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The Golden Girl

Chicago Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

October 5, 2016

Should you Date…Yourself?

how-to-date-yourself

Have you ever heard of the term, “dating yourself” ?

Not as in, “Remember Tomagotchi’s?! OMG I’m so dating myself.”

But the other kind.

You know, like, carving out a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon to go do something alone? Eating at a restaurant by yourself? Catching a movie solo?

Ever done that?





What’s so funny, is that back when I was 22, I went through a period of time where I did that kind of thing a lot. I remember the first few weeks after I quit my horrible first job (one that totally sucked the life out of me where I had time to do nothing but work)–I used to get up early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to go take a workout class in Bucktown.

At the time, nobody I knew ever came over here or even lived West of the Gold Coast, so stealing away and going to breakfast by myself after a workout class with nothing but a book (imagine that?) felt like a crazy indulgence that I would never tell anyone else about–like taking a mini vacation.

(This, of course, was back before I had a blog, before Instagram even existed.)

Now, even just a few years later, it seems so much harder to disconnect, to get away to do something like this.

But lately, I’ve made it a little habit of mine to pop into my neighborhood bookstore (Volumes–it’s one of my favorites!) to take a mini-time out every once in awhile. I love grabbing a book, ordering a glass of wine or a coffee, and just disappearing into a corner for an hour or so.

Or often on my way home from wherever I happened to be that day, I’ll make it a point to take a 20 minute detour and stop into a new shop I’ve been meaning to check out. Or sometimes when Neal is out of town, I’ll go to the grocery store with a point to make a nice meal just for myself. (Cooking is one of my all-time favorite ways to wind-down!)

Whatever it is, just carving out a tiny bit of alone time to do something just for yourself can be the difference between a fulfilling, busy week and a stressful one that has you counting down the minutes until the weekend.

At least, that’s my definition of “dating myself.”

What’s yours? Do you date yourself?

Filed Under: Advice

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Comments

  1. Rachel Spross says

    October 5, 2016 at 8:56 am

    Thanks for sharing this! Alone time is so important and oftentimes overlooked with our busy lives. We all need a little time to ourselves during the day!

    xoxo
    Rachel
    http://thetrendytomboy.com/

    Reply
  2. Diana Pearl says

    October 5, 2016 at 9:59 am

    I actually love going to movies by myself — sometimes I want to see something that no one else wants to see, and it’s not like you’re talking to anyone during the movie anyways! It’s relaxing. Alone time is so necessary 🙂

    x Diana // http://www.dianapearl.com

    Reply
  3. Catherine Marks says

    October 5, 2016 at 10:03 am

    I love this! I learned how to do this when I was in Paris for four months after college working as an au pair to kids who were in school all day. I had American friends who I would see, but they were studying abroad so they had class and such. A lot of the time I would just wander around by myself, and it is so relaxing! Thanks for reminding me, though. My biggest indulgence now is the occasional pedicure, but I need to get out alone more often!
    xoxo,
    Classic Catherine

    Reply
  4. Laura (bright and beautiful) says

    October 5, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Such a good reminder!

    xo, Laura
    brightandbeautifulblog.com

    Reply
  5. Sally Freeman says

    October 5, 2016 at 10:36 am

    I tooootally feel you on this. My personal form of self-dating is baking! I put on my favorite music, pour myself a glass of wine & just totally zen out to the sound of cookies in the oven!

    xx Sally loveandsparkles.com

    Reply
  6. Britney says

    October 5, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    Yes, I love this! I took the day off today and I’m about to date myself this afternoon. 😉 There is an art festival going on downtown that I plan to walk through with my camera. Then maybe get some coffee and a macaron or two. Spending time with myself is so important. it refreshes me.

    Reply
  7. Lindsay says

    October 5, 2016 at 12:14 pm

    I used to live next door to a movie theater. i would go by myself all the time. I loved waking up and walking over to see an early movie, often times still in my PJs.

    Reply
  8. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    October 5, 2016 at 1:34 pm

    I totally date myself! Aside from my husband, I’m my favorite person to spend time with. (Because I’m such a huge introvert! Haha)

    Reply
  9. Blair @ The Fox & She says

    October 5, 2016 at 3:01 pm

    Love this Jess!! Going to yoga is one of my favorite “treats” and I definitely should do it more often…. but I don’t. And I love going to Soho to work alone and sometimes at 5, I have a glass of wine alone.. next time I’ll ditch the work and bring my book though!

    Reply
  10. Shaheen Khan | Lows to Luxe says

    October 5, 2016 at 3:08 pm

    So true! I feel like we forget to take time out for ourselves and being alone makes me so happy sometimes!

    Reply
  11. Floortje van Cooten says

    October 6, 2016 at 6:38 am

    Love this article!!

    Xx,

    || FLOORTJELOVES ||

    http://www.floortjeloves.com

    http://www.facebook.com/floortjeloves

    Reply
  12. Caitlin Edwards says

    October 7, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    This is awesome! I love to go on a walk by myself and thing about my upcoming day or week!

    Reply
  13. Charlotte says

    October 21, 2016 at 6:51 am

    I do this 100%. When I was going through Uni and getting quite severe anxiety and depression from the stress, I learnt the art of treating myself. I decided I was okay with spending $5 (NZD, for clarification) daily on a barista made coffee and doing readings in a cafe bathed in sunlight. Even on a student budget, this expense was something I allowed myself to get some blissful peace and treat myself.

    Since graduating I started trying to do more things like that. I now will go for a walk/run by myself, hide my phone and read for an hour, treat myself to dinner, wander around the shops alone just to window shop and admire the world. I still get my barista made coffee every morning like I did in Uni, and every Friday I go to breakfast at the same cafe, magazine in hand, and sit in the sun. I have one day off in the week and on this day I try to do as many of these things as possible.

    I think doing something like this is so important for your well being. I’ve never heard it called ‘dating yourself’, but I suppose that is exactly what it is!

    Reply
  14. Sakeenah Begum says

    December 19, 2016 at 1:58 pm

    I actually do this every Wednesday! I make sure to go to a coffee shop or a nearby park and sit with my thoughts, people watch, whatever i’m in the mood for. It’s great to reconnect with yourself regularly. SakeenahBegum.com

    Reply

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