It is nearly six weeks since the 2010 calendar year commenced, and I don’t know about you, but it feels like it’s gone by in a blur. Everyday seems a little more hectic than the last, and the weekends feel like they last an hour.

With fewer resources and more to accomplish, I’m sure I’m not alone in the assumption life is just getting busier and busier. Lying in bed this morning, I was trying to account for what I had accomplished over the last six weeks — what was taking up all that time?

I could account for it in — meetings, meetings and time getting all the work done from all the meetings. What was missing on my list — ‘me’ time. There was very little time I could account for doing something that gave me nothing other than self-satisfaction (and maybe some pleasure, too).

I, like many of you, have found myself in debt to myself. The promises I made to start a new year off by obtaining some level of balance. My plan was that at least once a day, I could say, this x, is what I did for myself today.

What the x was, could vary — got myself a latte, went for a walk with a friend, treated myself to a manicure, went out for a nice dinner. What x was, wasn’t as important, as that I made it a priority in my life to do something for myself each day.

So what can we do to take control over it all? Look at where you spend your time (and where you aren’t spending your time) and see what you can do to balance it out.

Maybe it’s going to the gym on your way into work (so that you don’t spend the day thinking of excuses not to go). Perhaps it’s clearing the table of all work-related items, and sitting down and having an uninterrupted meal. Love TV? Pick a show you love, and no matter what happens, always sit down to watch it, uninterrupted, each week.

Making time for ourselves helps us be more productive, increasingly focused and in an overall better mood. Start tomorrow. When you get up each morning this week and next, have a plan for at least one thing each day to look forward to.

Let’s start building our plan to pleasure ourselves, even for just a few moments, each day.

Christina Carew is a member of FUSION Halifax. Visit FUSIONHalifax.ca to find out how you can get involved to help make Halifax a better place to live, work and play.