Life is hectic. We do all what we can to declutter, destress & delight in our treasured alone time (what alone time?!). From reading to searching to cleaning to rearranging to dressing up or down to simply closing our eyes and dreaming ourselves away.

Finding time to focus on yourself and the things you most enjoy is pivotal to enjoying a life less stressful & more fabulous. Making time to step away from the grind and focus should not be a daily maybe but a daily absolute. If you're a routinely list type of a person, pencil it into your day the same way you do brushing your teeth or taking a shower. If you're a go with the flower, write MEMEME on your wrist - you'll catch a glimpse at some point in the day and that's your cue: drop the rest and take 5.

Work is important, so too are your family & friends & other commitments - but you are, and always will be, the most important thing in your life. If you weren't in it - it wouldn't exist & no one around you would benefit from all the good you put out there each day. It is a fairly obvious point but one worth pondering.

Too many of us make time for everything except ourselves, and one simple step towards greater realisation of a prosperous and productive life is through allowing yourself time to focus on being the best you that you can be. Taking care of yourself is of utmost importance because if you aren't the best you can be, how can anything else in your life be reaching it's potential fabulousness? Take five and let yourself shine, ladies! (also see: Why You Need To Be Your Own Leading Lady)


6 Ways to Create Your Space

01. If you have your own space, like your own apartment or room, make it your shrine. This is not to say go adorning the walls with life size photographs & bronze statues living in the rooms corner! But fill the space with aspects of you - objects that make you smile (eg. fairy lights all year round, piles of your favourite magazine, a fun twister doona that is 'so-you!', a photoboard of your favourite memories, your epic CD collection, your favourite shoes displayed on a wooden shoe rack).

02. Get comfortable. Set up a corner of your room with a beanbag, a lamp that projects a soft light enough to see but not too harsh, a stereo to play some of your favourite mellow tunes. Grab some strawberries & eat while writing and dreaming your perfect life into your actual life. Dream big & then plot the steps you're going to take to get there.

03. Your space need not be physical. If you literally do not have space to yourself, you may share a room or just live with a whole heap of people, create a space in your mind. A laptop with earphones plugged into a huge mp3 collection is a good start (or an ipod).

04. Another great 'you space' idea for those space challenged bunnies it to make the most of the bathroom - even better if you have a tub. Ensure your bathroom is clean & well stocked (lets go with moisturisers, shower gel, loofahs etc) ... everything you need to enjoy your shower/bath/primping time. Focus on your big ideas for the world, your smaller ideas for the day, think about YOU, where you're going and how you're going to get there. Emerge from the bathroom with a fresh body AND mind!

05. Workaholics amongst us, stop working for just a tic & raise your hands!! Ok, so all of you out there struggling to break free of the ball and chain keeping you tied to your desk, you too can grab some you time. Bang smack in the middle of your work day is a magical wee period know as 'lunch hour' (hour). Take your lunch hour, even if you must stay at your desk. Spritz your favourite perfume on your wrist to freshen up your immediate area, pull out a big notebook & focus your attentions there rather than on the screen, pop in some earphones to drown out the noise of the office, put on your voicemail, shut down outlook. You are not there. You are in your space.

06. Find a cafe. Delight in the knowledge that your favourite 'you space' cafe is the 'you space' of a whole bunch of other locals. People watch, drink your favourite coffee, listen to the music, plot & plan. (see also: People Watching and the Power of Observation)


Ideas On How To Spend Your You Time

Eating fruit dipped in chocolate.

Writing a novel, you know, the next best seller to hit the shelves of Borders.

Trying out new hairstyles & experimenting with make up.

Listening to your favourite guilty pleasure music (like *ahem* feel good Hillsong tunes!)

Doing nothing. Close your eyes, lay back, dream the day/night away! YOU DESERVE IT!

Writing bad poetry.

Reading the newspaper & clipping your favourite articles for your scrapbook.

Baking cupcakes & licking the bowl while dancing to the soundtrack from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Watching a soppy romcom & unashamedly enjoying being able to recite the script along with the characters. Decide which character you are and why - steal your favourite parts of them & inject a bit of them into your life - but only the good stuff - ME time is not about self destruction ;)

Practising a new signature. (& no, not one with your crushes last name attached - just a fabulous new version of your name).

Sit on your front porch/garden & blow bubbles.


Where is your YOU spot... and what do you do while you're there?