Take a Pause from the Daily Chaos: 3 ways to Put Yourself First

Being 6 weeks into this job-free, world-tour, judo-training venture I have had a ton of time to reflect.  Here are a few realizations that I have made thus far:

1. SET ASIDE YOU TIME DAILY.  As much as I respect going with the flow, I am a person that NEEDS some goals and structure to my days.  So even if its waking 2 hours earlier than others to commit myself to Me time- for goal setting, reflection, yoga, reading, and writing.  Without any time set aside during my day to specifically spend some time with myself- I just drag along, day in and out, falling into a lazy routine.   I feel like this is a huge lesson.  Its easy to fall into leisure.  Its hard to force yourself to make you time.  To feel good at the end of the day though, this commitment to self is necessary.
2. ALWAYS STRETCH YOURSELF.  I love to learn.  During down time I have taken an online course, started to learn french, read 2 books, have committed to 30 days of yoga, researched the places I visit, and am constantly learning at the dojo.  There is so much information out there and it is impossible to ever be an expert in everything - but if something interests you - ask questions and commit yourself to learning more about it.  You will feel refreshed and enlightened by your constant growth.
3. BE TRUE TO YOUR FUTURE SELF.   Its been strange not working. It's easy to fall into immediately looking for work and accepting whatever is available (aka continuing to do what you have done in the past).  Its kind of like getting over a bad breakup - so easy to fall back into where you were instead of looking for what will be best for you ultimately.  I want to fill my future with things I fully love and to do that I need to accept this time of ME.  I have been trying to embrace the freedom of not working- focusing heavily on what I care about, what makes me happy, and spending time learning more about myself - expecting this will lead me where I need to be next.  I think this advice is critical to anyone who feels stuck at work and knows in their heart that they need to make a change.  Not knowing what is next is OK...embrace the scary unknown and be true to yourself.  You will end up where you need to be. 

The key take-away: Take some time for YOU.  Make some time for YOU.
You matter.