Want better mental health? You have to make an appointment. But not with me or a professional, with yourself!
If you have an appointment with your trainer, the nail salon, your kid’s pediatrician…you wouldn’t just flake on it. We tell people, “Sorry I can’t make it, I have an appointment at that time“. But when it comes to our own time, we don’t hold it so dear. We give it away too easily. And this can lead to resentment, burnout, frustration.
By making appointments with ourselves first, it allows you to say no to people more easily. To set better boundaries. Because you’re not really saying no. You just already gave away your yes.
When people ask, “Are you available this weekend?” If you say, “no,” almost always people respond, “why not? What are you doing?”
By having already blocked your calendar for a me-time activity, it allows us to justify that “no” a bit better. To have a response. Even if the response is simply “I’m already booked at that time.”
Call dibs on your time. Get there first, and don’t give it away.
PS I encourage flexibility, but don’t delete your me-time appointment, just reschedule it for another time that same week. (Never, ever push more than a week, then the resentment builds back.)
#metime #partyofone #calldibsonyourself
