably the most popular way to spend your ‘me time’…

3. Relaxation

When you have an evening to yourself, particularly if you’re home alone, one of the simplest pleasures is to schedule yourself some proper self-care. This is often seen as a real luxury, and to many of us it definitely is. However, you should try to take the time, perhaps once a week, to relax and unwind.

You could do this however you like best, but if you’re stuck for ideas, here are some suggestions:

Run a bath. The go-to option for an evening of self-care. Run yourself a hot bath with bubbles or a bath bomb, maybe light some candles… whatever takes your fancy. Lie back, relax and enjoy.

Read a book. My personal favourite alone time activity is to curl up with a good book. Combine it with your hot bath and you’re in relaxation heaven. Or, double this up with the self-improvement activities above and try your hand at some non-fiction reading.

Pamper yourself. If you like face masks, hair masks or painting your nails, now’s the time to do it! Go ‘all in’ on a pamper session and treat yourself like you’re at a spa. Have that bubble bath, use your poshest skincare products and light some candles while you paint your toenails. Self-care doesn’t always have to be about pampering and physical changes, but it can be a great boost for your mood and confidence.

Sleep. Perhaps you just need to use your alone time to sleep, relax and recharge. Having a nap in the middle of the day or just going to bed an hour earlier could be just what you need.

Can you ask someone to babysit, purely so you can get an early night during a stressful week at work? Can you squeeze in half an hour on a Sunday afternoon to read until you fall asleep and have a quick, refreshing nap with no interruptions? It might be just what you need.

4. Date Yourself!

My last tip for spending time alone would be to try going out by yourself.

I am a huge advocate of the solo cinema trip (you can’t talk in there anyway!) and there’s a simple joy in taking yourself out for lunch.

It can be nerve-wracking, but it is also really liberating to spend a day by yourself and treat it like a bit of a date.

Take yourself to the cinema or the theatre, go for dinner by yourself, or grab a coffee and enjoy some people-watching. It doesn’t have to be scary to be on your own. In fact, you might just find that you love it!

Related reading: The Art of Dating Yourself + 10 Self Date Ideas

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There is no doubt that having time to yourself is super important, particularly in today’s society, when we are all so connected to each other all the time. If you find that you are stressed out or run down, or perhaps your anxiety is playing up, try to schedule a little pocket of ‘me time’.

I hope you found these suggestions helpful!

Let us know below if you have any other ways that you love to spend your ‘me time’.

Or, if you’ve been neglecting your self-care for a little while, I challenge you to find one hour this week that you can dedicate just to you.

About Sammy & The Self-Care Sloth

The Self-Care Sloth is a blog set up by Sammy in 2018. She hopes to create a small corner of the internet where you can find self-care tips and feel welcome and safe. The Self-Care Sloth is all about self-care, wellbeing and living simply. As well as this, Sammy likes to talk about her other passions: reading and creative writing. Connect with The Self-Care Sloth on Pinterest and Twitter.

For more inspiration and to get the latest post, let’s connect on social media

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Yolanda xo

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