Simply put, “me time” is the the time that you have to yourself in which you can do something that you really love or that you find enjoyable.
You may be thinking: “Me time? No seriously! What is that?” Okay, so I am being a little tongue-in-cheek!
Still, perhaps it has been a while since you thought about whether you make time for yourself *each* day.
Our lives are often super busy. The demands and responsibilities of modern life can be overwhelming: doing well at your job, running a business, caring for children, keeping the house clean, walking the dog and so on and so on. It can be all too easy to slip into daily routines that don’t leave much space for activities and habits that are just about fun or relaxation. This is especially true if you are also dedicated to ensuring you challenge yourself in your daily English learning.
Tongue in cheek:
To express something in a playful way. Even though you pretend to be serious the intention is for it to be a joke.
E.g Joan made a tongue in cheek complaint about the cake to Sally and she got angry because she thought Joan was being serious.
The Premack Principle:
Aside from “me time” which is about fun and relaxation, in psychology, there is an interesting theory called the Premack Principle which basically states that completing activities you prefer and enjoy motivates you to complete less desirable activities.
For example, at work, it can help to plan your day so that you will complete some difficult tasks first and then move on to some more enjoyable ones and then repeat the pattern. For me, that means answering emails first and then doing a more creative task after.
Similarly, in studying English on your own, rather than leave all the tricky tasks until last, try to do a difficult task first followed by a part of learning English that you find really fun.
