Self-care Saturday
The past two weeks I haven't posted a single blog entry again. I am not falling back off the blogging wagon. At least I am TRYING not to. I was doing well. I planned out Monday afternoons to sit and write, to get posts ready for the coming week. The last two Mondays have been busy and I didn't get that time. It is clear that if I don't set aside time, it won't get done.
You see... between work, running, taking care of household stuff and trying to make sure I still give myself time to rest and relax... there isn't always much time left at the end of the day sometimes.
That being said, I wanted to reflect a little on the self-care idea. I have learned that if I don't do something regularly for me.. just me.. it is not good. I am not talking lavish spa days or even a trip to the salon. Sometimes its just eating a really well balanced meal, others it might be taking time to paint my toenails, or even just taking time to putz around in the garden outside. These things are relaxing and helpful to my entire well-being.
Self-care can also mean just logging out of social media on my phone so I don't feel the need to check it while I am watching TV or trying to accomplish chores around the house. This has been HUGE for me. I get stuff done faster and it is fun to catch up at the end of the evening instead of constantly being bombarded with notifications. If I don't do this I get frazzled, distracted, and anxious trying to keep up with all. On top of that, less gets accomplished which then adds to all of those feelings.
The older I get, the more true this becomes. If I don't do things for myself to relax and refresh, I get cranky, short-tempered, and just generally unhappy. There are times during my work day when I know that it is busy and I have just taken 10 phones calls back to back to back, but I have to step away. I can feel myself getting frustrated and not breathing as much or as deeply as I should. I take myself out of the call queue just for a few minutes, step outside, take a few deep breaths in the fresh air and then head back inside. I do work at home which is super awesome, but the job of being in call queues with lots of expectations is still just as overwhelming as being back in the office. Taking a few moments to refresh and regroup is sometimes just how I get through the day. This time for me helps me re-center and not lose my cool with people calling in (in turn helping me keep my job)
Other great self-care activities for me are yoga, baking, listening to my favorite music, sitting outside, reading, and so many more. I would love to make this a regular installment of blog posts and kind of share each week what I did to care for myself. Also as a way to check in with everyone to see if YOU took care of yourself, too. It doesn't have to be daily, but at least weekly there should be some time carved out for you; maybe you need 10 minutes a week, or maybe 10 minutes each day. Half of self-care is figuring out when and how to make it work for you.
What do you think about self-care? Is this something you struggle with?
If you already carve out self-care time, what is your favorite activity?
I feel that as I get older, the more I recognize my own mental health is more important than the work that has to be done at my job. Yes, i'll finish the reports, the audits and talk to the participants, but all can wait until I've had my lunch.
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