U zadnje vrijeme teško nalazim vrijeme za odmor.

It is a very common expression meaning lately, recently, or these days.

Literally, it is something like in the last/recent time, but in natural English you would usually translate it with an adverbial phrase such as lately.

Because this is an idiomatic time expression.

A few useful points:

• u can take different cases in Croatian
• here, in the expression u zadnje vrijeme, it goes with the accusative
• vrijeme is a neuter noun, and its nominative and accusative singular look the same: vrijeme
• the adjective must agree with it, so you get zadnje vrijeme

So:

• u zadnje vrijeme = the normal way to say lately
• u zadnjem vremenu would not sound natural here

Because Croatian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

Here, nalazim means I find / I am finding. The ending -im shows 1st person singular, so ja is unnecessary.

You could say Ja u zadnje vrijeme teško nalazim vrijeme za odmor, but that would usually add emphasis, as if you were contrasting yourself with someone else.

Here teško is an adverb, and it means with difficulty, hard, or it is hard to.

So teško nalazim vrijeme means:

• I find it hard to find time
• I have difficulty finding time
• I can hardly find time

It does not mean heavy here, even though the related adjective težak can mean heavy or difficult depending on context.

Because the speaker is describing a current ongoing situation.

The sentence means that this is what is happening these days / lately, not just on one single occasion. So the present tense is exactly what Croatian normally uses here.

Also, nalazim is imperfective, which fits an ongoing or repeated situation:

• nalazim = I keep finding / I am finding / I tend to find
• it suggests a general current difficulty, not one completed act

A perfective form would not fit as well in this sentence.

It is a little repetitive on the surface, but it is still completely understandable and natural enough.

The two instances do different jobs:

• u zadnje vrijeme = fixed expression meaning lately
• vrijeme za odmor = literal time for rest

So native speakers do not process both in exactly the same way.

If someone wanted to avoid the repetition, they might rephrase the sentence, for example:

• U zadnje vrijeme teško uspijevam naći vremena za odmor.
• U zadnje vrijeme teško pronalazim vremena za odmor.

But the original sentence is fine.

Odmor is in the accusative singular after za.

Here za expresses purpose or intended use:

• vrijeme za odmor = time for rest
• novac za put = money for the trip
• mjesto za auto = space for the car

Because odmor is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular, so you see odmor.

Not in the same structure.

After za, Croatian normally wants a noun phrase, so za odmor works well.

If you want to use a verb instead, you would usually change the structure, for example:

• teško nalazim vrijeme da se odmorim = I find it hard to find time to rest
• teško nalazim vremena za to da se odmorim = less direct, but possible

So in this sentence, za odmor is the neat, natural choice.

Not completely, because Croatian word order is fairly flexible. But this version is very natural.

Why this order works well:

• U zadnje vrijeme sets the time frame right away
• teško comes before the verb and modifies it naturally
• vrijeme za odmor stays together as a clear unit

Other orders are possible, but they may sound less neutral or more marked. For example:

• Teško nalazim vrijeme za odmor u zadnje vrijeme = possible, but less smooth
• Vrijeme za odmor teško nalazim u zadnje vrijeme = more emphatic/marked

So the original order is a good neutral model to learn.

Yes. Both are common and both mean lately / recently.

A rough nuance is:

• u zadnje vrijeme = very common in everyday speech
• u posljednje vrijeme = also very common, sometimes felt as a bit more neutral or slightly more formal

In this sentence, either works well:

• U zadnje vrijeme teško nalazim vrijeme za odmor.
• U posljednje vrijeme teško nalazim vrijeme za odmor.

Yes, many speakers would say that, and it can sound very natural.

There is a small nuance:

• nalazim vrijeme treats time more as a concrete object or available slot
• nalazim vremena uses a kind of partitive/genitive idea, meaning some / enough time

That is why forms like these are common in Croatian:

• Nemam vremena.
• Našao sam vremena.
• Teško nalazim vremena za odmor.

So the original sentence is understandable and grammatical, but nalazim vremena is also a very common alternative.