How to Prioritize your Personal Life

For Librarians and Working Professionals

Enjoying some free time with Emi!

It’s officially the time of year when people start giving up on their New Year’s Resolutions. That’s right, two weeks and most people are done. It’s no wonder really, everyone is so busy and no one seems to have enough time for themselves. How do you follow the Whole 30, when you don’t have time to cook? How do you work out when you work 12 hours per day? Here are some quick tips to help you free up some time, so you can prioritize your personal life.

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Use your vacation time. All of it. Every year. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to have a nice refreshing getaway. Go camping or rent a cabin a few hours from home. Staycations are fine, but a change of atmosphere can be invigorating. If you can, go somewhere!

Use more sick time. If you end the year with an abundance of unused sick time, there are honest ways that you can use more. Schedule Dr. appointments during the work day and take sick hours to pay for them. Call-in if you have a headache, bad allergies or feel like you *might* be getting sick. Bonus, I find that calling in for minor issues has mostly prevented me from getting disgustingly sick. Finally, and I cannot stress this enough, use your sick time when you are actually sick! Please do not be a walking death martyr, getting the entire office sick. Gross.

• Note: If you start scheduling Dr. appointments during the workday, be considerate of your co-worker’s schedules. Go during the times that you know you can get away, without creating more work for everyone else. As with any advice, you have to do what works for you and your organization. Make sure you stay within the rules of your employer.  

Take back your overtime. If you work for a salary, you are probably contracted to work, more or less, the same number of hours every week. If you are consistently asked to work more without receiving additional compensation, start taking back your time. If you have a late meeting or an event on your day off, schedule a day to get that time back. Keep track of your extra hours and take off a whole day, come in late or leave early. It’s your time.

• Note: This is NOT advice on getting promoted or getting a raise, this is about taking back your time. Unfortunately, many readers will have to skip this one to stay competitive in their field. You know your situation, if this is not feasible for you, there are other ways to make up time. Again, stay within the rules of your organization.  

Schedule down time throughout the day. I typically work for about 45 minutes, then get up and work on something easy and active for 15. Repeat all day. As a librarian I would work on ordering books for 45 minutes and then get up and shelve an armful of books for 15. This helps me feel mentally and physically energized all day.

Set an “end of the day” alarm. I work part-time and have two littles. I get up at 6:30, work, work on my blog, workout, work on the house and take care of the kids. All day. At 9 PM an alarm goes off and I am done. TV time, book time, down time!

Get enough sleep. For me 7-8 hours is perfect. Find out what your optimum number is and get that. Not getting enough sleep is not a badge of honor. It makes you cranky and less efficient. Make sleep a priority. You will be healthier, happier and get more done.

Take a whole day off every week. Have one day where you don’t do any work. No laundry, no vacuuming, no scrubbing. Eat out or eat left-overs so you don’t even have to cook and do dishes. Do something fun, by yourself or with friends and family. What would you do with a whole day off?

Once you have started to reclaim some of your personal time, consider getting back to your New Year’s goal. Just because your resolution didn’t work in January doesn’t mean that it won’t work in April or August. Take the time to consider what you want to do for yourself and try again. Best of luck! Keep me posted on your progress!

Follow this link to a review of The Four Hour Workweek.

How do you create free time for yourself? Comment below: