For those with families, finding time to spend by ourselves can be hard right now. Many children are remote learning right now so they are home all of the time. Many parents are working from home. With all of this intentional and unintentional family time, how does an adult carve out any alone time? Here are three quick tips.
Utilize late night or early morning hours when the rest of the family is sleeping. Stay up an extra hour (or more!) reading a book or utilizing some other sort of activity you enjoy. A friend of mine oftentimes stays up reading until 2am in order to get some much needed alone time. When I asked her if she was tired the next day, she said that these days she feels tired all the time anyway and that at least this way she was able to spend some time with herself! For others, getting up before everyone else works better. Being able to have a cup of coffee or tea in silence or time for meditation can be a wonderful way to start the day.
Carve out time for a walk. Sure, walking with the kids can be fun for the whole family, but taking a walk by yourself has its own rewards. This can be time to listen to music or an audio book, call a loved one, or simply be mindful and notice the sights and sounds around you.
Hide! Take a short (or long!) break from together time and use work as an excuse. Hide in your home office or bedroom but instead of working, do something rejuvenating. Read a book, talk to a friend, or simply close your eyes for a bit.
The benefits of gaining a bit of time to yourself are much needed and will help sustain you through the pandemic. You will find you have more patience with your family members, and who does not need that? Enjoy your alone time!
Photo Credits:
Photo by Pratiksha Mohanty on Unsplash
Photo by Roman Romashov on Unsplash
