One Hour A Week

January 19, 2014

Written by Marykate O’Malley, mother of three wonderful children, Gladwyne PA

It’s January. When we set resolutions for the New Year. Year round I have my focus of goals and things I am working on so come January it feels a little anti climatic. That said, I started this last year and I am continuing into 2014 and beyond: giving myself the gift of one hour a week just for me. One hour to do something that makes me truly happy. My Sunday yoga class is this hour. A true luxury is when I schedule a writing workshop on a Saturday with my lovely friend Drew Lamm.

Photograph courtesy of Rachel McGinn photography

When my children were younger it was a lot harder to do this. A luxury was going to Target by myself or sitting in a Doctor’s office waiting room – no one needs anything and there are magazines?!

If your children are young and one hour is too much, try 30 minutes. Start small, and make it attainable – maybe it is a candlelit bath on Sunday nights with your favorite book, maybe it is a walk, coffee with a friend. Whatever it is I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. It doesn’t come easy – to a fault I am such a doer, and put everyone else first. But I want to model to my children that it is important to take time out for you – and what you love in life. So that is my incentive – modeling – and after I leave that sacred weekly class or click off the phone and scan the 3 pieces I just wrote – it’s the gift that keeps on giving. It replenishes my soul.

One hour a week. That’s it.

Does anyone do this? What are your ways of carving out time for you?