Hands up if you have a busy lifestyle! From work to your S/O, friends, working out, social events, family time, and more- there’s so much we have on our plates these days. It can be easy to get wrapped up in it all and want to say “yes” to everything, but making more time for yourself if key to a happy and successful life. Wondering how to balance a busy lifestyle? I’m giving you my best 5 tips!

Why It’s Important to Make Time for Yourself

Stress and burnout are becoming increasingly common and it’s incredibly unhealthy. We tend to think that everything’s important and have a hard time saying no to others. We also don’t want to feel left out. These are all completely normal feelings, but we need to learn that it’s okay to say no, and missing out on a few events won’t make or break your happiness.

The most important thing is to know yourself and know when you need a break and when you need “me” time. If you’re always go-go-go, you may notice that your health starts to take a hit, you’re not sleeping properly and your stress and anxiety levels are through the roof. It’s never a good feeling to feel this way and if you notice these symptoms coming on, it’s time to create some balance in your life.

Here are 5 ways I like to balance my busy lifestyle.

1. Write Your Schedule Down

If you’re struggling to find balance, it may be because you haven’t created a firm schedule for yourself. Any time I have a new plan or appointment, I write it down in my agenda and put it into my iCalendar right away. This prevents your from double-booking and overbooking yourself. If you’re feeling run down and already have something going on on a Wednesday night, don’t say yes to another event that same night.

If you don’t write it down, you’re more likely to say yes to one event going on at 6 pm and having to run to another one at 8 pm. Of course some days and nights are going to be jam-packed, but if that starts to become your norm, you’re going to burn out fast.

2. Learn to Say No

That brings me to my next point. We all need to get better at saying no. We’re wired to please others, which means saying yes when opportunities present themselves. If you feel like your schedule is already packed, don’t add another thing to your list.

The more you say “no”, the more comfortable you’ll feel saying it. It can be tough to feel like you’re letting people down, but if you’re feeling super stressed and rundown, you have to take care of yourself! Balance is all about making time to do the things we really want to do and saying no to the things we can do without. If you try to do it all, you’re going to end up tired, drained and even sick.

3. Try A Meal Delivery Box Service

I recently started using a meal delivery box service called Cook It and I can’t believe I haven’t tried one of these boxes sooner! I love cooking, but often rotate through the same meals because I find that looking up new recipes usually calls for SO many ingredients that I’ll likely only use once. Cook It makes it so easy to make creative, delicious meals and takes the guesswork out of dinner time!

I love that they use healthy, local ingredients and that they give step-by-step instructions for how to prepare every aspect of each meal. It has made meal time so much easier as now I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner! Plus, the meals are all to die for! I love choosing my meals each week, and often have a hard time deciding between them because they all look so amazing! Think: maple tofu soba noodles (below!), black bean tostadas, pear and brie grilled cheese, salmon spaghetti Alfredo, and so much more!

You can also easily substitute ingredients in your home to suit your preferences. For example, a couple of recipes I’ve ordered came with mayonnaise (which I don’t eat), but the rest of the meal looked too good not to try! So I just didn’t use to mayo and instead opted for ingredients like hummus or olive oil instead (depending on the meal).

As I mentioned, I’m someone who loves cooking, but Cook It would be totally easy for any non-cooks to use as well! You get completely detailed steps for each recipe, plus all the ingredients you need. Most meals take between 25-35 minutes, so they’re super quick and ideal for busy weeknights!

Head to their website and get $40 off your first order with the code ‘KATE40’!

4. Prioritize

Figure out what’s most important to you. What you prioritize will change depending on different stages of your life. Perhaps right now, you’re really prioritizing your career. You’ll have to say no to more social events. Or maybe right now, you’re really trying to build your relationships stronger. You’ll be making more time to hang out with your favourite people. Perhaps you’re at a stage where exercising is really important to you. You’ll put that ahead of going out for dinner and drinks with friends.

And of course, you could be really focusing on a couple different things. You can do a lot of things, but you can’t do it all. Prioritize what’s most important to you right now- make time for those things and say no to others. You may be able to do it all for a little bit, but you’ll soon find you’re super burnt out.

5. Schedule In Your Me Time

If you don’t consciously make time for yourself, it probably won’t happen. It can start to feel like everything is important, from friends’ birthdays to work events to taking courses to advance your career, but the most important thing is taking the time you need to rest, rejuvenate, and do the things you love so you can feel your best.

Make a list of things you really enjoy doing, but don’t often do- this could be anything from reading or watching TV to cooking to exercising and taking the day to pamper yourself, getting a massage, a manicure and getting your hair done. Make sure to schedule this time into your agenda to ensure it happens. If anything else comes up at this time, let them know you’re busy and can’t make it and enjoy the time to yourself!

Making more time for yourself is SO important. Use these 5 tips to take your time back and really learn how to balance a busy lifestyle! Do you have any other tips for making more time for yourself? Let us know in the comments below!

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