Knowing when to take time for yourself
By: Vincent Tran
Published on: April 5th, 2024
In our day and age, it can be difficult to focus on yourself.
There’s a lot of pressure to be more social, to get out and talk to others, and build connections both for work and for your social life. With the abundance of social media and how often people are connecting with one another, it may be hard to look out for yourself.
You may feel this constant pressure to continuously make connections and build relationships with others, that sometimes you may end up forgetting your own health and your own interests.
On certain occasions, we may just need to step back for a moment and take a look inwards. It’s important to have a balance between both a social and personal life, that’s why it’s crucial to know when you should take some time to focus on yourself.
Understanding the importance of your mental health
Your own mental health is equally important as your physical health and can be a big factor in improving yourself.
According to Canada.ca, they define mental health as the state of your psychological and emotional well-being. It states that having good mental health can help you enjoy life and cope with the challenges that come with it.
Your mental health can affect how you interact with others and can be positively or negatively impacted by your relationships with friends, family, coworkers, or anyone else in your life.
It’s important to have good mental health, because it will not only make you feel better, but also the people around you will feel better as well. Mental health plays a big role in your social life, so it’s critical to make sure you look after your own mental health as much as the other parts of your life.
Seeing the signs
It is also very important to understand when you may need to spend some time for yourself and the signs that come before it.
If you ever find yourself zoning out when speaking to others or not focusing as well as you used to, you likely will need to take a break from interacting with others and focus on your own wellbeing. Going to many different social events or gatherings can be a lot to keep up with and can make you tired or exhausted.
If you are also stressing about many different things in your life, however big or small, it may be a sign that you should slow things down a little and reassess.
It may be difficult to find the time to reflect and understand everything that may be bringing you down or holding you back, but if you can notice when these things happen in your own life, then it will be a good step to take towards bettering your mental health.
Taking a step back
In order to look after yourself, you may need to take a step back from other people. Sometimes you might need a break from socialising with others or from the stresses of work.
It could take a lot out of you and take up much of your energy to keep up with all the things in your work and social life, so taking a back seat from these things from time to time could end up doing you wonders and help your overall state of mind.
It’s okay if you need to take a break or step away from others momentarily. Learning to say no is very important in our day and age, and it’s totally fine to do so. This is especially true if you don’t want to do something or feel uncomfortable engaging in an activity or event.
Saying “no” helps you focus on yourself and your needs, so practising and being comfortable with setting boundaries for yourself will be crucial in improving your mental health.
In our society, we may feel pressured or obligated to always say “yes” and agree to everything, but there are always another options and it’s up to you to prioritise what’s best for yourself at that very moment.
Changing the outcome
At the end of the day, it’s entirely up to you to know when to take time for yourself. You know yourself better than anyone, so it’s important to understand your own needs as well.
Try to incorporate time into your schedule to focus on your own wellbeing and do things that you enjoy doing alone. Taking time out for yourself will help you be more comfortable in your own skin and help you gain confidence. If you are sure of yourself and confident in your interests and abilities, then it will take you far in life.
Taking some time for self-reflection can also help you learn things you never knew about yourself. You could pick up new hobbies and interests or you could find out more about the things you do and don’t enjoy.
Examples of things you could do is to treat yourself regularly by going to a restaurant every month or playing a sport you enjoy. You could do something like buy tickets for a concert or show in advance. Making plans for yourself ahead of time can be a way for you to look forward to something, and it could almost be like the light at the end of the tunnel for you during a tough time period.
Learning to take time for yourself is a process and it takes a while to get going, but it is very important to have that balance in your life. It can help you be more organised and keep your life in a rhythm that you’re comfortable with, especially if you schedule everything and plan everything accordingly.
Ironically, focusing on yourself and spending time on your own can also help your social skills and how you interact with others. You can try and learn more about other things and broaden your horizons by expanding upon your interests, which in turn will help you relate and connect with others.