"Me Time," To You

My "me time" is essential to me because if I don't get a moment to plan, write things down, or make lists, I would probably get stressed out and go crazy. That's not the only thing I do during "me time," which includes all the girly activities like painting my nails and taking a bubble bath. Most importantly, I do it when I'm by myself and am doing something that I enjoy: reading magazines, sending those catch-up emails to friends, and blissfully enjoying that cup of hot coffee debating whether a 300 calorie piece of banana bread from Starbucks was worth it or not. What do you do during your "me time?" Is it overrated and actually for those overworked mom's who are busy taking care of their hyperactive children? Does a 22-year old just graduated and currently-taking-a-break-from-studying-before-going-to-work adult even deserve "me time?" For all intensive purposes, yes. 

What would you do without that "me time?" Personally, I know a few who would be more hysterical if they didn't get their social interaction for the day, but "me time" is probably undervalued and overly ignored. The precious time you spend cleaning is probably when you're thinking some valuable "me time" thoughts but don't realize it. And then if you don't clean, I feel bad for your roommates, and your personal well-being. One extreme example is my dad. He has an incredible amount of "me time" which is when he wakes up super early because his brain is on super charge and can't go back to sleep because he worries too much. What he worries about, I have no idea. I know my crazy antics like staying up all night studying for the CPA exam and spending lots of money at Whole Foods to make him dinner are definitely contributing factors. I would say that worrying is unhealthy "me time," but I'm sure it balances with that Bass beer at dinner.  

Of course, if you're super extroverted and thrive on social interaction, you probably border on the amount of zero "me time," and on the other end, if you're an introvert happy to be away from conversation, you need exponentially more. In college, it varied with the amount of homework and studying I needed to do - the more reading, the amount of online window shopping increased and the more NY Times articles I read. Too bad I never got the hang of showering and fitting in my "me time" in one. I don't think multitasking with "me time" worked out in the end. Getting lost in thought during "me time" and cooking only ended up with burnt chopped onions, which according to some, is one of the worst tasting things you could eat. Agreed. 

So is "me time" a glorified version of doing errands? For the Type A person like myself, maybe. Unfortunately, the best "me time" happened during those many trips from UVA to DC to visit the boyfriend. Good exercise for the brain, but bad for my car and wallet. Luckily, I have substituted that 2 hour car ride with a 15 minute daily dog walk and reflection after obsessive reading of the Swedish book series (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the others). I have found that for some strange reason, browsing allrecipes.com and reading The Cake Bible have also offered valuable "me time." I wish that my "me time" could be spent doing something more valuable like painting or crunching numbers in Excel files. Life is life and my "me time" won't change. It happens while I paint my nails, read magazines, burn food on the stove, walk my dog, and drink bottomless coffee. When I start work, it'll probably be while I'm commuting back home after shouting every curse word inside my car with the windows closed and driving really slow to piss of the tailgater behind me. Regardless, "me time" will occur, whether at my own delicate spa-like experience or when I'm enjoying my time outside of the house.