It’s important to give your mind and body a break and enjoy some solitude. By living on campus, you are constantly reminded of school. The thought of studying or completing homework assignments can make your body tense from stress. So find time to step back and do an activity for you.

I am the queen of the busy bees. I actually enjoy staying busy and to fill my brain with information along with schoolwork. But by doing that, I can lose myself to these distractions. Until this past winter break I was inspired by professionals who have busy schedules, but work towards exercising their creativity.

I follow a blog called “Inspired by Annetta,” an artist, photographer, wife and mother, who would blog about her creativity whether by sharing her paintings or uploading her photographs. The purpose of her blog is to capture and share images that leave her inspired, then she can inspire others to “do better” and “be greater,” she says in her blog.

Next, she and her friend, another photographer, wife and mother, created a blog called “A Year to Inspire,” where they follow prompts from “365 Journal Writing Ideas: A year of daily journal writing prompts, questions & actions to fill your journal with memories, self-reflection, creativity & direction” by Rossi Fox. On their blog they complete a journal entry or activity a day and share it with their audience.

Instead of just admiring their pretty photographs and art, I started my own journal project to make time for myself and to practice my creativity. Because I was most inspired by Annetta’s attitude of living to be inspired and to inspire others, I use my time wisely to fit “me time.”

Making time for free time allows you to have a balanced day. You can then enjoy everyday by turning off the stress switch and mellow out.

Everyone gets the same amount of time in a day, so take advantage of it and remain productive in something. We live in a busy world and are going to live with busy schedules, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fit “me time.” If you want to spend your time looking up sports stats or browsing over Instagram, don’t browse like zombies but fill yourself up with inspiration.

When fitting in free time, we should use it to enjoy life. Do a fun activity that won’t leave you feeling sick the next day, or something you’ll regret later on. Instead, be wise with your time. By fitting in free time, you can gain time management skills which will help you with completing and work assignments and benefit you in your career. It can help you prioritize what’s really important and as author and pastor Craig Groeschel says, instead of focusing on what you want now, you can focus on what you want most.