Spending Time With Oneself Benefits Personal And Professional Life: Study

It is best to spend time with oneself as it allows you to think better and evaluate yourself. Research showed that quality time spent alone is good for the mind, and ensures psychological wellbeing. There are also many other psychological benefits of solitude.

According to WebMD, we are most often burdened by our roles in our professional and personal lives. We are always taken up by our roles and forget our responsibility towards ourselves. It is always important to include yourself on the priority list, and not just focus on your friends and family. Amy Tiemann, author of Mojo Mom: Nurturing Your Self While Raising a Family and founder of Mojomom.com, told WebMD that you become a better parent, or partner when you spend time with yourself. You will be more fun to have around. She states that 'me-time' is extremely important for a well-balanced life.

The latest study by Dr. Almuth McDowall at the University of Birkbeck shows that quality time spent with yourself affects one's professional and personal life.

He found that the benefits not only included psychological advantages but also positive influences on your actions and the manner by which you handle your professional life, which can help you become a more "engaged employee." Dr. McDowall shared that 'me-time' affected your overall wellbeing, balance in career and the manner by which you engage with your work. However, it was unsure whether the quality, or quantity of 'me time' contributed as factors, which led him to conduct two sets of studies.

For the first study, he took 18 professional participants. They were made to maintain a daily diary, where they recorded their daily sentiments, experiences and perceptions of 'me-time'. This continued for a month. For the second study, 151 male and 186 female professionals were gathered and given a questionnaire. The questions involved their contentment level in life, personal relationship with family members and their professional lives. The study showed that quality 'me-time' provided the individuals more benefits.

Those who spent quality time rather than a large quantity of time in solitude experienced improved perceptions in their personal and professional lives. They engaged better with people around them, and had a more balanced life. Dr. McDowall stated that 'me-time' does not always have to be about sitting alone and doing nothing. It can entail you completing your work alone, so that it gives you time to be with yourself and indulge in your own thoughts. It can just involve "freely chosen activities. Opinions varied whether mundane routine tasks, such as housework, count as me-time -- doing the washing up does not reap benefits for everyone!"

His findings were presented at the British Psychological Society's Division of Occupational Psychology annual conference in Glasgow on Jan. 8.