TIME MANAGEMENT (Guest Post from Solo Love)

The following post was written by guest blogger, Ani Araujo-Brioso of Solo Love

For MANY YEARS, I have been trying to manage my time as a single mom & it honestly feels impossible.  Have you ever noticed that the word "time" has the "ME" in it?  Which in Moms World that means "ME TIME"...  but yet so many moms do not even get to enjoy or have "ME" time.  Why is that?  Is it because we have to wear so many hats, cuz we have to not only work but clean house, cook meals, delegate, deal with homework, mood swings, kids always complaining that they have no life or are bored, want a dog, a cat, a fish but do not seem to want to take care of them but only play with them, worry about the bills, our weight, our looks, getting older, clothes do not fit, wardrobe outdated, would love a massage but have no time & I can go on & on & on...

So I think to myself...what can I start changing to have "ME TIME"?  

Well, one thing that I use to do & it would work was schedule my day ahead.  I LOVE my agenda but I am not very good at either giving myself realistic times or being strict about following my time schedule.  So starting today, I will begin to use my AGENDA much better.  I will be giving myself realistic goals, time slots and even writing (because I like writing down much better than using my phone calendar, as my phone is not the best & I always forget to back it up...Lol)  the times to pick up the kids, go do groceries with a LIST, clean, cook & more.  I recently moved to Georgia from South Florida (over a year ago) and still have not organized the house.

Something else that I have gotten away from, which I would give myself even if it was half an hour, was READ a book & even MEDITATE.  Meditating not only helps you start your day off to a brighter start but helps you feel good and gives you a few minutes of peace.  So that is something that I need to add to my AGENDA and give myself, at least, one hour for those two.  The biggest challenge will be not answering the phone or texting a friend for that time frame.

Once a month I believe that every mom deserves some pampering.  Whether it be a massage or facial.  One sacrifice that I have been making for a few years now has been being a member to a Massage Spa.  Massage Envy has been the membership that I have never cancelled in the last few years even when times have been extremely tough.  The great part of having the membership with Massage Envy has been that if I am truly going thru some financial hardship, as I truly have, a person gets to "freeze the account for the time that you feel is needed".  That means that if you choose or feel that you cannot or need a financial break for either 2, 3, 5, or 6 months of making that monthly payment, you are allowed to do so.  Bad part is that you cannot have your massage during that time, of course.  The other good news is that if you are not able to go on a monthly basis to have a massage, the time gets accumulated so you do not loose it.  Example, I currently have 12 hours of massage or I can even have a facial at a location that offers it.  So if you are a mom that can afford or budget yourself $59 a month, then I would so do so.  It is all about finding yourself a masseuse that you feel comfortable with & knows how to destress you within a very quiet environment with soothing music.  I can go on & on about this....

As I can continue to go on about this subject, I know that every mom has different interests, so my suggestion is depending on your interests, just be sure to give yourself that "ME TIME" that we each deserve.  I am not sure about you, but I am quite tired of never putting myself first.