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.”
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/
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
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
Such a good reminder!
xo, Laura
brightandbeautifulblog.com
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
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.
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.
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)
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!
So true! I feel like we forget to take time out for ourselves and being alone makes me so happy sometimes!
Love this article!!
Xx,
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This is awesome! I love to go on a walk by myself and thing about my upcoming day or week!
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!
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