How to be kind to yourself when life is too busy

As the summer is gradually fading into autumn, have you noticed the trees changing colour, or is life so busy that you just don't have time to notice your surroundings? Perhaps you feel a bit like the proverbial hamster on a wheel, spinning round and round, wishing you could 'get off' in order to catch up with yourself for a few minutes?

If you do lead a busy lifestyle and often find it hard to feel like you are in control and coping with all that life throws in your path, here are a few suggestions on how to find more time for yourself.

6 ways to make more time for yourself

1. Focus on your key priorities

If life feels particularly busy, it can help to decide what is essential and important and what can wait. Decide what you need to achieve without setting yourself unmanageable deadlines.

2. Differentiate between what 'must' and 'needs' to be done

Who is telling you what needs to be done? List your tasks in order of importance and ask yourself: what would actually happen if this didn't get done today?

3. Say it as it is

Do you know what messages you give out to other people around you? Do you decline offers of help when you could probably do with some assistance by saying you are fine?

If someone offers help and you genuinely need it, consider whether you're automatically saying 'I'm fine' rather than allowing them to support you.

4. Be kind to yourself

Good friends support you during tough times rather than criticise you. They don't focus on your mistakes but encourage you to move on, having learnt from the experience.

So when you start to criticise yourself, ask yourself what you would want your best friend to do and then do it.

5. Make some space for yourself

Do you recognise your own self-worth? How often do you put your own wishes last behind your friends, family and work colleagues?

Consider where you could realistically make some time for yourself and plan it rather than simply hoping that time appears.

6. Is the grass really greener on the other side?

Comparing our lives with other people's can sometimes make it harder to appreciate what we already have. We can set ourselves unrealistically high expectations and, when we don't reach them, become frustrated.

By reviewing your expectations, paying more attention to what matters to you and asking for help when you need it, you may be able to create a little more breathing space in a busy life - and feel a little less like a hamster on a wheel and a little more like a cat asleep, enjoying the autumn sunshine.