Why Professional Women Need to Make Time for Themselves

Please Note: NAPW, The National Organization of Professional Women, allows members and affiliates to post blogs or articles of interest on our blog. These blogs and articles of interest in no way reflect the views of NAPW, The National Organization of Professional Women.

Professional women with families rarely have time to eat a meal at the table, let alone indulge in personal time. We are taught to be caretakers, to put everyone else's need first. We grow up thinking that indulging in time for something we want to do is selfish and unproductive. However, the reality is quite the opposite. Making time for you is the first step to successfully managing many professional women's issues that arise. Check out these reasons to set a little time aside just for you every day.

Physical Health
When professional women take time out to indulge in activities they enjoy, it benefits their physical health. Stress mounts in a fast-paced lifestyle, and if you don't take time out to relax, that stress can begin to take its toll on your health by compromising your immune system and raising your risk for a variety of illnesses. Just a small bit of time carved out of every day will allow you to take a breath and come down from the stressful pace of your day. If you use some of that personal time in physical exercise, so much the better.

Mental Health
Chronic stress can also lead to mental health disorders like depression among professional women. It is important to take time out of your schedule to give your mind a break and regain your perspective. You have the opportunity to reassess your priorities in life and remember what is really important. Indulging in activities you like improves your mood and your overall outlook so you can more adeptly handle professional women's issues, no matter how stressful life gets.

Family Health
When professional women take time for themselves each day, they are better prepared to care for the others in their lives. Moms taxed to their limits rarely have the necessary patience and perspective to effectively parent their children. Professional women who are overworked and exhausted cannot be loving mates to their spouses. Those few minutes every day to focus on you helps you to be a better wife, mother and friend to those most important to you.

Be an Example
Mothers who make time for themselves show those around them how important personal time is. Consider the daughters who see their mothers indulge in personal time daily. They may be more likely to take care of themselves in a similar fashion when they have children and careers of their own. You will also teach your children healthy habits that will help them maintain good physical and mental health throughout their lives.

Enjoyable Activities
The best part of personal time is that you get to indulge in activities you truly enjoy. When was the last time you relaxed in a bubble bath, read a good book or worked a crossword puzzle? Those simple activities can make all the difference between professional women just getting through the day and feeling good when the day is done.

It may seem self indulgent or even selfish to carve out time just for you when dealing with professional women's issues. However, the benefits of your personal time will resonate to all those important people around you as well.