Is Your Light Fading?
Feel a little bit like that light flickering in the hallway, giving its last bit of glow before it burns out (but no one is around to pay any attention to the fact it needs to be replaced)?
We feel you.
It’s true that most of us find it rather oppressive to be in a situation where we are giving, giving, giving… it begins to feel like we have no control over the demands or expectations. Personal or professional obligations will always be there, but, we only have so much to give before our lights burn out. And we do have control of these demands, we just to have to make the space for it (Because, guess what … No one else will!)
So, here is the sign you’ve been looking for.
Collectively, our mental and physical well being has been taxed over these past couple of years. And as much as we wish we could flip the switch and turn off the social injustice, the worldwide pandemic, the imbalance of work demands…. We don’t have that option. We do have the option to turn on our own powers of healing and take action to improve our mental and physical well being.
First things first, be intentional about your self-care. Schedule It.
We fill our schedules with agenda-less meetings and we know how those turn out. So add self care to your calendar, make a plan, and stick to it.
Schedule brainless DOWNTIME activities like watching your favorite series, playing with your kids, or even taking power naps.
Add SOCIAL activities to your calendar to see friends and family and be intentional about developing these relationships - it’s a proven that friendships reduce stress and increase health.
Equally as important, GET MOVING. Exercise is also very important for both mental and physical performance. Schedule a brisk walk over your lunch or get a HIIT or Yoga session in before or after work.
Establish a SPIRITUAL practice. Whether your thing is church, meditation, or prayer be sure to include weekly or daily blocks of time to check out of the day to day and check in with yourself.
Get enough SLEEP. It’s legit. We need it for recovery more than we know. If your mind is racing, try writing down your thoughts and to do’s or relocating so you can attempt to get 6-9hours each night. Oh and try an OURA Ring to track your sleep (and much more!)
EVERYDAY, we need to create space to “disengage” from our work.
In this article from Positive Psychology, researchers suggest that working from home presents conflict for individuals because we don’t create a separation of work and home life requirements - so everything is constantly “on”. We’re taking texts late into the night, we’re responding to emails when we should be responding to life (yes, work is part of life - but we’re talking life life!)
When we put off self-care and life balance - and then try to recover over a long PTO - we actually suffer more. Psychologist suggest implementing strategies on a daily basis to avoid the cost of decreased productivity as well as to improve your physical and mental well being.
Make managing self-care a new goal.
You’ll find taking the initiative to take mental breaks, to disengage from work and to focus on yourself will actually improve your productivity at both work and home. Here are a few of our favorite apps to help: Insight Timer, 18-Minute Workout, Yoga with Adriene (Bonus, they are all free….) You can find more inspiration on YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts, or on Play or the AppStore.