Backstory: It’s the age-old story of women, isn’t it? We give all our time and energy to taking care of others at jobs and at home, to family members and friends and even strangers. “Me Time” still has a tinge of selfishness to it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m an expert at doing this until my well is completely empty. Then I finally take “me” time when I get run down and sick.

This week’s nudge is designed to change that dynamic. What can I give up? When can I designate time for my projects, my passions?

What Happened: Procrastination. Classic, right? I was busy this week, so this nudge stayed on my to do list, but never made it to the top of the priorities.

Finally, early this morning, I chose to ignore the list of jobs, tasks, followups, emails, calls, etc., that called for my attention and took a long, hot, quiet bath. It felt like a much-needed reboot.

I had an off-site meeting, and when I returned to my desk, instead of jumping right in to the fray, I opened my calendar. It’s still early in the year, so there’s a lot of open space. Why not “schedule” “appointments” with myself? If I had doctor appointments, they’d go down in ink. If I had a client event, same. I pulled out my highlighter and blocked out time.

The Ah-Hahs: Will I keep these commitments to myself? Will I hold this time as sacred? I can’t say for sure, but I’m going to try. I picked Fridays as my time, and then, to further motivate myself, I made a list of things I might do that feed my soul. This includes getting back to my French textbooks and flashcards, giving myself mani-pedis, meeting friends for a walk in the park or a long chat over coffee, spending some time writing letters and working on craft projects, journaling, and more hot baths. It might also include work, but work that is personal, that I do for my own pleasure, not for someone else’s advancement. If I can devote even one hour a week to feeding myself, it will be an improvement.

Can you book some time for just you this coming week? I hope you do.