Taking time for yourself

I ran into an old friend last Saturday night who I haven't seen in awhile (she's also in school), and she told me about how she has, on many an evening, fallen asleep buried under homework and textbooks. It reminded me of myself, up until a few years ago when I made a promise not to let myself do that anymore. I would spend every waking moment (literally) studying. It made me lose sight of who I am. Although I am going to school to better myself and arrive at a career I love, that extreme level of studying was just not making things any better for me. I have found that I actually succeed more in school when I put myself on my schedule. What do I mean by this? I make time for the things I enjoy that make me feel good, and feel like me. I read (non textbooks). I work out. I do yoga.
After giving this advice to my friend last weekend, I realized that I have not been all that great at taking my own advice lately. I have three books sitting at my bedside that I have hardly touched the past few weeks, and I have not done an adequate amount of yoga.
I rolled out my mat last night and did a yoga DVD that I picked up from the library, which is almost due back. It was a bit slower of a practice than I usually go for, but that ended up being a good thing. I actually relaxed. What?!

































Then, before I went to bed, I read a chapter of one of those books that has been collecting dust at my bedside. Today I felt much more focused, and I actually feel like I accomplished more homework by getting up early after a good nights sleep than passing out in the midst of studying.
So, my suggestion to my friend, and you, is to take an inventory of the things you really like doing and place time in your schedule to DO them! Schedule everything else around that, and you will get more out of life.
What are you going to do for yourself this week?