STYLIST’S COLUMNIST BILLIE BHATIA SHARES WHAT’S ON HER MIND THIS MONTH
INVEST IN YOURSELF, IT’S WORTH IT
“You have to make time for yourself.” How many times has someone given you this pearl of wisdom? My mum would use a variation on this as her copy-and-paste response to every problem (or even mild inconvenience) I sent her way. My ankle, busted after a bad twist a year ago, was still plaguing me: make time for the doctors. No food in the fridge: make time to plan out your meals. Not finding the time to fit in a gym class during fashion month: make time for yourself and feel the benefits of exercise. I have a demanding job, a hectic social life and I’m surviving on the bare minimum amount of sleep as it is; it’s not easy to carve out more time for myself. (My mother and I have since adopted an ‘Are you seeking comfort or a solution?’ approach and life seems less fraught as a result.)
Making time for your health and wellbeing is a full-time job, and when you already have one of those the struggle is real. When your brain is already at capacity, it seems inconceivable that you could go to the dentist in the middle of a working day, until you wake up with a horrendous toothache one morning. That twinge in your back could have been resolved by an osteopath appointment (even if they only had a Tuesday afternoon timeslot available), and now you can barely stand up. You toyed with booking that 5pm gym class, but work guilt about leaving the office an hour before you’re supposed to meant that you gave it a miss. Now, it’s been two weeks and the most exercise you’ve managed is walking to and from Pret for lunch (because, of course, there’s no time to prep your lunch in advance either).
From every angle imaginable – social media, conversations with family and friends, adverts on the Tube – we are told that health is a priority. (If anyone comes at me with the “we have same 24 hours as Beyoncé” bullshit, we shall be having words. See page 52 for more lies we’re pedalled). But I’ve found that trying to live up to the standard of healthy I’ve been sold requires you to be both time rich and cash rich, and to change your perspective on priorities.
When I left my full-time jo
